#male monster
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ⅴ▬ ⁽ 𝑜𝓇𝒸 ⁾
𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 ♡︎ : ₅˖₇ₖ ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡
𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 ♡︎ : mdni----- unedited, NSFW, explicit content, teratophilia, orc/royalty!human, rough sex, unprotected sex, creampie, overstimulation, breeding, spit kink, sloppy kisses, size difference, somnophilia, slight voyeurism, orcish, reader loses all forms of etiquette and just babbles-- stupidly, belly bulge. ₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎
𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 ♡︎: as royalty it's your duty to marry and provide heirs for the kingdom, however, your parents have a different plan for you.
꒰m!orc ₊⊹ afab!reader꒱
𝐹or as long as you can remember, you have been allured by the forbidden. Whenever your parents commanded you to abstain from a certain act or sternly prohibited you from engaging in another, it ignited a fervor within your being. And inevitably, you succumbed to its allure.
Your relationship with your parents was not a harmonious one. From the time you were but a child, they made it abundantly clear that you were not conceived out of their love for one another, but rather out of an obligation to the throne. To them, you were an inconvenience, a mere hindrance that they longed to be rid of. Thus, you existed in a perpetual state of unease, forever uncertain of their next move.
The castle bustled with activity this week, the number of knights seemed to have multiplied, and your encounters with your parents grew scarce. Your daily meals together became non-existent- not that you were complaining. Instead, during supper, they scorned and mocked you—drawing comparisons to your elder cousin who had recently become betrothed to a Duke. You were aware that they would arrange a marriage for you; it was inevitable, but you hoped it would be to someone who would eventually cherish you as you would them.
Verily, this day seemed naught but a replica of the day prior—a day draped in melancholy. The heavens were adorned with clouds of a somber ashy hue, obscuring the radiant sun in its entirety, and permitting but a scant ray of light to penetrate. You lay sprawled on your bed; the clamor from beyond your door kept you from getting any sleep, so you opt to lay there, eyes shut and breathing even.
The two hefty thuds at your door jolt you awake, your eyes snapping to the entrance. A servant girl stood there, her gaze piercing, and her upper lip curled in a sneer. "The King and Queen request your presence for a meal in the dining chamber."
You release a heavy sigh and nod. "Yes, I shall join them shortly, Nadia." she scoffs and closes the door with a soft thud. Rubbing the remnants of sleep from your eyes, you rose from your bed, slipping into your shoes with a sense of resignation. Hastily, you arranged your disheveled hair and adjusted your attire in the mirror, preparing yourself for the impending encounter. Finally, summoning your resolve, you embarked on the descent towards the dining hall.
Your stomach churns uncomfortably as you motion towards the knights, fingers twisting nervously as they swing open the heavy oak doors. Stepping into the chamber, you swiftly bow and linger there for a moment, awaiting permission to be seated. "Hail to the Sun and Moon of the realm." Your sire grunts and gestures for you to take a seat; you release a shaky breath and settle across from your mother, who pays you no mind.
Within the dining hall, a profound stillness prevails, accompanied solely by the gentle clatter of utensils upon porcelain plates. You dare to disrupt the silence, your heart constricting within your breast, burdened by your uneasiness. " Pray tell, have I heard true? Have the demons breached the borders, causing mayhem? Is that why the ranks of the noble knights have swelled in recent days?"
The older man looks up from his meal, steely eyes on your face. "I did not deem you astute enough to discern matters of such nature, but aye, it is true. The Orcs shall breach the barrier if we do not do something. The knights from Tvatian shall not grace us with their presence for a week's time, yet our defenses wane with each passing moment."
The sound of your mother's throat being cleared reverberates through the air, abruptly drawing your eyes towards her. "You shall soon attain the age of twenty, my dear. Do you have any intentions of entering into wedlock?" Her voice possesses a cloying sweetness, signifying her ulterior motives; she is forever scheming. As you carefully place your knife and fork on the table, you grant her your undivided focus. "Aye, mother," you reply, your words tinged with a touch of uncertainty.
With a disapproving click of her tongue, she gracefully lifted her goblet to her lips, attempting to conceal the mischievous grin that flickered across her features. "Verily, a little bird has whispered in my ear that Orcs take pleasure in having humans as mere playthings, using them as harlots and passing them amongst themselves. How dreadful."
Your hands clench beneath the table, and you struggle to suppress the bile that threatens to rise. Your heart thumps sporadically in your chest, almost painfully. What is she implying? "Pray tell, what is the essence of your words?"
"The royal family's expectations are not to be taken lightly, my child. If you persist in shirking your responsibilities by avoiding marriage and offspring, alternative measures must be considered. You shall be delivered to the head Orc at the border; mayhap that will pacify them until the Tavatian knights arrive." Your father had spoken this time, causing you to swiftly turn your gaze towards him. Tears welled up in your eyes, and a soft laughter escaped your lips. "Pray, father, assure me that you jest."
The answer lies within his silence. Your hands collide with the table, your head sways vehemently from side to side. "Nay, nay! You shall not subject me to this. What offense have I caused thee? I have obeyed all your commands unquestioningly, and you are planning to— Nay, I shall not proceed."
As the succulent salmon dances on her fork, your mother's laughter fills the air, resonating with a warmth that belies the gravity of her words. "My dear child, you find yourself bereft of options. You shall be deemed a traitor to the noble lineage and condemned to perish before your very birthday." A lump lodges itself in your throat, and tears stream down your face, as you rue the moment you stepped out of your room. "For what reason do you bear such animosity towards me?"
"Escort her back to her chamber; she's giving me indigestion," your mother states with a grimace. The knights pause briefly, uncertain of how to guide you away. Dismissing them with a wave of your hand, you rise from your chair and exit the chamber, tears clouding your sight. The journey back is unsettling, with the maids gossiping and gesturing, their disdain evident on their faces, and their disapproving gazes following you.
The door is forcefully slammed shut behind you, and with great urgency, your feet carry you to your bed, where you collapse with a heavy sigh. Almost immediately, your pillow becomes saturated with the tears that pour forth, and you huddle into yourself, simply becoming smaller.
Indeed, you knew this would occur eventually, but you hadn't thought you would be handed over to some hideous monster who would likely slay you upon arrival. Violent sobs wrack your body, shaking you to the core, while your nose runs uncontrollably, the pillow muffles a scream of agony.
After half an hour had passed, you lay there, sleep welcoming you with warm arms. The answer to this puzzle would reveal itself upon your awakening.
—
Woken by the sound of shuffling, faint whispers, and delicate clinks, you remain motionless, filled with trepidation, and unwilling to stir from your position. You quickly clench your eyes shut upon hearing the intruder approach. As much as you desired to confront them, you were also intrigued to uncover their intentions within your room.
"Seize her limbs; we must transport her to the dungeon." In an instant, your heart falters, trembling fiercely, and for a moment, your breath is held captive. As your eyes snap open, the ceiling of your chamber looms above you. Swiftly, you strike at the person nearest to you, expressing gratitude to the gods as you hear their curse.
Emerging hastily from the confines of your bed, you sprint towards the exit, a shrill cry escaping your lips as a hand clutches your ankle. You descend abruptly, your chin colliding with the cold marble beneath, silently expressing gratitude for the prudent act of placing your tongue against the roof of your mouth in the final moments.
Swiftly flipping over, you kick frantically, tears streaming down your face as your legs are forcefully spread apart, and the assailant inserts themselves between your thighs, seizing hold of your arms.
Your vision blurs as a heavy slap is brought across your face. The brief respite from your struggle grants the assailants the opportunity to lay a cloth upon your nostrils. Your eyes flutter shut, darkness casting a shadow upon your vision. The feel of your body being lifted is the only thing you remember.
Within the confines of the cell, you find yourself in a state of contemplation, your head gently leaning against the cold metal bars. The sharp sound of heels striking the ground causes you to straighten up. The passage of time remains elusive, yet the atmosphere hints at the arrival of a new day, shrouded in the quiet of dawn.
Your mother's face came into view, causing you to sneer in disdain as you buried your head in your knees, refusing to meet her gaze. The very sound of her voice sent shivers down your spine, igniting a mixture of anger and sorrow within you. She callously auctioned you off, displaying a complete lack of concern for your well-being.
"I reckoned it would be preferable for you to don your best attire, but it would be futile. A watchman shall be present shortly to guide you to the border, make no disturbance, do you understand? 'Twould be unsightly if you do."
You ignore her, but deep down, you are filled with dread to venture towards the border. You longed to weep and plead with her to refrain from sending you, but it would only wound your pride. Instead, she smiles and draws nigh unto the prison bars. "When we emerge victorious in this war, and if you are still breathing, I shall dispatch you to a brothel. I couldn't possibly have such a defiled child. Revel in your sojourn there, my dear."
The clatter-clack of her footwear slowly vanishing into the distance brings forth a torrent of tears. Why must this befall you? What sin have you committed to warrant such treatment? The jingle-jangle of keys catches your attention; the guard stands before you with a look of pity. "Your majesty, the time has arrived."
You nod in a pitiful manner and rise from the ground, using your soiled hands to dry your tears, leaving traces of dirt on your cheeks. As you draw near to the guard, he pulls down his sleeve and tenderly wipes your cheeks with a sympathetic smile. You bow softly in gratitude and proceed to walk with him to the carriage.
He assists you inside and closes the door; a click prompts you to peer through the tiny gap. A lock secures the door; as you lock eyes with the guard, he merely sighs and shakes his head. "The Queen has requested this. I beg your pardon, Your Majesty."
You remain silent, leaning back in the seat and staring blankly at the castle. You see your father standing at his office window, observing. You avoid his gaze, curling up in the seat. Then, as the carriage sets in motion, your heart swells, and tears flow.
The carriage's abrupt jolt awakens you from your nap; the sun is just beginning to descend, signaling the end of a day filled with endless riding. The only noise is the steady trot of the horses and the occasional whisper of the soldiers. Have you arrived already? You swallow nervously and flinch as the door is forcefully opened. "We have arrived, your highness."
You nod and sit up, clasping his hand to disembark from the carriage. Your eyes swiftly survey the surroundings. Despite the tales, the border seemed relatively serene. You couldn't hear anything from beyond the wall. At length, a throat is cleared, causing you to look up, and the guard beckons you along. You hesitate for only a moment before fortifying your resolve and walking forward.
After much anticipation, the distant voices grow more distinct. "Captain, 'tis here! Shall we unseal the gates?" The clamor of the ponderous wheels turning and ascending is loud in your ears. The gate opens enough to allow your passage beneath. They weren't wasting time at all. The guard places a hand on your lower back and pushes you forward gently. "The Orc General has agreed to receive you; he's on the other side waiting."
You suppress the lump in your throat and proceed, every gaze fixed upon you. The wall loomed thick and intimidating, and you couldn't shake off the fear of it collapsing on you as you reached the other side. However, as you eventually crossed over, your gaze locked with his.
Standing tall at a minimum of 9 feet, he possessed a powerful build adorned with thick muscles, and hair decorating his chest. Dark brown hair cascaded down to his waist woven into an intricate braid, contrasting against his pear-colored complexion and a thick beard enveloped his jaw. Scars crisscrossed his body, enhancing his rugged charm. Despite his blunt tusks, one of which was slightly chipped, there was no denying the outrageous attractiveness of this Orc.
As he takes a step forward, an instinctual reflex compels you to retreat, a shiver of trepidation coursing through your being. Your legs, heavy as if forged from lead, refuse to heed your desperate plea for escape. A subtle chuckle escapes his lips, the corners curling upwards in a smug grin. "Time is not a luxury I possess, little human," he mocks, his voice dripping with impatience.
You part your lips to utter a response, but only silence greets your futile attempt. The resounding thud of the closing wall seals your grim destiny, causing your weakened knees to buckle beneath you, surrendering to the tender embrace of the grassy ground. With a deep sigh, he strides towards you, casting a towering shadow over your slumped figure, a chilling reminder of his overpowering presence.
With utmost ease, he effortlessly lifts you, as if you were as light as a feather. Your body tenses in his embrace, a mixture of vulnerability and anticipation. The tears well up, threatening to spill over. Surprisingly, his touch is tender, his hands delicately traversing your legs and back. Summoning your courage, you manage to muster a question, your voice trembling slightly.
"Might I inquire about your name?" Despite your hesitant speech, he pays no mind, his voice resonating with a deep timber that sends a surge of desire coursing through your veins. A flush of warmth spreads across your face, compelling you to avert your gaze and focus on your lap. "I am Loran, the General of the Mammoth Clan."
Silence envelops the air for a fleeting moment before your voice breaks through once more. "My name is (Name)" He acknowledges your introduction with a subtle hum, and together, you navigate through the labyrinthine paths until you arrive at a large tent. With utmost care, he settles you upon a sumptuous bed adorned with furs, then proceeds to position himself near a table, obscuring its contents from your prying eyes.
A knot tightens in your throat as you summon the courage to voice your deepest fear. "Might you have intentions of devouring me?" you whisper, recoiling at the childlike vulnerability that tinges on your words.
His laughter causes a flutter in your chest; every aspect of him leaves your insides twisted. At last, he ceases his actions and pivots to meet your gaze, his arms folded. You had to physically remind yourself to avert your eyes from his well-defined muscles. "Would you like me to?" His voice carries a teasing lilt, yet his words hint at something more intimate.
You shake your head in denial and draw your knees closer to your body. He was nothing like the figure you had imagined; you were convinced that your life would have ended by now. Your gaze wanders aimlessly as you delve into your own musings. Unbeknownst to you, he crouches down before you. The calloused tips of his fingers grazing your chin send a shiver down your spine. Your eyes meet his, and you find yourself holding your breath.
"The hour grows late; retire for the night. "
You offer a silent nod, watching him leave the tent. Following his guidance, you settle back onto the furs. After the tumultuous events of the day, slumber swiftly envelops you, embracing the plush comfort of the bedding.
The warmth seeping into your skin prompts you to wriggle out of the furs. The weight of an arm flung over your stomach arrests you, dread settling in your heart and coiling around it like a vice. Though yesterday's events come rushing back to you and you relax, your tense body melting into Loran's embrace.
Despite the circumstances that brought you here, he had shown nothing but kindness, even playfulness - he didin't really make you uneasy, and it seemed as though a burden had been lifted from your shoulders.
In the realm of uncertainty, his actions remained capricious, yet amidst this unpredictability, a newfound liberation enveloped your being, you were free. Loran, with an irresistible allure, draws you nearer, your bodies melding as your front meets his. You place your hands on his chest and gently create distance, huffing as he cuddles closer.
After struggling a bit more, you come to a stop and seize the opportunity to examine him closely. Withdrawing your hand from his chest, you gently place it on his cheek, relishing its velvety texture. Loran possessed a striking appearance. Tracing your fingers along his lips, the sensation of his tusks lightly brushing against your fingertips captivates you once more. Their smoothness leaves you mesmerized. The rounded tips are gentle and harmless; they would not cause any discomfort if you were to share a kiss.
Blushing with embarrassment, your cheeks turn a rosy hue, and for a fleeting moment, you seek solace by burying your face into his chest. Raising your gaze once more, you cautiously wave your hand before his face, ensuring his continued slumber. With no signs of movement and a steady rhythm of breath, a sigh of relief escapes your lips.
Gradually, you shift your position, ascending along his form, while your heart flutters nervously within your chest. With a mixture of fascination and unease, you lean closer, drawn to an inexplicable magnetism emanating from him. His lips, so alluring, entice you irresistibly.
Placing your hand on his cheek, you lean in with deliberate slowness, capturing his lips with yours. The sensation of his tusks grazing your skin sends a rush of pleasure up your spine. With closed eyes, you deepen the kiss, savoring the unexpected softness of his lips. His taste is intoxicating, akin to a forbidden elixir. You have always been drawn to forbidden pleasures.
With a hint of reluctance, you retreat, allowing your eyes to slowly unveil the world around you. A startled gasp escapes your lips as your gaze meets Loran's. Despite your endeavors to break free from his embrace, his arms encase you like unyielding steel, entrapping you. Loran's chuckle resonates with a profound and drowsy timbre, while his hand ascends to firmly grasp your chin. "Do not flee from me, Sma ni." ( little one )
His lips are on yours, gentle and governing. His other hand gripping your waist and quickly lifting you onto his chest. The sensation of his thick and moist tongue overpowering your mouth elicits a fervent moan from deep within you, while your thighs instinctively clasp around his stomach. As his hands glide up your top, the pads of his fingers diligently work out the tension in your soft skin. Gradually, they find their way to your hips, expertly guiding them to grind against his abdomen.
With a soft whine escaping your mouth, you break the connection of his kiss, and your tongue lazily protrudes, leaving a trail of warm saliva on your chin. A primal growl resonates from deep within his chest, causing your thoughts to blur. Your hands instinctively find their way to his chest, the rough hair gently tickling your palms. The pressure on your hips eases, and his hand tightly grasps your hair, enabling him to sit up and halt the rhythmic grind of your hips.
A soft whimper escapes your lips as the throbbing sensation between your thighs intensifies. Loran's lips trail along the curve of your throat, delicately nibbling at your tender skin, while his tongue glides with ease. Suddenly, a tearing sound startles you and a rush of cool air caresses your newly bared legs. The remnants of your shredded trousers gracefully descend to the floor, leaving you vulnerable and exposed.
Upon the velvety fur, Loran tenderly positions you, his voracious eyes meticulously exploring the expanse of your body. In a swift motion, he removes the sole obstruction that conceals your body, leaving you vulnerable to his cravings. You clench your thighs, your pussy pulsating with emptiness. This man was sinful; he looked so delectable, his lips shimmering with the remnants of your passionate kisses, and his complexion adorned with a captivating flush.
He lets out a deep groan, settling himself amidst your thighs, the ache in your legs a mere whisper compared to the intensity of his touch, tongue dancing over your nipples, nipping and tugging. Loran's hand travels up your body, his thick fingers entering your warm, wet mouth. You suppress a gag and suck on them shyly, tears welling up in your eyes. As his fingers delve deeper into your throat, you grasp his wrist firmly, your hips grinding against his thick bulge.
Loran pulls his fingers from your mouth, watching the rivulets of saliva drip down his digits. Leaving a glistening trail of moisture along your body, Loran delicately caresses his fingers through the soft curls of hair on your pussy, teasing you with the soft touch of his fingertips. With deliberate precision, he gradually eases one digit into the confines of your snug entrance stretching you. You pull your fleshy bottom lip into your mouth, teeth digging painfully. Your lashes flutter, exposing the whites of your eyes as they roll back in blissful surrender, eyebrows arching. Your mewls are soft and pleading. "Mmph! L-Loran. Please "
Your voice is a siren's call to him, as you whimper and plead for him. His desire to possess you completely, to fuck you full of his cum, to have you swollen with his young, consumes him. The mere thought of it almost brings him to the brink of release. Granting mercy upon your adorable, fucked out face, he finally sinks his finger into your cunt, relishing the exquisite tightness that embraces him, while your delicate hands clutch his braid and tug.
With his other hand, he gently cups your cheeks between his large, powerful fingers, causing your lips to pucker. His mouth descends upon yours, messy and dominating, leaving a trail of mingled saliva that pools down your flushed cheeks. He chuckles as your eyes wander elsewhere, glazed and hazy with pleasure as he eases a single finger inside you.
A high-pitched sound escapes your lips as he expertly probes a sensitive spot deep within you, causing your hips to tremble and your inner walls to clench around his fingers. Leaning closer, his warm breath brushes against your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. "Ayh lat naka ve cum, sma shara? " His mother tongue is foreign to you, but it sounds absolutely erotic, especially while he's stroking your drooling pussy skillfully. You shudder fervently, emitting mewls and whimpers, as the squelching noises of his thrusts fill the confined space of the tent. “I—uhn~ w-wait p-please, Lor…” You babble nonsensically. ( are you going to cum, little human? )
Loran, in a teasing mood, complies with your dumb prattling, and moves away from you, fingers slipping out with an erotic pop. A soft whimper escapes your lips, your lower lip jutting out in a pout as tears well up in your eyes from the empty feeling in your pussy, your eyes widen at seeing him suck on his dampened fingers. “N-no, why’d you stop!”
With a chuckle, the Orc leans in to press a tender kiss on your flushed cheeks, his warm breath sending shivers down your spine. "I simply did as you asked, Faushnu," he whispers. Pulling back slightly, he studies your expression - your eyebrows furrowed, lips parted, and your chest rising and falling rapidly. "I did not mean for this," you whimper, grinding your hips against his growing bulge. “M-more. Give me more.” You give him a stern glare, that only turns him on more, his little hostage was so demanding. ( baby )
"Of course, Your Highness," he says, his tone dripping with playful mockery. Loran's large hands firmly grasp your waist, swiftly maneuvering you onto your stomach. With a gentle yet commanding motion, he elevates your hips, causing your face to be buried in the soft furs beneath you. The sensation is almost agonizing as your back arches, eliciting a sharp squeal from your lips. A glob of warm saliva unexpectedly lands on your moistened pussy, causing an involuntary clenching reaction. "What are yo--?"
Before you can finish, the sudden roughness of his tongue against your throbbing cunt has you seeing stars. His feral growls reverberate through the air, as his tongue delves and ravishes you with an insatiable fervor. Reduced to a whimpering wreck, tears of rapturous delight cascade down your flushed face. Desperate to regain control, you weakly press your small hand against the crown of his head, attempting to halt the relentless onslaught. "No more, please, m'gunna cum. Want to cum for you," you manage to slur amidst incoherent babbling, your words a contradictory mix.
Loran, enraptured by your musings, fingers your pussy once again, effortlessly finding that spongey nerve inside of you and deftly curling his thick finger into it, time and again. A torrent of scorching pleasure engulfs your entire being, as you succumb to an intense climax, your trembling thighs embracing his head while your pussy flutters around his finger.
" Loran! "You slur, thighs still convulsing as the feel of Loran's hands on the fat of your hips seems multiplied, your mind filled with goo. The rustle of fabric falling to the ground barely registers before his thick cock presses into your pussy, hands guiding your hips onto him. Warmth trickles onto your pulsing cunt, his saliva lubing where you connect. You clench around him, emitting obscene moans.
He delves deeper, your snugness yielding to his thick, heavy cock. You swear you can feel every pulsating vein, every ridge of him inside of you. You whimper and whine when he fucks half of his big cock into your tiny little hole, and you thrash and let out small mewls of pleasure. "Mmph, Lor--!! it won't fit!" you whimper amidst sobs.
"Hm?" He utters, his voice a low hum, as he observes with rapt attention as you stretch around his green, monstrous cock. The pressure within your abdomen steadily intensifies, inch by inch, until Loran thrusts in the last couple of inches, his large balls flush against your engorged clit. You're already fucked stupid, pupils blown, and moans strewing from your lips. The Orc takes hold of your hand, guiding it towards your stomach, allowing you to feel the undeniable presence of his shaft protruding from your belly. "Do you feel me? Feel my cock in your insides, my little human?"
With a forceful motion, he retreats, then thrusts forcefully into you, his grip tightening on your hair as he pulls. A fervent moan escapes your lips, as the resounding collision of his hips against your ass fills the air, the only thing you can hear. The wet squelching of your arousal intermingles with his precum, cascading onto the opulent furs beneath you. His name becomes a sacred mantra, slipping from your tongue like a fervent prayer. "S'good, m'gunna cum, let me cum, please, please."
With a gentle caress, Loran's hand ascends your stomach, pinching your sensitive nipples. You mewl, back arching as you clench and pulse around his thick length, cumming harder than before, a wave of darkness gently tinting your vision. A low, guttural moan reverberates from deep within you, harmonizing with Loran's unyielding thrusts. “That's a good fuckin’ girl.”
The Orc's hand comes down on your ass, observing the quivering flesh. Your violated hole trembles around Loran's thick length, and he snickers, his hips stuttering. "You're mine. Hm? Do you understand, pet?" His thrusts became more profound, faster, not giving you rest, groaning as you nod quickly, whimpering.
You turn your gaze towards him, his fingers constricting in your tresses. "Loran, want you to cum inside me, please." Your feeble arms emerge from beneath your form, delicate hands reaching to spread your pussy wider. "You will, right?"
Your wanton plea hurls the massive Orc over the brink. Loran's hips slam into yours once more as his scorching cum coats your walls; the copious amount of it had you cumming once more. Loran continues to pump his seed into you, his cock still hard and balls full of cum. He longed to see you swollen with his offspring; he wouldn't stop until he knew you were trapped with him.
You are not permitted to rest until the early morning, curled against his chest with his seed leaking from your stretched opening. Your body is tender, marked with bruises on your neck and chest. Loran places his large hand on your cheek; although he is running late for the meeting, he decides to allow you more time to sleep.
He lifts you gently, thankful that he has cleaned you up and changed the bedding. You snuggle into his warmth, almost convincing him to delay for another hour. "My zemar, it's time to wake up. We must rise before the sun sets." (my heart)
Stirring in his arms, your eyelashes flutter before you slowly open your bleary eyes. Attempting to close them once more, his hearty chuckle resonates, partially rousing you. Placing you gently on the bed, he drapes one of his shirts over you, guiding your arms through the sleeves. Loran picks you up again, cradling you as he carries you out of the tent, shielding your eyes from the glaring sun. The short walk to the other side of the campsite goes unnoticed by you.
He arrives promptly, his raven perched gracefully on its stand. A soft whistle escapes his lips, a signal for the bird to gather the troops. Loran takes his place at the head of the table, positioning you to face him, your legs wrapped around his waist. With spit on his fingers, he traces circles around your cunt, pleased that it had returned to its original state, tight and warm. After lubricating your entrance, he spits on his palm and wraps his member in a firm grip, ensuring that it's slick.
Loran aligns himself with your little hole and eases inside, emitting a deep groan at the vice grip; you let out a sleepy moan, tightening around him. His large hands grip the fat of your hips, guiding you down the rest of his thick length. He pulls his shirt over your ass, concealing where his cock is nestled inside of you.
He has to stop himself from fucking you on the table in front of all his tribe members. Once he had you in the perfect position, his soldiers began to file into the room. He couldn't help but notice how your warm, tight hole was becoming slick. Unbeknownst to you, his thick cock was already buried deep within you.
The meeting unfolds seamlessly. With nightfall as their ally, they conspire to dismantle the impenetrable walls of the Kingdom on the morrow. A sacred covenant governs The Mammoth Clan, dictating that the fairer sex and the innocent offspring shall be spared from any affliction. Thus, the innocent shall be granted mercy and protection.
Awakening towards the end, your pussy pulsating and enveloping something thick and long. A twitching motion stirs inside you, nudging your G-spot. A soft moan escapes your lips as you hide your face in his neck. Loran dismisses it as your mere awakening, soothingly caressing your back. Only a fool would miss the evidence of your arousal - the glistening juices trickling down your bare thighs and the hint of green meeting a clenching hole
" Dismissed. "
The orcs file out of the room, speaking amongst each other. Loran's gaze descends upon your petite frame, concealed beneath his garments. He looks feral. Once the auditory commotion subsides, you cautiously lift your head, locking eyes with his penetrating stare.
"Loran, please."
The Orc emits a deep snarl, his lips forcefully meeting yours as he firmly grasps the flesh of your hips, hoisting you off his slick member. Swiftly, he plunges you back down, thrusting into you with fervor, fucking you onto him. You're moaning mess, the spit from your sloppy kiss sliding down your chin and eyes rolling to the back of your head. The sound of wet slapping resonates loudly within the confines of the tent. With a gasp for air, you disengage from him, your hands finding solace on his broad shoulders.
A particular thrust causes the swollen, mushroom-shaped tip of his cock to abuse your g-spot and your moan is shrill. You climax, your body trembling around him, leaving a creamy, ivory ring at the base of his cock. Stars burst in your vision as you weakly press your lips against his throat, whimpering as he continues to thrust into you, your sensitive and throbbing core tender. " Lor-.. no more.. s’too.. much!" you sputter, sloppily pressing your lips to his and sucking on his large tongue.
Despite the roughness of his hips snapping into yours, he caresses your sides softly and pulls away from your kiss, licking his lips. "Be a good pet, hm? Let me use my pussy, can you do that for me? " You nod hesitantly, and he smiles, sending your stomach to unfurl languidly. "S'my good girl." You bury your face in his neck with a whimper, but when your blunt little teeth sink into his collarbone it pushes him over the edge; and he stands up with you still bouncing on his cock, thrusting so deeply that you hiss. Ropes of cum paint your pulsing walls, filling you up.
Loran's shallow thrusts ensure not a single drop is wasted as you envelop him in your embrace, closing your eyes and inhaling deeply.
Mayhap, the circumstance of being dispatched to this place was not as grievous as first imagined...
connected with this post!
#monsterfucker#monster fucker#monster smut#monster headcanons#monster lover#monster nsft#monster x reader#monster x human#monster x you#monster romance#tw monsterfucking#fantasy#female writers#possessive#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writerscommunity#female reader#mates#monster imagine#orc x reader#orc romance#orc x human#orc smut#size difference#male monster#monster bf#size k!nk#submisive and breedable#deunmiu dessie
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Who knew this orc suitor of yours would be laying panting and desperate beneath you in a span of 2 weeks? Absolutely no one.
There that ginormous, muscly and beefy orc sweating and whimpering just for you, begging you to atleast touch him a little on his swollen balls, maybe just a peck on his lips would be just as perfect, but enough to make him explode and release all the load he's been compiling over the week, he hoped to unload it inside you though but as long as you're satisfied, he'll gladly kneel down for anything.
You lay comfortably on top of him, peppering sloppy kisses all over his lips, his neck, almost gobbling him up, he just embraces your waist and accepts your affection like the good boy he is, isnt he? Oh but he wouldn't take that unless you say it.
Being a little too carried away into the moment, you didn't even notice the way he's slowly trying to hump unto your pelvic area, just trying to get the slightest bit of friction on his full dick, but of course that angelic face of yours comes with a oppositing teasing demeanor.
"Patience.." that one word shuts off all his motor skills truth to be told, he's not even his own monster anymore, he's just yours, there to please you, to let you toy with him, let you use him, break him even.
"My sweet please.." trembling voice begging, just begging you to let him have a taste, but in all honesty, you were the one getting impatient.
"Just a little then okay?" Your sweet, sticky voice whispering in his ear, giving him that cue to start lapping you up like the starved orc he is, a thirsty man hungry for that cunt, its that only thing that could truly hydrate him, nothing more.
What was little about any of that when your juices are all up on his face, with 2 of his fingers pumping inside, deeper, deeper, and then completely out, and then inside, and deeper and deeper and out again, the squeelching noises is all you can hear inside your room, his pants, his desperate groans and little side comments like "all f' me" and "jus' what i need"
You attempt to close your legs a little to give yourself a little break, but his beefy arms just stop it and completely spreads it to its maximum flexibility, giving him the full access to the delicacy infront of him.
You cum, clear liquid gushing unto his mouth and he still continues to lap you up with vigor, the overstimulation gets to you and you scream with so much pleasure, gripping the sheets and your eyes rolling back and your mouth wide agape.
Its been minutes, maybe hours? And the bedsheets are soaked, this man not tired, and your pussy quivering from making out with that gorgeous mans' mouth.
You sweared on the heavens above you NEED to get this man a ring on his finger.
It came to the point where you were in doggie, your legs stuck to each other, you can feel your cunnies lips squished together, and this mans' tongue lapping between that tiny gap, then completely mouthing your whole pussy, he grips your hips and pushes it deeper into his face, the pressure of his hooked nose pressing unto your labia and ass is just too much, you try to wiggle away but something about that awakens your orc's instinct, he pulls your hips deeper, deeper unto his face, the grip that his fingers have on your hips is just diabolical, but nothing more than being eaten out from the back right?
"Just give me one last sweetheart, okay ill be good i swear.."
Whats what he said the last time
#size difference#male monster#monster bf#monster fucker#size k!nk#female reader#monster smut#submisive and breedable#minotaur smut#orc x reader#orc boyfriend#orc smut
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A Brutish Love | Monster Boyfriend
You never left your village much, you never saw the need to. When you did, it was to the same place to forage berries when they were in season in the Springtime. You had to be sneakier the past couple of years though, the elders warning people of an Orc tribe living nearby. They didn’t want anyone leaving and being caught without realizing it, just for the village to be raided or set ablaze, or both.
While you understood the concerns, you never saw the need to fear the fact that they were nearby, holding the thought process that everyone needed a place to live. Though, that was before you were caught.
^___________^___________^
The sun was setting, which meant that everyone was either indoors, getting ready to close their store or spending time getting the last bit of the late spring sun before retiring for the night. You, however, thought it was the perfect time to sneak out of your own cabin to go to the little spot that had an abundance of berries that you used to pick with your parents when you were young.
Your father was a baker, never let a single berry that went uneaten go to waste. And your mother was a seamstress, prided herself in her work and always reassured you that whatever you stained with the dripping berry juice, she’d either get the stain out or make you a new one. You missed them.
You grabbed your father’s old basket, lined it with your mother’s old towel for it and set off into the woods, keeping a lantern in your hand to light your way once the sun made its way out of sight and the moon lifted to show itself in the sky.
Every footstep sounded louder than you knew they were, your eyes rapidly darting back towards the village until it was out of sight and you found your way in the little area that was filled to the brim with berry bushes. You kneeled by one, setting your lantern down and picking them, letting them fall with a silent thump into your basket. When you picked enough from one bush, you moved to another, and then another, until your basket was full and your lantern was practically out, leaving the moonlight to guide you. But as you stood and dusted off your clothes, you heard heavy footsteps, and you tensed, rushing with your basket to a tree, trying to hide behind it.
You heard a voice before you were able to fully hide, though. “I know you’re there.”
Your heart raced, pounding against your chest as you heard the deep, raspy voice. And it wasn’t as if you were able to hide, so you peeked out around the tree, eyes widening when they had to snap up to look at the Orc fully.
He was looking down at you with a tilted head, an eyebrow cocked. He didn’t look too thrilled, but he didn’t look angry either, an unreadable expression masking what he was really feeling. “Don’t you humans normally stay in past sunset?”
“Most of us,” you answered, though your voice was barely audible in the quiet night air. He seemed to have caught what you said though and a little glimpse of a smile appeared on his lips.
“Not you though?” You shook your head, but shrugged. His eyes darted down to the basket and then around at the berry bushes surrounding the two of you. “Do you normally pick berries when the moon is out?”
“No,” you responded. “Do you?”
“No,” he said back, that glimpse turning into a real smile as he side-stepped over to a tree, leaning against the rough bark of it.
You saw one of his hands move his long braid over his shoulder, letting it rest against him as the rest of his muscular, yet severely scarred body stayed still. When you looked back up at his face, you noticed that his right tusk was chipped, missing the pointed tip like the one on the left has. You didn’t ask about it, you thought better not to, especially since you didn’t even know his name, but it looked like he’s been through a lot.
“Didn’t someone teach you that it was rude to stare? Especially at something much bigger than you?” He grinned. He was teasing, that much was obvious, but the words of your village’s elders rang in your mind and you moved back towards the tree you were hiding behind before. He let out a small snort, eyes looking you up and down before he rolled his eyes and pushed off of the tree. “Relax.”
“Hard to do for me…in general really…” you said, and you almost cringed at how pathetic that sounded. His brows knitted together, but you shook your head and looked back towards where you came from. “I should be getting home before it gets to be too late-”
“Already? We just started talking,” he said, not fully cutting you off, yet not letting you trail off the way you were going to do. His grin grew and he took a step closer to you. “Don’t tell me I scare you.”
“You don’t,” you said. Half-truth. The fact that he could crush your skull with your hands scared you. Him just standing there didn’t. “It’s just…late.”
“Not late enough for you to forage though?” He asked, lips pursed the best they could be with his tusks. “You can just admit it, wouldn’t be the first time my race has scared yours. You probably have people telling you to lock your doors, hide or else the big, bad Orcs are gonna come get you or raid your town.”
He wasn’t wrong, you thought to yourself, but he did sound awfully bitter. “Does that happen often to you…?”
“More than your people cause wars, which says a lot, doesn’t it?” You couldn’t argue, nor did you really see the need to. Humans didn’t really have a good reputation to anyone…even to other humans. You only shrugged, giving him an apologetic look.
His gaze softened and he shook his head, huffing out a sigh, saying after a beat of silence, “I’m Cortek.”
Your eyebrows lifted and with a nod, you said your own name, corners of your mouth curling up ever-so-slightly. “What’re you doing out here, Cortek?”
He shrugged. “I like walking during the night.”
You nodded, humming quietly. You breathed out, pursing your lips and looking down to the basket in your hands. “Why are you foraging when it’s dark out?”
You paused, briefly questioning if you wanted to tell him the truth or not. You decided to anyway. “My village really isn’t the biggest on leaving or being out past sunset.”
“Why’s that?” he asked. Your eyes moved back up to him and he seemed to understand shortly after. “Ah. Right, my tribe’s close, isn’t it?”
You nodded again, offering him an apologetic glance. “Yea…the elders aren’t really…welcoming to anyone other than humans being near us…even Elves…and Dwarves…or others…”
Sighing, you stepped closer to him. “I think they’re talking bogus though, a lot of people my age do, but we can’t speak out against them without being reprimanded…so it’s easier to listen or to sneak around.”
You watched as his lips turned up a little and you were a little grateful that you were able to cheer him up a slight bit. “It’s like that in my tribe with the chief. Though you might end up with your head on a spear if you fight against the chief.”
“Remind me not to get on their bad side then,” you jested, hearing him breathe out a laugh before shaking his head and fixing the tunic that sat loosely on his body, covering the scars on his chest that you got a glimpse of earlier.
Looking back down at the berries, you clucked before getting an idea, tilting your head back up to meet his eyes. “Come back here tomorrow…same spot. Around the same time.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What for?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose,” you said, smiling before lifting your hand with a little wave, turning on your heel and walking off. “Same spot, same time, Cortek.”
“Yea yea,” you heard him say as you walked away, a silent laugh shaking your shoulders.
^___________^___________^
The sun was high and there you were, standing in your kitchen, in the comfiest clothes you could manage, a couple candle’s lighting up the area despite the light coming from them not being needed as you worked on making a simple pastry dough, reading over your father’s messy handwriting on the small card he scribbled the recipe on. The basket of berries were sitting off to the side on your counter, waiting to be turned into a jam so you could put them with the dough, watching you and probably judging you for working so hard just to bring a few with you that night when you saw Cortek again.
It wasn’t as if you were meaning to impress him…simply offering a few of them as a peace treaty. You didn’t have many friends in the village and if this was your one chance you had, you were taking it. You wanted to know more about him, maybe where he got his scars if he was up to sharing, but you weren’t exactly sure how he’d react if you just asked, you planned that question for another night if a friendship actually blossomed. Maybe then it’d also show the village that the Orcs aren’t bad. That there was nothing to be afraid of, even if they were intimidating appearance wise.
And once you got the dough in a muffin tin and in the oven, you began working on the jam, grabbing the recipe card for that out from under the dough card.
^___________^___________^
Nighttime came faster than you were expecting it, and without bothering to change into anything nicer, you wrapped up a few tarts and put them in one of the picnic baskets you had. Then, after making sure everything was clear and no one else was out, you rushed out of the village, heading back to the berry bushes.
When you slowed yourself down as you neared the area, you saw that Cortek was already there, waiting for you. His head picked up when he saw you and he flashed a little smile, wearing an outfit similar to what he was wearing the day prior: a loose tunic and loose, black pants, much like what you saw the knights wear when you visited the city years ago, being lucky enough to get a glimpse of a few of them outside of their armor. “You’re early.”
“Or are you late?” He responded, but his smile grew and it let you know that it was just a tease. His eyes glanced down at the basket in your hands, then around at the berry bushes. “Come to take the rest of the berries?”
You shook your head. “No, I made some tarts today, wanted to share them.”
He visibly froze, brows furrowing before his eyes moved to yours and the deep brown softened under the moonlight. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” you said, lifting the basket and walking up to him, only to guide the both of you on the ground, putting the basket between you two and opening it before handing him a small plate of tarts, and pulling out your own plate. You spoke after a moment, “My father used to bake these and share them around in the village. I’m not sure they’re as good as his, but…I tried my best.”
“Used to?” He asked. Your eyes got slightly wet and you pulled in a breath as your smile faltered.
“My parents went to the city one day. When they were supposed to come home a storm hit…and they never arrived,” you explained, not wanting to go into much more detail than you have already. You didn’t like talking about it, even after five years.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, pulling back the wrap over the plate. You shook your head.
“It’s fine…it happened years ago…the least I can do is keep their memories alive. Through tarts or something like it.” You just barely missed as his gaze softened further and he looked down at the tarts before back up to you. “They weren’t like the elders. I’m sure that if they could’ve afforded to move, we would’ve gone to a more inclusive town…”
“If it means anything, I’m glad they didn’t,” he said after a beat. “If they did, I wouldn’t have had you coming here with tarts.”
You breathed out a little laugh and nodded. “Yea…you have a point there.”
The air between the two of you went silent, and you watched him as he grabbed one of the tarts and took a bite out of it, waiting for his reaction, hoping you didn’t just disappoint your father for making them bad. Not that your father was ever disappointed in you, it was never in his nature.
Cortek caught your gaze when he was done chewing, a little smile upturning his lips before he nodded a little. “It’s good.”
Your shoulders slumped in relief and you were able to smile again, letting it grow when you finally noticed just how small the tart was compared to his hand, but he didn’t comment on it, so you weren’t going to. “Good- it was my first time making these after everything so I was a little nervous.”
“You shouldn’t be,” he said, taking another bite before eating the rest of it. You felt proud, even though you just followed a couple recipe cards correctly and they turned out how they were supposed to. But you were taking a win no matter where it came from.
The two of you spent a bit in silence, eating without feeling the need to talk until the tarts were done and the plates were back in the basket. You were sitting at the same distance from before, a little more than a foot apart, but you felt the need to get closer to him, and when you saw that his hair wasn’t in the braid that it was the day before, you took that chance and scooted closer to him a little bit. “Your hair isn’t in a braid tonight.”
Cortek paused for a beat, but lifted his hand and touched his hair, nodding with a small glance towards you. “Yea, why?”
You parted your lips, but after being able to think about it, you thought it was a bit weird to ask him if you could braid his hair so close from meeting him, so you shrugged instead. “Nothing…just like pointing out the obvious, I guess.”
He smiled a little, his hand dropping from his hair and nudging your arm. He didn’t say anything else, but the silence that returned was comfortable and the two of you spent the rest of the night under the moonlight and in the soft breeze that touched the night air.
^___________^___________^
As Spring turned to Summer, you grew more comfortable with leaving the village since your parents died, even going as far as to sneak out during the day to meet up with Cortek. You met his twin sister, Aloka a month ago, almost instantly getting her approval when he made a quip about her and you socked him in the arm, not that it did anything to a man that was two or three times bigger than you.
You considered him a genuine friend, the first one you’ve had in years, which, as sad as it sounded, it was true. You never realized that you didn’t have a real friend until you were truly alone in the world, and it was like that for a good long time.
You stood beside a lake Cortek had shown you soon after you emptied the bushes of their berries, forcing him to take most of them and bring back to his tribe, whether it was to eat or bake with. In return, and with a joke about how he didn’t want to see your massacre of the berry bushes anymore, so he showed you the lake that sat nearby, one that you didn’t even realize existed since your town used a river that must connect to the lake.
It only took ten minutes of waiting and distracting yourself with skipping rocks, for Cortek to arrive, wearing an open tunic that only really covered his arms and bottom torso with a visibly worn set of bottoms with a pair of boots. His hair was up in a low pony, and he grinned when he spotted you, scooping you up in his arms before squeezing you and setting you down to turn you to face him. “You’re early, Honey.”
Your cheeks warmed at the pet name, something he randomly decided to call you after learning that you put honey on most of your baked goods. You liked it nonetheless. “You’re just late, ‘Tek.”
He scoffed, waving his hand in the air. “Sure, sure, whatever you want to call it. I just know that you’re always painfully early and that you wait for me to arrive.”
You hummed, nodding along even though he was clearly talking out of his ass. “Or maybe you’re late.”
“I guess we’ll never know,” he said, smiling again before he sat down on the grass, helping you sit beside him. “Alo’ wants to see you again, and she also said that she wants you to make those orange cookies again.”
You breathed out a laugh. “She’s eating me out of house and home and she doesn’t even live with me,” you said.
He chuckled, wrapping his arms around his legs and tugging them so they’re flush with his chest, looking less like the warrior you were intimidated by in the beginning and more like a big, domestic puppy. “Eh, she’s just like that. It took her years to even eat something sweet. It’s a miracle she’s so attached to your baking.”
Your eyes softened and you smiled, a little thing, but it wasn’t like you could visibly portray how your heart felt at that moment. “I’ll make sure to bake some for her.”
Cortek smiled back at you and nodded, moving an arm before he tugged you against his body. You leaned against him, your eyes shutting and your heart skipping every so often. The moment felt so utterly-
Someone yelling your name snapped you out of your thoughts and your head snapped back, eyes meeting one of your neighbors looking at you with eyes the size of saucers, her gaze going between you and Cortek. The both of you stood and you pulled him behind you, even if he was the bigger one. “What are you doing?!”
You almost flinched at the shrill and she turned to run back to the village before you could answer. You wanted to chase after her, but you already knew that you were done for…the elders would find out and you’d be a goner even if you happened to catch her. So you sided and you looked up at Cortek, your expression now bittersweet as he rubbed your shoulders, moving to hold your arms. “You alright?”
“Not really,” you admitted. “I’m going to be in big trouble.”
“Do you want me to come with?” he asked. “...I don’t think anyone would let me go into your village, but I’d be right outside of it.”
You shook your head, even though you wished you could’ve agreed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, ‘Tek. Just…stay here, I’ll come back as soon as I can, alright? If it gets too late, go home and we’ll meet tomorrow.”
He gave you a look, but you patted his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
With that, you pulled from his grasp, and made the trek home, only to find the Elders at your house, waiting for you to arrive. Your heart sunk further and you didn’t start to talk until you let yourself in and then let them come in, all five piling in your small cottage. You parted your lips to start trying to explain yourself, but you were cut off shortly after you began to utter your first word.
“We told you- everyone to not leave the village. We said that there were Orcs nearby and we wanted to protect our village. And what do you do?” The leader -a short man lacking most of his all white hair- said. “You go off and spend time with an Orc! Are you trying to get our village raided? Destroyed?”
“That’s not what I was trying to do-”
“Then what were you trying to do?” He asked, cutting you off.
You stood there in silence for a beat, your lips pursing before you sighed and said, “The Orcs are nice, they don’t mean anyone harm.”
“They’re Orcs, they raid and they steal and they fight, that’s their culture. You’re putting yourself at risk, you’re putting everyone at risk,” he said, the other elders nodding in agreement. “Think of how your parents would feel about this? About you putting us all in danger.”
Your body tensed, your eyes widening and your lips parting before closing a few times. You wished you didn’t say no to Cortek coming along. “My parents wouldn’t discriminate over an entire race because you guys think that they’re dangerous. They could be, but how many wars have we started with the Elves? How many wars have our race started because we didn’t like people being different from us?”
You looked around, you saw the memories that were made there, and you knew that your parents wouldn’t want you to stick around if it meant that you weren’t going to be happy. When you looked back at the elders, who were still gawking at you for your little monologue, you took a breath. “I’m done. I’ll be gone by tonight. Don’t worry about me putting your little port of power in danger.”
Walking to the door, you opened it, motioning towards the outside. “Please leave. I need to pack.”
Some of the elders looked at you like you had two heads, but despite the lecture and disciplinary methods the leader clearly had planned for you, he looked at you solemnly and nodded, leading everyone out of the cottage and shutting the door behind him when he walked out. You were quick to start packing after that, finding what bags you were able to carry yourself and filling one with clothes. You stashed what books you could and emptied out the picture frames before pressing the photos in the books.
You brought one bag down and packed your father’s recipe cards and your mother’s towels and forced yourself to ignore the baskets that belonged to your parents, knowing that you couldn’t bring them with you no matter how much you wanted to. After that, you just focused on the necessities, filling the rest of the second bag with it, and managing to fill a third bag with memories you were afraid to let go, journals you had yet to finish.
It took you a long time to gather the courage to grab the bags and leave. You weighed that it was so much easier to stay than it was to leave, but yet you did. You grabbed your bags, and with a tearful look back at the house that you thought you’d be in forever, you left.
You walked back into the forest, your legs moving slower with the added weight of the bags and the emotions flooding your body, but you make it back to the lake, only to see Cortek pacing. He didn’t seem to notice you until you were almost beside him, his eyes lighting up, before his expression fell when he saw that you had bags with you. “...They didn’t.”
“They didn’t,” you confirmed. “...I did. It didn’t feel right staying in the village.”
He moved to you, grabbing two of the bags from you and carrying them like the weight meant nothing to him. “What’re you doing?”
“Carrying your bags, you’re coming with me,” he said simply, moving one of the bags to the other hand and holding them in one hand so his free one could grab yours. “I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I let you be homeless. I have some space in my hut back at the tribe.”
“You sure? Wouldn’t people react weirdly to you bringing me back?”
“Maybe some, but Aloka is pretty close to the chief and his partner so you’re staying no matter who complains,” he said, and you felt relief fill your heart, nodding.
“Remind me to make her those orange cookies,” you said, a little smile touching your lips despite the situation. He laughed, nodding and leading you to his tribe.
^___________^___________^
Summer turned to Fall and Fall eventually turned to Winter, you grew more at home in Cortek’s tribe than you did the past five years you lived alone in your old village. You essentially became the tribe’s baker, and while you were put together externally, you were internally freaking out, using and abusing your father’s recipe cards to make enough for everyone and then some. But it wasn’t that bad, you got a warm place to live, food, and you didn’t even have to do anything hard, since everyone else treated you like you’d break if you ever lifted an ax to get some firewood.
There was just one, little thing that left you reeling: you were hopeless with your newly gained feelings for Cortek. There was a reason that you always wanted to spend time with him, and gods did you figure out really fast that it wasn’t because you wanted to be good friends with him. Not that you ever complained about staying friends. You were happy being with him no matter what your relationship with him was.
You pulled a cardigan over your body, holding it tightly against your body as you braced yourself and went outside, your feet stepping onto the fortunate light feathering of snow that laid on the ground. You scrunched your nose at the sudden onslaught of cold and you squinted to keep walking, hating yourself for going outside already. You found Cortek outside of the little tavern hut the tribe made when they must’ve settled here. He was talking with a few other Orcs, all of which waved and gave you little smiles before he turned to look down at you, brows furrowing when he saw you in just a cardigan over your clothes. He walked over to you and met you halfway, tipping your head up as he leaned down a little. “Why’re you only wearing that?”
“I don’t have a coat,” you said. “I didn’t go out often when I lived alone.”
He sighed, giving you a concerned glance before he unclipped the fur that rested over his shoulders and put it on you, the cloak warming you instantly, but being a little long for your body. “Wear this then, I have another one in the house.”
“What about you now though?”
“Orcs don’t get that cold,” he explained. “Thicker skin. What’d you need?”
“We’re gonna run outta firewood soon,” you said, pulling the heavy cloak closer to your body. “We only have a few pieces left.”
With a nod, he pulled the hood over your head and stood straight. “Just toss the rest in the pit, I’ll bring some when I get home, you should go back inside, you look like you’re about to turn to ice.”
“Feels like it,” you admitted, but grasped his hand to squeeze it before you went back to the hut and let him return to his chat with his friends.
You tossed the rest of the wood into the fireplace, keeping the cloak on as you settled on one of the large chairs that sat in the little living space just off of the kitchen. It didn’t take long to warm up, but being surrounded by what was essentially a big blanket made you doze off quickly, and you weren’t in the mood to get up to go to your room.
You woke up when the door opened and heavy footsteps followed, eyes cracking open to look up at Cortek as he walked in. He set the firewood down against the wall and glanced over at you, an amused smile on his face when he saw your tired gaze. “Comfortable?”
You hummed, nodding. “Very.”
He chuckled a little and walked over to you before pushing the hood down. “We could get it hemmed for you, if you like it so much.”
“You don’t have to,” you said, but you’ve learned not to fight with him about doing things for you.
“We’re getting it hemmed,” he replied, and that was the end of that. He sat on the other chair in the room, a loud grunt leaving him as he relaxed and leaned into the chair further. There was a beat of silence, but he broke it after a moment, “It’s been nice.”
“What?”
“Having someone else in the house with me…” Your eyes met again and he shrugged. “I’m not the best at being alone.”
Your brows knit together, but you nodded with a little smile. “For all things considered you’re a good roommate, ‘Tek.”
He smiled back. “I try.”
You knew he didn’t have to. As you looked at him, you watched him turn to look up at the ceiling before his eyes shut and you slowly unclipped the cloak off of you, leaving it on the chair as you got off and walked over to him, feeling awkward, not exactly knowing why you were doing what you were doing. “Cortek?”
He cracked his eyes open, jumping a little when you were so much closer than he thought you were. “Gods, Honey, you got close.”
Your face grew warm and you gave him a nervous glance, smile included. “I need to talk to you.”
Concern grew on his face again, and he sat up, nodding. “What about?”
“...Us…I guess? I don’t know…I don’t exactly know what to say.” You bit your lip, took a breath and gave yourself a little nod. “Deny me all you want…no hard feelings or anything, I just…uh- these past couple months I’ve wanted to be more than friends…”
Cortek’s eyes widened a little, and you already regretted saying something about it, but he drew you closer and kissed your forehead, holding your hand and squeezing it. “Aloka owes me five gold.”
“What?” you asked suddenly, only for your own eyes to widen and you slapped his arm. “You knew?!”
“‘Course I did, you’re not exactly subtle. Not like I don’t feel the same anyway, Alo’ just wanted to see if you’d confess or if I would have to. And you did it first so we’re five gold richer.” You narrowed your eyes at him, groaning before pulling your hand away from his.
“You’re ridiculous, Cortek.” He laughed, grasping your arm and tugging you back into him, lifting you so you would sit on his thigh. “You bet on this? Why didn’t you just confess?”
“I was curious to see if you’d last the winter,” he mumbled, planting a kiss on your temple, his tusks pressing against your head. He smiled down at you, and you couldn’t help the smile that came with the sight of his.
You shook your head and leaned into him, pressing your lips against his for a brief moment and tucking your body into his as his arms slipped around your waist. You were wondering why you even thought that the confession would’ve gone poorly, even if he did bet with his sister about it.
And hey, you might’ve gone through an emotional rollercoaster because this man was in your life, but you had him for good now, and you didn’t plan on letting him go.
#original writing#writing#monster lover#monster x human#monsterfucker#monster fucker#monster romance#exophilia#gender neutral reader#gn reader#monster x reader#human x monster#x reader#orc#orc boyfriend#orc romance#orc x human#monster love#monster boy#male monster#monster#monster bf#monster boyfriend#monster fucking#monster fudger#monster husband#monster oc#tw monsterfucking#I skipped last month cause I was editing#I have two novels published btw
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Nothing's Wrong with Dale: Part Thirty-One
It’s been a week, but you’re fairly certain your fiancé accidentally got himself replaced by an eldritch being from the Depths. Deciding that he’s certainly not worse than your original fiancé, you endeavor to keep the engagement and his new non-human state to yourself.
However, this might prove harder than you originally thought.
Fantasy, arranged marriage, malemonsterxfemalereader, M/F
AO3: Nothing’s Wrong with Dale Chapter 31
[Part One][Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five] [Part Six] [Part Seven] [Part Seven.5][Part Eight] [Part Nine] [Part Ten] [Part Eleven] [Part Twelve] [Part Thirteen] [Part Fourteen] [Part Fifteen] [Part Sixteen] [Part Seventeen] [Part Eighteen] [Part Nineteen] [Part Twenty] [Part Twenty-One] [Part Twenty-Two][Part Twenty-Three] [Part Twenty-Four][Part Twenty-Five] [Part Twenty-Six] [Part Twenty-Seven] [Part Twenty-Eight] [Part Twenty-Nine] [Part Thirty] Part Thirty-One [Part Thirty-Two] [Part Thirty-Three] [Part Thirty-Four]
You walk back to your ready chambers as quickly as you can without drawing notice, ducking to hide the smile on your face when you pass a couple of servants. You open the doors to your dressing room and almost jump when you recall the number of those waiting anxiously for your return. Steward Bilmont is still there too, collapsed in a chair looking quietly morose while the maids hover in an anxious group near the fireplace. All turn to stare at you when you return.
You try to pull your expression back to something resembling neutrality as you stride over to your seat in front of your vanity. “All is well,” you say. “There will be no further confusion regarding the wedding.”
“Truly?” Bilmont asks, hope and disbelief in his voice. The maids seem similarly skeptical, but get back to work without a word. Luckily, it looks as though they had been making progress while you were gone—two additional trunks were packed.
“Yes,” you reply, “there was a misunderstanding.” Which was certainly an understatement, but the most honest explanation you could provide with others present. “It has been straightened out. The wedding is going forward as planned.”
Bilmont threw his hands up. “Thank the light! I didn’t know what—” He cut himself off before he said anything further, merely shaking his head in unarticulated dismay.
You allow him the moment to gather himself, occupying yourself with the lace Miss Adir is laying out for you. However, he continues to linger and so after a look from Mrs Dearden, you turn back to the steward. “I’m sure you have other duties to return to, Steward Bilmont.”
Bilmont meets your eyes, blinking as if suddenly realizing where he is. Hastily he gets to his feet. “Yes, my lady, of course.”
You shake your head in amusement as he hurries out the door before turning back to the mirror and letting your maids finish dressing you. It’s mostly flourishes now, lace cuffs and collar mantle, the jewelry your mother provided. The veil re-purposed from Dale’s mother’s is still carefully arranged on a form, you’ll put that on last.
You still feel somewhat in shock, happy shock, but shock nevertheless. Dale didn’t know you knew what he was, but he does now. He wants to marry you. He’d said you were one of the reasons he stayed here, as Dale. He called you ‘exemplary’. And to think only an hour ago you’d been convinced everything had fallen to pieces. Instead you’re finally, finally, on the same page.
With that reassurance, more of your nerves have melted away, leaving you feeling eager anticipation for the beginning this wedding truly is.
“Are you alright, my lady?” Miss Adir asks tentatively as she helps to make sure the lace insert is sitting correctly over your collarbones. No doubt she must have questions about what happened and what sort of confrontation there might have been, even if she is too professional to ask.
“Hm?” You blink yourself back to the present moment. “Oh yes.” You feel a smile grow on your face, unable to be contained. You can find little reason to try to contain it. “I’m very well indeed.”
-/-
Some of those nerves return as you wait in the small ready room to make your entrance into the main hall of the monsacrin, where the spiritual ceremony will take place prior to the legal one. You’re dreading this one more as it involves the most pageantry and the most people. Certainly all guests will be at the wedding luncheon, but you will not be on display in the same manner.
Even the buoyancy of your conversation with Dale had lent you is diminishing as you imagine all the ways in which you might make a fool of yourself. Your fears for Dale too are not insubstantial. You had been pushing those concerns to the side because there wasn’t much you could do to help—the wedding had to take place here, but how would the sacred affect him? He’d been fine during the rehearsal and the few common ceremonies you’d attended over the last few weeks, but…
You’d seen a sanctif nearly reveal him, not to mention Grandfather’s holy water attempt. He is certainly capable of being hurt by it. But to what degree? Both Sanctif Ellon and Dr. Louisa proved detection methods could be used successfully upon him, although not perfectly. Especially if he was forewarned and able to prepare as you’d seen with the sanctif. Hopefully, with the ceremony so straightforwardly laid out over the past few days, Dale will have prepared himself. Right?
Of course, he’d called off the wedding. He’d spent at least part of today thinking it wasn’t happening. How long had he been planning that? He’d been acting a bit strangely over the past few days, but ultimately the decision had seemed impulsive to you. He’d seemed as if leaving Northridge was his next move and yet, he’d clearly not been packed beyond for your wedding trip. The box he’d been filling with books and other items in his study had obviously been items he wanted with him, but would have been sent ahead to your next destination and so we’re prepared.
The swell of music, woodwinds and strings, interrupted your thoughts to let you know Dale had likely entered the monsacrin. He’d come from the right to walk to the middle. You’ve heard some merchant and peasant families had those who were to be wed enter at the same time given family status didn’t have the hold it had on the nobility. However, since you were joining the Northridge family, you’d enter second to stand with him instead of the reverse.
Miss Adir hands you your bouquet as the melody changes. The door in front of you opens, letting in the brilliant morning sunlight. Your practice of the ceremony was all that prevented you from squinting in the face of all that light. Light was the most important aspect of Solennity and monsacrins had as much glass as they could and stay standing. It was traditional for weddings to take place in morning light, to signify new beginnings, and were held in the eastern hall accordingly. Sunlight streamed in, half blinding you as you walked down the left aisle, which cut at a diagonal through the seated guests to the dias against that eastern wall of glass.
Once your eyes adjust, you keep them focused on the center altar, with its backing of colorful stained glass since its easier to look at, and where Dale waits for you. Gone is the more casual red waistcoat he had on in the study. Instead, the luxurious dark blue velvet that he’d selected nearly a month ago has been turned into a lovely suit. His overcoat is rich and plush, embroidered with detailed gold designs that are similar to those on his waistcoat. His trousers are the same color and disappear into polished black boots. The white of his shirt contrasts well and helps lighten the outfit. Even his hair ribbon is white, holding back his dark hair, except those styled in the front. He looks beautiful.
You try not to think about all the guests staring at you and focus only on Dale, only on being careful not to step on the hem of your dress or drop your flowers. The music swells appropriately until you’re stepping up the single step to where you’ll start the ceremony, next to Dale.
Now that you’re closer and not so dazzled by the light, you can make out more of his expression. He looks down at you with a sort of proud awe that you admire given he’s already seen your dress and even your hair more than half done only an hour or so ago. Perhaps you haven’t been giving him enough credit for his ability to act. He is right in that no one else, beyond a few servants, knows over his nature. You smile up at him, more in relief and out of nerves than much else, but there’s also some awe, that you’re really here, that he’s really here—that it's all happening.
As the final notes play out, you carefully lean forward to place your bouquet in the vase to your side, the flowers a gift to the monsacrin and so your hands can be free for the rest of the ceremony.
The sanctif walks up, giving the opening prayer for a wedding. He stands between you on the next step up and his apprentice joins him, her movements as smooth as in rehearsal earlier in the week. She hands the sanctif the ribbon chosen—blue and gold braided together—and he starts the prayer of unity.
“Today we join together these two humble petitioners who seek to unify their lives in marriage,” he proclaims. That is your cue, and Dale’s, and you both remove a glove—your right and his left. The apprentice sanctif takes your gloves while the sanctif continues, “As such endeavors are not to be taken lightly given their grave importance and profound influence on the times ahead, we so bind them.”
You both reach out and carefully entwine your fingers together in a tight handclasp. The sanctif continues to speak as he winds the braided ribbon around your hands, but you barely hear his words. Instead your focus is on the steadiness of Dale’s hand, the moderate temperature of his skin, the way your arms overlap in order to keep your hands securely together. Your sleeves are short, but his are not. The sensation of the luscious velvet brushing against your skin is lovely. You can’t help but look up to see his eyes—only two at the moment, thank the stars—to find them already fixed upon you.
His gaze seems cautious until yours meets it, at which point his eyes crinkle in their corners to reflect the smile that blooms so naturally. Without thought, you mirror the gesture.
The music swells as the sanctif proclaims and you focus yourself back onto the ceremony itself, so you do not embarrass yourself by being caught unawares. You accept the candle holder from the attendant easily, the gold quickly warming in your hands. It’s simple white taper is unlit. Dale accepts an identical one as the sanctif recalls the story of humanity’s ascent from unintelligent darkness to enlightenment.
He paces the half-circle step, speaking to you and the audience, before he climbs to his place behind the elevated altar. He holds his hands up, supplicating, and begins to recite the marital prompts. “Do you approach this altar of light deliberately and of sound mind, willing and able, to join in sacred commitment to one another?”
“I do,” you chorus with Dale. He’d said with you for balance, he’d not need his cane, and yet the first step up makes you nervous that you’ll both fall, as if you’ve never climbed a set of stairs before.
“You may approach,” the sanctif replies.
You and Dale advance, you careful given your skirts and Dale careful given his balance. You reach the step with little difficulty, feeling almost foolish over how nervous you are, but the reminder of the low level of actual challenge doesn’t help.
“Do you approach this altar of light with honesty, loyalty, and fidelity in your hearts?”
“I do.” Perhaps that vow was what had started Dale on his doubts. The first rehearsal had been the day you returned to Northridge and you’d each gotten pamphlets explaining the ceremony, for all your responses were minimal and repetitive.
“Do you approach this altar of light for the purpose of commitment, of unity, of harmony?”
“I do.” this is the vow you’re unsure if you would have meant with the original Dale. It would have been hard to reach any sort of harmony with him. You don’t have any such fears with Dale.
“Do you approach this altar of light with full faith in the enduring union you seek to forge, with no intention of end or fragility, with confidence and perseverance?”
“I do.” With your conversation this morning, you have no reservations or worries with your reply here either. Still, the sound of Dale’s deep voice in concert with you helps reassure you of his words, as does the feeling of his now-warm hand in yours, his body next to you. He’s not going anywhere.
You’ve both reached the altar and the sanctif smiles at you reassuringly, before he looks past you to those gathered behind you. His voice goes out to them, imploring, “Do any here know what might prevent this union? Do any here have any reason to disbelieve the proclamations made by those who seek to join together?”
There is a pause after his voice fades out in which you find it immensely hard to breathe, before the collective response comes, “We do not.”
“As your humble delegate, I implore the light to bless these two with the union they seek.” The sanctif turns from the altar to the fire behind him, which every monsacrin has lit at all times. Carefully, he lit the oak rod in his hand from its flames and with that, lit the large candle on the altar.
The sanctif speaks on the virtues of marriage while he prepares the sacred cup, announcing the virtue of each herb he adds to the holy water held in its vessel above the candle. Truly, the fire was not enough to heat the drink by much, but it was symbolic of using light and heat to purify. You hope that Dale can drink it with ease. You’d taken note of the herbs at the last rehearsal and found most to be either without cause for worry or with little information to rely on. What flexibility there was with the recipe you took advantage of, except for juniper, which had to be included—and the book had specifically recommended that for purification.
“Drink from this holy vessel,” the sanctif says, carefully lifting the overlarge cup, truly more of a bowl, for you. “As is internal, so may be external. Light within, light without.”
You’d practiced this too. Dale drinks first, as the higher partner so to speak. As he leans down, he’s careful not to drop his candle nor your hand.
Your eyes are intent on his face in what you hope is common attention for your fiance, but he seems no worse for wear. His mild grimace easily attributed to what you know to be the bitter flavor of the drink. Once he straightens, you mirror him, leaning down to take a drink yourself. At least the ceremonial cup closer to you height—the sanctif can only lean so far over the altar with it. Bitter, tart, and herbal, the flavors coat your mouth and the water flows quickly down your throat. You’re grateful to have tasted it before so you don’t cough.
Gentle windwood instruments play at odds with the powerful taste in your mouth. They swell around you as everyone sings a verse of gratitude. The sanctif uses his sprinklers, dunking them in the ceremonial cup now that you had each taken a drink. He hands the bigger one to his apprentice for the group below. With another prayer, he sprinkles holy water over yourself and Dale. Your eyes dart to Dale and notice the way his head is bowed in imitation of piety keeps his face at an angle that lessens the chance of holy water hitting it. He already drank it, but on impulse you turn over your hands, arms only slightly more awkwardly placed, so that your clasped hand is up and his is below.
Dale gives your hand a grateful squeeze as you see a few drops land on the back of your hand. Luckily, the sanctif’s blessing over you does not last long and he carefully puts the vessel away while his apprentice continues with the crowd.
“Blessed and enlightened in our souls, I bid you now to light the symbol of your devotion,” he intones. Dutifully you and Dale light your candles from the larger one simultaneously.
Now comes the more difficult part: carrying the lit candles back down and turning with your hands still bound. You don’t care if you’re not as elegant as some you’ve seen in the past at the very few weddings you’ve attended. You keep your gaze firmly on your feet and Dale as the sanctif at last bids you to turn to away from the altar. “Do you depart this altar of light with determination to face life's hardships together?”
Your hold on Dale’s hand tightens as you turn your head, nerves and fear lancing through you unbidden by the crowd and the height. Dale takes the extra strain easily, skillfully stepping down and to the side with enough deliberate slowness you are able to follow him and remember your official response. “We do.”
Your voice is shaky, but Dale’s is clear and the sanctif does not ask you to repeat yourself. You’ve heard tell of sanctifs who demanded repetitions or even those who required a sentence response, re-framing the question. You are so very thankful you’re able to follow the simpler pattern.
“Do you depart this altar of light with persistence in the face of afflictions of the body?”
“We do.” You take another step down, allowing the floor of the step above to keep your hemline free of your shoes. At the very first wedding you attended, this was the vow you were convinced no one would be able to pledge to you.
“Do you depart this altar of light with compassion for the tumultuous emotions of the heart?”
Another oath that you would not have believed coming from the original Dale. His compassion was lacking and his tolerance for others emotions was minimal to say the least. This Dale surprises you still with his attention to your comfort and happiness. “We do.”
“Do you depart this altar of light with steadfastness against the complications of the mind?”
You chance a glance straight ahead this time, as you are meant to be doing the entire descent, and regret it. So many people staring at you as you walk down steep steps while holding fire. Whoever designed this wedding ceremony had best ascended far far away. You hastily look back down. “We do.”
“Do you depart this altar of light to serve your community and your kin with the attention duty and obligation require?”
“We do.” You are now back on the proper floor of the hall, lower than where you started on the first step. You’ve never been so grateful to the ground before. Why had it been so much worse than rehearsals?
“Do you, the gathered community, accept these vows made here in the light?”
Perhaps it was the audience, who again need an additional second to respond that makes your knuckles lighten as your grip tightens with anticipation. “We do.”
The stringed instruments join the lighter and quieter wood-winds, a masterful solo that allows you to regain your breath, for all you’d not been exerting yourself physically. You catch Callalily’s eyes in the second row and she smiles encouragingly.
When the music dies down again, the sanctif speaks, “Reward this faith in you with the gift of your abundance and illumination.”
You cross the stone floor to the first line of benches with perfect synchronicity, Dale shortening his long strides to match your own.
You light Grandmother and Grandfather’s candles with Dale. Grandmother’s eyes are misty as she smiles at you with joy. Grandfather’s smile is more tinged with relief when he looks at you both. Soon they turn to light the candles of the ones around them, who will turn to do the same. Once all the candles in the first row of benches are light, you and Dale blow out each other’s candles.
The music speeds up as the light spreads to everyone’s far smaller candles and soon reaches the cue for everyone who’s candle is lit to kneel. The wave of people kneeling continues until all are knelt, anyone too young to hold a candle pulled down by attentive parents.
You turn back to the sanctif, who’s descended to be only a step above the main floor. Dale guides your turn and approach until it is your turn to kneel as well, your concentration on how you do so in your more elaborate than usual skirt given your lack of free hands.
The sanctif’s speech on marriage is well-enough, he’d given you an overview earlier in the week, but you can’t focus much on his words. You can’t even ruminate on the marriage you are about to begin, the future that is starting now. You can only focus on Dale. You’d think with him pressed so close you’d grow used to the feeling of his arm, his body, against yours, but you don’t. You only crave to have his arms wrapped firmly around you like they had those two precious times before. To feel his lips against yours for a more satisfying kiss. You hope the light and heat can be blamed for any heat in your cheeks as you try to keep your mind on the present and the ceremony.
Soon enough, the sanctif prompts you to present your candles, the holders careful designed to catch and flow the cooling wax. The sanctif dips his finger into the cooling wax of your candle and Dale’s simultaneously. Then he presses a dot of wax to the back of each of your hands, still bound together. “I now pronounce you wed. You may seal the union with a kiss.”
You turn back to Dale, his eyes lit by more than the many candles and the sunlight streaming through the windows. Luckily, you don’t think anyone else will even notice as he leans down to press a gentle kiss to your lips.
Don’t go, you can’t help but lament in your mind as you try with your will to keep him close to you. Dale remembers your audience at least. As he straightens, pulling away from you, he lifts your joined hands in to signify the sealed union. It feels more like a victory salute to you. Victory to have gotten here, to have this ceremony complete, to have Dale joined to you. To be together.
After a final blessing with holy water sprinkled over your heads, you carefully get back to your feet. While the rest of the attendees join the instruments in song, they keep their candles lit so that the center aisle you depart down is lit from all sides.
It’s considered back luck to undo the ribbon until out of the hall. You and Dale depart down the center aisle, hands still bound together.
[Part Thirty-Two]
#my writing#story: nothing's wrong with dale#dale#story part#monster romance#nothing's wrong with dale#terato#exphilia#monster bf#male monster#reader#slow burn#osha compliant#i'm never inventing my own wedding ceremony again#hope you enjoyed it!#dont think about how much of a fire hazard this would b lmao#wedding time#anyone else getting thirsty?#;)
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The Pit and the Serpent
M Naga X GN reader, 11047 words
Content warning: discussions of rape/sexual coercion, sexual coercion described with minimal detail, descriptions of a cult.
You have been sentenced to death. You are going to be fed to the beast in the pit. Unless, of course, the beast does not eat the ones given to it.
Sweat beaded on the back of your neck as you took another trembling step forward. A knife sat against the small of your back. The threat wasn’t that they would kill you- they didn’t have to. A quick slice to the small of your back would have your legs useless. They could leave you to die, limp and pathetic, at the claws of the creature in the pen. The only reason they hadn’t done it at all was that it was a lot less work to have you walk than to drag your limp body in.
The pen loomed in front of you. It wasn’t much of a pen, to be honest. It was more of a pit, with barbed wire fence surrounding it. People didn’t approach it- in fact, there isn’t anyone within a hundred feet. Just you and the soldier nudging you ever closer.
As soon as you were past the gate, the soldier slammed it shut and stepped back, almost a scramble. There was no reason for him to be near you anymore. There was only a tiny strip of land surrounding the dropoff of the pit, and you couldn’t climb back out over the fence thanks to the barbed wire. You probably couldn’t even if there wasn’t barbed wire. You’d never been athletic.
You hunched down on the little area you had, knees tucked close to your chest to avoid the drop. No limbs dangling. The image of letting an arm or leg hang over the opening and something grabbing you, like a monster under the bed, rose in your mind.
You sat on the edge of the pit all throughout the scorching afternoon, dripping sweat into a small puddle in the dirt below you. The sun set and the chill of night against your sweaty skin made you shiver. The thing in the pit hadn’t moved. Was it nocturnal? You’d never seen a feeding before. Maybe you should have. Maybe that would have discouraged you from-
The thing in the pit moved. You heard it shifting before you saw it, the great shadow twisting and slinking until a tendril of it was lifting out of the pit and stretching slowly toward you. You scrambled back until the barbed wire dug into your skin, uncaring of exactly how rusty it was. Of course it didn’t matter. You were going to die, right now, and a little tetanus hardly compared to exactly how this thing was going to rip you to shreds.
Its head dropped into your line of sight, close enough that you could make out some features despite the lack of light. You stared. You had been expecting a mouth- they called it a feeding, after all. Not strange at all to imagine you were about to be eaten. And there was a mouth. It was just attached to a human face. Which was attached to a human head. Which was attached to a human torso. Which was not attached to human hips, but to the body of an enormous snake. Like, a huge snake. Like, at-least-40-feet-long snake.
It yawned. Fangs, long and thin, just where canines would be in a human mouth, glinted in the faint moonlight. Then it slumped downward, flopping to rest its torso on the edge of the pit right next to you.
It blinked at you. The light was dim enough that you couldn’t see the color of its eyes, but the white gleaming in the moonlight told you it was staring right at you. “Hello there.”
You stared back. He didn’t seem like he was going to eat you. He didn’t seem big enough to eat you. You’d been expecting an enormous snake mouth, something appropriate for the enormous thing, something that could swallow you whole. But this was… well, the person-part of the snake was bigger thana typical human, but not by that much. Its mouth was far too small to eat you effectively. Then again, you were smaller than a cow, and you ate those, so perhaps the creature was simply going to drag you into its pit and eat you little by little. You hoped it killed you quickly, at least- getting slowly eaten seemed like the worst possible way to die.
“You aren’t much of a talker, are you,” the serpent groused. His mass of coils shifted slowly, undulating in the pit beneath. You couldn’t make out the individual coils with the distance and the darkness- it just looked like a shifting, twisting mass. The serpent moved closer, practically hovering in front of you, using his muscular trunk as support. “Ain’t much to look at, are ya?” He spoke in a drawling, lazy tone. “Can’t imagine ya did anything impressive to get stuck in here. Are they finally chucking the dissidents down here instead of shoving them into the reeducation work prison?”
“Thievery.” You forced the word up through your dry throat and mouth. The serpent fixed his gaze back on you. “I- I took something that wasn’t mine to take.”
“Huh.” He slumped back to the ground next to you, propping his chin up on his fist. “Why?”
You ground your teeth. “He… took something from me, first. So, I wanted to take something from him. But I got caught.”
The serpent nodded. “A little thief, then? I suppose they would throw you in here for that.”
You eyed him as he stretched. The question was stupid, but you couldn’t help yourself from asking it. “Aren’t you going to eat me?”
He was mid-yawn when you asked, and blinked one eye open to look at you. “Am I supposed to?”
You paused. Everyone called it a ‘feeding’ when people were put in the pit. People who went for feedings were never seen again. What else was happening expect for them being eaten? “I think so.”
“Perhaps,” he said, “I’m not hungry today.” He slumped back toward the pit, slinking down and vanishing in the mass of his own coils.
You stared. And shivered. Your sweat was still drying on your skin in the chilly night air and the hot terror was fading. The creature had emerged from the pit, you’d had a pleasant (if you stretched the definition of the word) chat, and then it had left.
That was… not what was supposed to happen. You’d seen people be taken away to the pit- you’d never seen them actually go in, of course, the pit was nearly three hours away from the town by walking, and you’d never had reason to go in a car until today. Yesterday. Was it past midnight? They never came back. Did the creature ever eat anyone? It must, or they wouldn’t have bothered with the pit at all. They could just shoot people. Or stab them, if wasted bullets were a concern. Why go through the whole rigamarole of taking people out here and then leaving them alive for the creature if it didn’t eat them?
But if it did eat them, why hadn’t it eaten you?
It got late for a while, and then it was so late that it looped around to being early. The sun started to stretch thin tendrils of light over the horizon. Your stomach growled. You had to pee. Your legs were cramping from being in the same position for so long. Were the guards going to come back? Did they come back for the prisoners, if only to see if there were any bones or limbs left? Or were you just trapped out here until you died of thirst or the creature decided it was hungry after all and ate you?
(It had better hurry the hell up, you decided. If it waited until you died of natural causes, t would probably have a tough, unpleasant meal. Your somewhat-delirious mind found that idea funny.)
It was less funny when a hand wrapped around your ankle and hauled you bodily toward the pit.
The entire thing was fast. One second you were registering the warm hand on your skin, and the next you were being dragged down a slope. You caught a glimpse of your captor’s face, too dark to make out expressions, before you were hauled under a mass of coils.
They weren’t cold to the touch, though they weren’t warm, either. You could feel the ridges of the scales, each one nearly the size of your palm. It was heavy, a weight that nearly knocked the breath out of you, though their constant shifting helped lessen that impact. It wasn’t crushing, though, and you could feel the hard-packed dirt under your back. Strange. You would have thought they’d be coiling around you to crush you. Even just being underneath them, you could tell they were powerful enough to do it. You could feel the power of the muscles just from minute movements alone.
“Stop panicking!” The voice came a lot closer to your ear than you’d expected and you struck out. Maybe he’d been expecting it, because your first hit a wall of scaly flesh.’ “I ain’t gonna hurt ya, if you don’t try to hurt me again.”
You stopped moving. The serpent huffed out a breath, and you felt the edges of it against your… temple, on your right side. He was partially concealed by one of his own coils, but he was there. “Sorry for the delay, sweetcheeks. Woulda taken you down here right away, but we’ve had some problems recently. Delays. You’ll find out soon, anyway.”
You didn’t understand, but bemoaning that lack of understanding seemed like the worst possible move at the moment. Instead, you flipped onto your stomach and started army crawling back toward the wall of the pit. The coils were heavy, but not crushing, at least not at the moment. You were going to crawl and get out of the pit, and what you were going to do then could be decided after you got out.
“Woah.” The hand was on your back now, having gotten a fistful of your shirt. Well, it was more of a dress-tunic than a shirt, one of the ones that was both oversized and stretched, and made more out of patches than material. They could have made you go into the pit naked, but you suspected that this made a convenient excuse to get rid of something no one really wanted. You thrashed against the grip and, sure enough, the tunic ripped with ease. Before you could continue your mad crawl, the hand managed to lock around your calf. “Woah, woah! Where do ya think you’re going?”
You try to continue forward at the pace of a determined slug. The hand on your leg is doing a good job of hindering that, though. “Quit freaking out! Sorry I scared ya, but I said before, I ain’t gonna hurt ya, so stop it!”
In fairness, he wasn’t hurting you at that moment. He could have, certainly- his coils could have crushed you by weight alone, if he’d dropped them on you, but he just lay them across your path, effectively blocking your way unless you wanted to crawl over him. The hand around your calf remained firm, a grip tight enough to almost bruise, but not vicious. More like he was just desperate to keep you from squirming away.
Surrounded by coils of snake and held fast by the grip on your leg, you finally went still. You were flat on your stomach, so the dust, of course, immediately went up your nose and you snorted out an awkward sneeze. The serpent’s human part moved forward, almost hovering over you, suspended by its muscular trunk. He folded his arms over his chest, no longer holding onto you. “Didn’t mean to scare ya that bad. S’pose I should’ve been more forthcoming, but ya don’t get much fun out here, y’know?” He shrugged. “Sorry. Kinda a fighter, aren’t ya, though? Most people just curl into a ball and scream.”
You stared at him. He was silhouetted by moonlight, so you could make out his long, somewhat tangled black hair and his dark brown skin. There were a few patches of scales on his belly, creeping up from where his snake body ended. “I thought,” you said, after a moment of thought, “that you were going to eat me.”
He shrugged. “I’m not.”
That had become pretty clear. Unless this was a game, though you couldn’t see the point of it, if it was. “Then what are you going to do?”
He grinned, at that. His canines were still too long and sharp, more like a snake’s than a human’s- though still not totally like either. “Look.”
He turned his body to point at a spot beyond the shifting weight of his coils. In the wall of the pit, there was… a hole.
It wasn’t a big hole. Large enough for a person to fit through, provided they were crawling and not standing up straight. It sloped a little, down into the ground. The idea of it made you shudder. Perhaps the serpent didn’t pick up on that, because he said, “You’re going to go in there.”
“I’m not,” you insisted. The serpent considered you for a moment, not quite irritated, but certainly not pleased.
“Ya are,” he said. “Unless you’re plannin’ on staying here and dyin’ when they come back and find ya completely uneaten.”
You glared. “Fine.” The serpent nodded, clearly believing you meant ‘fine, I’ll go in there.’ His expression changed to plain annoyance when you, through lack of motion, convinced him that you meant ‘fine, I’ll stay here and die.”
“You’re claustrophobic,” he reasoned. You glared. It was true, but you didn’t like it. The idea of close earth, pressing in on you- unbearable. The idea of having nowhere to run, nowhere to go or flee to, no open space within which to seek safety-
“Alright, alright! Don’t- don’t do that, just- Damn, this makes it much harder than I thought it was gonna be.” The serpent patted awkwardly at your shoulder. You squirmed away from his touch and he held his hands up. Your breathing, which had spun wildly out of control for a moment, dropped back to a steady (or at least steadier) rhythm. “Look. The only way out of here is through the tunnel. It’s only twenty feet of tunnel, and once you’re through that, it’s not so tight.”
“I can’t get through the twenty feet,” you ground out. Even three feet, less than your body length, would be close to intolerable. As long as your head and arms were trapped, there was panic.
The serpent heaved a sigh. “Erg… You’re gonna have to.”
“I can’t.” Clearly, he was slow. Otherwise, he would be getting that it was physically impossible for you to do so. You could not, unless under immediate threat of death, force yourself through it. And maybe not even that.
The serpent rubbed his face. “Sonova- If you get caught, I’m gonna be fucked too, y’know?” His coils shifted, lifting and writhing. Above you, through the gaps in his coils, you could see the sky lightening. It was going to be day soon. That seemed to be agitating him. “Okay. You’re not gonna like this, but we’re doing it anyway.”
You stiffened. “We’re not going to-”
The serpent seized you by hooking an arm under your armpits and hauled. You were half lifted off the ground and pulled toward the hole in the wall. Panic seized you and you started to kick your legs. The serpent wholly ignored you. For a moment, you wondered about how he was going to manage to pull you through- there wasn’t enough space for both of you to fit going through at the same time.
It was a question that was quickly answered. As you got within a foot of the hole, he dropped you and plunged in himself.
Within seconds, his human part was gone, leaving only his snake portion, It flowed in and in and in, an endless-seeming mass of scaled flesh moving into the tunnel. It was almost hypnotic. So hypnotic, in fact, that you didn’t register it when the last foot or so of his tail wrapped around your legs and hauled you into the tunnel after him.
It happened fast- one second you were just registering the fact that you were moving, the next you were in the tunnel with the walls pressing close in on you. The press of the walls, combined with the warm squeeze of the serpent’s tail around you was- was- your brain scrambled, sheer terror blotting out every thought you could have summoned up.
And then the walls lessened. Not a lot, but their squeeze was reduced. The tail wrapped around you, so tight you couldn’t move your arms or legs, was still bad, but the walls weren’t so tight. Lifting your head didn’t whack it on the ceiling anymore, and you couldn’t feel your shoulders rubbing against the walls. You felt the movement of air on your legs first, and then you were pulled into a bright, open room.
The made your eyes tear up. You squeezed them shut against it. The tail around your body relaxed, drawing away. The sheer relief was incredible, so much that you couldn’t bring yourself to move. You lay there, gasping and shivering on the floor, eyes squeezed shut. Your brain was so utterly scrambled that you didn’t even question why there were bright lights underground for a few minutes.
People talking, though, that got your attention.
“I’m gonna need to be back out there in a couple minutes, just in case they come lookin’,” the serpent was saying.
“Of course. Though you really couldn’t have thought of a better solution? Or explained more?” The second voice was female, probably older by the sound of it. Kind of weary, too. You blinked your eyes open. The serpent was coiled as tight as he was able, and was bending to speak to an older woman, brown hair shot through with gray, in something like a lab coat.
“You were the ones delayin’ everything.”
“Well, you could have told her in the meantime. You didn’t have to wait for us to be ready.”
The serpent grimaced. “Sure, if I wasn’t so busy prepping the tunnel. It’s not easy to dig that shit back out every time you guys want to-”
“Who are you?” Your voice wasn’t a yell, but it wasn’t quiet. The conversation stopped. Both of them looked at you.
The woman straightened out her lab coat. It was a bit stained and yellowed in some places, and there was a button missing. “My name is Elise Markov. This-” She gestured to the massive serpent-person beside her. “-Is Hana. I apologize for… well, for him.” He clucked his tongue. “Hush. You should be kinder to our new arrivals.”
“Perhaps.” Hana flexed his tail. “It’s not like I get much practice with people, trapped up there without-”
“Speaking of,” Elise said, cutting him off. He fell silent, sulky. “You should go back up. You were saying they might be back soon.”
Hana grimaced but he obediently slipped toward the tunnel. After a few moments, his tail was vanishing into the tunnel. Elise watched him go, then headed over to you. “Come along. I will explain on the way.”
Getting up gave you a chance to look a little more around the room. It wasn’t terribly big, maybe about the size of a single room in a house, and lit entirely by floodlights. Another tunnel, this one much larger than the one you had entered through, allowed you to exit the room. You could stand up in it, and almost extend your arms before hitting the wall while inside, it, so the terror was only a minor scream in the back of your mind.
As you walked, Elise explained. “We have been out here since the, well, apocalypse, for lack of a better term, recruiting as we can. Sometimes we take in runaways, sometimes strays, sometimes people like you- people who have been set to death by the various collectives and compounds that now litter the world. You will stay here now, and work with us. There will be a task you can do, I assure you, be it caring for the assets or cooking food or cleaning.”
You trotted along after her. “I don’t underst-”
“I’m aware. You will.” Elise’s tone was clipped. “For now, just know that you are safe and you will remain safe for the foreseeable future. We have an organization, relative protection, and, the basic necessities of life.”
Well. Good enough for you. It was significantly better to have a place that didn’t want to kill you. At least, not immediately.
The tunnel went on for what must have been at least a few miles. Your legs ached and you felt dizzy. It had been some time since you’d had proper food. You swayed, exhausted, even as Elise kept up her ruthless pace. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a tall, illuminated room. You hurried toward it, ready for your journey to end, and-
There were people. Many of them wore lab coats, like Elise, though they were all about as dirty as Elise’s as well. But there were also many… things. Creatures. Beasts you couldn’t understand. One of them, a creature with the torso of a human, but the lower body of a massive, pale spider approached. “Ah, Thierry. If you could-”
You were taken to a room and told it was yours. It was a tiny room, big enough for a bed and a hanging rack of clothes. But it was at least nicer than the communal bunks you’d had previously. You didn’t feel comfortable sleeping with other people.
After a full day of resting, and a fairly simple meal of vegetables and a biscuit, you were given the beginnings of orientation. It was fairly extensive, starting at the exact moment the world fell apart, about ten years ago.
The end of the world was something you remembered, though not in any great detail. It hadn’t been an abrupt thing, like it always was in dystopian fiction. It had just been, over the course of a few years, a gradual downturn of things getting worse until you were in a barrack with a couple dozen other people and you realized you had no hope of anything ever getting better. The world had just seemed to get more and more frightened of everything going on, more desperate and sad and clawing until everything had been torn to shreds.
Apparently, that hadn’t quite been an accident.
The details were vague- you weren’t sure if that was because the details were unknown, or if the people in charge just didn’t want you to know them. But the government (or several governments- again, the details were unclear) had been running experiments on fear. Fear was, after all, one of the most effective motivators ad weapons ever known. Enough fear could kill, could make a person commit atrocities. And so, it needed to be studied, understood, and potentially weaponized.
After years of research, they had managed to create… something. Tapped into some collective unconscious, some extra-physical resource, and created, from humans, creatures that embodied the fears of the world.
The outpouring of fear from their initial creation spread the world over. It wasn’t strong, but it lingered, like background radiation in the minds of everyone on the planet. And that fear drove everyone to the brink of madness and destruction. Even after the initial burst of it settled, everyone had already settled into their new lives and routines too thoroughly to go back.
This particular organization had been created by a small group of the scientists who’d escaped the panic-induced deaths of everyone who’d worked on the initial project. They’d managed to gather a small group of the fear-creatures, who worked with them, as much as they could.
You even got to meet a few of them. All of them seemed to embody a specific type of fear, usually a phobia. Thierry, the spider-person you’d met initially was the embodiment of arachnophobia. There was a person who seemed to be entirely made of water that represented thassolophobia, though you saw her pretty infrequently. Her proper body took up a massive swimming pool that had needed to be dug out special. The only time you saw her was when she sent out a segment of her body that was roughly person sized and shaped, something that was apparently difficult and uncomfortable to do. Another person, a hulking figure of dirt with a hole in their middle that seemed to constantly draw your eyes and body, represented claustrophobia. You didn’t go near him often.
Of course, your Hana was representative of a fear of snakes. Never a fear you’d had, but you could see how he would be horrific for someone who was afraid of scaly ropes.
He was apparently a recruiter, of some description. His capture by your old compound was an accident, but given that he was regularly fed a stream of dissenters, he could smuggle people they determined to be relatively safe out of the pit. Apparently your thievery was determined to be a non-harmful pastime that earned you a free ticket out.
You were told all this by the person you were supposed to be shadowing, a middle-aged woman who had been in this little group since just after its founding. You followed her around while she showed you how to do a variety of tasks. Mostly cleaning or fetching things for other people. A day after you’d arrived, she handed you a massive tray of raw meat and gestured for your to follow her.
“This will likely be one of your tasks on a daily basis,” she said. “Along with general cleaning. I assume you’re willing to complete janitorial tasks.”
Her tone said ‘you don’t think you’re too good for this, right?’ with an undertone of ‘because if you do, we’re going to have problems.’ “I’m fine with it,” you said. You legitimately didn’t have a problem with it. It wasn’t any different from the shit you’d been doing at the compound.
You walked through a familiar hall that opened into a familiar, cavernous room. You had to switch the floodlights on. Obviously you didn’t have the power to run them all the time.
“Mind warning me before you do that?” Hana groused, half covering his face with his hand. “Oh, it’s you!”
You nodded. “It’s… good to see you again?”
“Sure. Glad you’re doin’ all right,” Hana said. “Ya gonna give me the food or what?”
Your supervisor left at that moment, telling you to bring the tray back to the kitchens when you were done, since she needed to take care of something. Everyone seemed busy all the time. Probably took a lot of work to run the place. You’d probably be busy too, once you were more settled in.
Hana didn’t really chew his food. He just swallowed big chunks at once, like- well, like a snake. It was impressive, but also kind of gross to watch. “Guess you’ve decided to stay,” he said between huge mouthfuls.
“What other options do I have?” you asked back, complete rhetorical.
He decided to answer it anyway, though. “Out there.” He gestured vaguely toward the ceiling with an expansive motion. “Y’know. Anywhere out there.”
“I’d die,” you said. Society might have collapsed when you were a teen, but the past ten years or so, you’d been hopping from little settlement to little settlement. You didn’t have the skills or the tools to survive on your own in the wilderness.
“You might live,” he said. “It’s a lot of scrubland, but I ‘member people saying there’s root vegetables and stuff growin’ out there. You could eat those.”
“Not without cooking them. I can’t actually identify any of them, either. I’d probably eat something toxic by accident. Or get caught by marauders. Or the wild dog packs.” A lot of people had dogs before the apocalypse. A lot of those dogs didn’t have people anymore by the time things settled. And, well, dogs are descended from wolves. In times of necessity, a lot of them just remembered what they used to be. Packs of larger dogs could be a real issue, especially because no one was giving out rabies vaccines anymore.
“Maybe,” Hana allowed. “Maybe not.” He swallowed another chunk of meat. “Maybe ya could befriend a dog and get it to bring ya meat. They can hunt, right? And they’re stupid loyal?”
You laughed a little. “Have you never met a dog before?”
“Nah. Where would I have seen one, huh?” Hana paused, tapping a finger on his chin. There’s a thin line of meat-juice running along it. “Hm. Though I guess I could have seen one and not realized it, ‘cause I don’t really know what they look like.”
“You’ve never even seen a dog?” you asked. “Not even before you were changed into-” You skittered to a stop, not quite managing to pause the words before they’re almost all out. Oops. You didn’t mean to do that. It was probably a rather touchy subject for him.
He shrugged, still eating. “Nah. Don’t remember a thing before I got all scaly.” He gestures to his waist. A majority of his body is still stretching up through the tunnel and out into the pit, but there’s enough there to see his dark scales. “Probably good, though, huh? Can’t imagine turnin’ into this was a fun time for me.”
“You don’t remember what it was like to be human at all?” you asked. He fixed you with an irritated look.
“I just said I didn’t. Open your ears. I remember some stuff, clearly. Like, I woke up knowin’ English and what the sky and grass was an’ all that.”
“But not dogs,” you mused. He gave you a wry, somewhat irritated expression.
“No. Not dogs.”
Hm. That was interesting. You mulled that over while he finished his meal. Once he was done, you gathered up the dishes. “See ya around,” he said, waving.
As if turned out, you did see him after that quite often. Your initial tasks seemed to be focused on delivering food to the ‘phobic assets.’ Not all of them were still human enough to eat, but the ones who had fused with animals definitely needed to. Thierry was your favorite. He was typically quite polite, and you’d never had any issue with spiders before, so his spider half was a source of fascination rather than disgust.
Hana was always waiting for you when you brought food to him, and he always stuck around to chat for as long as you wanted. Maybe he was lonely, or maybe he was just bored. But he always listened attentively, and given that everyone else was rushing around all the time, speaking to him was nearly the highlight of your day.
“I mean, it’s nicer being here than it was being there, obviously. I just wish people weren’t so…” You waved a hand. “I don’t know. Rushed? At least I felt like I was a part of a community over there. We all had meals together and we talked and worked together. Here, it’s just different. I don’t think I’ve had a conversation with anyone except a couple people for more than two minutes.”
“Everyone’s trying to save the world. Makes ‘em busy. Plus, you’re kinda an outsider. It’ll take a while to get you on their radar. Or into their precious schedules.” Hana shrugged, gulping down his meal with reckless abandon. “Who’s the second?”
“Huh?” He had a habit of jumping topics like that. It was hard to keep up.
“Ya said there were two people ya could have conversations longer than two minutes. One’s me. Who’s the other?”
“Oh. Thierry.” To your surprise, Hana’s face contorted into a sulky expression.
“Thierry? Really? That pompous spider prick?” He shifted and you could hear distant thumping, like he was slapping the end of his tail against the ground.
“What’s wrong with Thierry?” you asked, creeping back a little. He didn’t seem overly pissed, but it was probably best to get out of the way. Just in case.
“He’s stuck up. Thinks he’s so good ‘cause he’s the embodiment of some massive fear and he’s the one who works the closest with all the scientists.” Hana rolled his eyes so aggressively you were surprised he didn’t strain something.
“He’s nice to me,” you said. Hana grumbled incoherently, tail thumping. One of his hands dug furrows in the dirt. You watched his fingers as they made the scraping motions over and over. Something in your brain itched, drawing up the image of those strong fingers seizing you and squeezing until it hurt as you kicked against it-
The room was large. But the walls felt too much like they were pressing in on you.
The tray was empty and you hurried forward to grab it before jolting back to the door. Hana looked up from his sulking, alarm and maybe concern crossing his face. “Wh- Ya doin’ okay?”
“Yes.” The word came out steady, but mechanical in its steadiness. It almost hissed past your lips. Hana started to lift himself up, pulling more of his massive serpent’s tail in through the hole in order to support himself. You scrambled back from his rapidly more imposing form.
“Woah, easy there. I didn’t mean to startle ya.” He held his hands up, but that made him look even more imposing. “Uh. Maybe you should sit down? Ya don’t look so-”
You turned and fled down the hallway that led back to the relative safety of the entrance room. Hana yelled after you to wait, but his voice was distorted and echoing down the tunnel and you didn’t bother to listen. You just fled.
Perhaps your room was the safest place to go, but you couldn’t bring yourself to spend time there, given its small size. It was fine normally, but you couldn’t manage it while already keyed up. Fortunately, the lab techs could use someone to help them wipe down their equipment, so you stayed in there. There were too many people bustling around for your liking, but it was, on the whole, a good distraction.
For the next couple of days, you didn’t see Hana. It wasn’t terribly hard to pawn your task off onto someone else, as long as you agreed to pick up whatever they were working on. You learned a lot of simple tasks- cleaning, a lot about cleaning, as well as how to operate their computer system, and even a few mechanical skills from repairing things. That had been completely disallowed in the compound you’d spent you life in- at least, for someone as low-ranking as you.
Hana sent you messages a couple of times. Some of the people who did your job of delivering meals came back and told you he’d asked them to tell you that he wanted to talk. You ignored it. There was a part of you that felt bad about it. Then you remembered him getting all pissy about you talking to Thierry and those bad feelings went right back out the window. What had been his problem about all that anyway?
The answer had come to you midway through washing out a series of trays in the cafeteria- he was jealous.
That thought gave you pause. You hadn’t even really been thinking about it, just kind of turning things over idly in your mind. But it made sense, didn’t it? He’d gotten sulky right after finding out that you were spending time with someone else, and that matched up with jealousy. He’d gotten annoyed about Thierry, specifically. Was he just pissed that he wasn’t the oh-so-special fear monster that you were picking to spend all of your time with?
Or maybe he was upset because you visited him at mealtimes, when you had to, and you could see Thierry whenever you wanted. People didn’t visit him very often, did they? Even Thierry, who lived in the main compound, seemed surprised to get visitors. Maybe he was jealous because he was lonely.
That idea didn’t make you feel very good. Not that it was an excuse for him getting all annoyed, but… it was understandable. And maybe you’d overreacted a little bit. You had your own reasons for that, of course. But looking back on it, you probably could have handled the whole thing better.
You grimaced, placing all the dishes into their rack and sliding it onto a shelf above your head. Fine. You would go back to him. Apologize. It would be swallowing your pride, but… You remembered him calling after you. His reaching out. The idea of you ignoring him out of some petty hurt feelings? It made you feel awful.
The next day, you went to gather his food from the kitchen and found no tray waiting for you. After a bit of looking around, to make sure you hadn’t missed something, you approached the kitchen head. “Hey. When are we feeding Hana?”
He glanced back at you. “Thought you didn’t want to feed him anymore.”
A nervous prickle wound its way down your spine. “Uh. I’ve been wanting to try out some other jobs, but I am still interested in helping- look, did you give the food to someone else or not?”
He sighed. He was older, and clearly didn’t like you talking back to him and ruining his quiet kitchen. “No. He’s getting a later feeding. We’re inviting someone new in today.”
“What? Seriously?” You leaned over the serving window. “Who is it?”
He glared at you. “You’ll have to ask someone else for that information.”
You headed out, looking for… someone who knew what was going on, you guessed. Fortunately, you only needed to go down a couple halls before running into the very woman who had welcomed you to this place.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m glad to see you. You’ve been settling in well?”
Her voice had that tone to it, the tone of someone asking perfunctory questions out of politeness without really caring about the answers they were getting. “Yes, it’s fine,” you said, another response out of obligated politeness. “You’re going to see the new person?”
“Yes. You’re wanting to come with?” she asked, barely slowing in her step. You continued alongside her.
“Am I allowed to?”
She shrugged. “Certainly. They’ll be from your compound. It may help them to see a friendly face.”
There was a solid chance it would be a face you didn’t know, and even if you did know them, they may not have been friendly. But it got you closer to Hana, and maybe you could stay behind for a bit to talk to him. You tagged along after her, drawing closer to the entrance to the tunnel with every step.
The woman was quick and sure and it took a little time to emerge into the open room lit with floodlights. There was no one there. No one continued to be there for several minutes. You were about to sarcastically ask if you got the time wrong when a small avalanche of pebbles fell down the tunnel.
There was another small avalanche of pebbles, then another, then a scraping noise. Then a head and shoulders emerged into the room. It was a person, pale-skinned, with curly blonde hair. She was quite skinny and smeared with dirt, teeth gritted. As soon as she was partially freed from the tunnel, she struggled forward, fingers clawing at the ground. The woman stepped forward, pulling the newcomer out of the hole. A moment later, Hana slithered out, groaning and stretching.
“Cuttin’ it close there, aren’t y-” His eyes fell on you and a look of clear surprise flitted across his face. He blinked a couple times. You felt a bit sheepish under his gaze.
The newcomer coughed as she stood up. “Son of a bitch, that’s rough. You need to have a better greeting system for people arriving here, because getting grabbed by a massive snake is not it, seriously.” She stared around the room, taking it all in, and her gaze fell on you. Her face twisted. “You!”
It came back in a rush- she was a familiar face. Not a friendly one, though. One of the ones who’d seen- she knew you. She’d helped get you thrown into the pit. What had led her here, you didn’t know, but she was clearly pissed that you were in the same place.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“Same thing you are,” you snapped. “Shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, to be honest. How long until you tattled on the wrong person and got yourself thrown away?”
“Tattled?” Her face grew splotched with red. “That’s what you call it? Because I told people you murdered someone?”
There was the cold shock of silence for a few moments. “Murder?” Hana said. His voice was faintly shocked. “Ya said ya stole something.”
“It’s technically stealing. Stole someone’s life,” you said. “But it- it wasn’t like that, I didn’t just- I didn’t want to, really, but it happened and-”
“While we are willing to accept those who’ve been driven out of the compound for multiple reasons, we are much more hesitant when it involves murder,” the woman said. “That you haven’t disclosed it until now gives us much more reason for concern.” She stepped forward, ushering the newcomer behind her. There was a glint of metal and there was a gun pointed at you. You hadn’t even seen where she was carrying it. “If you’ll come with me-”
“Wait, wait,” Hana said. He slithered forward, pulling more of himself into the room to go almost between you and the woman. “No need for a gun, yeah? S’not necessary. Nothin’s happened, right? No one’s done anything here. And livin’ in that compound- there’s gotta be a good reason for the murder, yeah?”
“Reasons can be determined later. For now- containment. For safety.”
“Containment?” The word made your skin crawl like it was trying to get off your body. It brings to mind the containment you were kept in when you were initially convicted in the compound. It was barely a room. Not enough space to lie down. Barely enough to sit, with your legs tucked against your chest and your arms tight against your sides. Not enough room to move, not even to eat. Not that it mattered. You were kept there for nearly two full days. They didn’t bother to feed you.
“C’mon,” Hana was speaking, his voice wheedling. “Someone just shows up here and you’re gonna take her word? Y’think this one’s gonna kill someone? Really?” He jerked a thumb back at you, and you couldn’t even be offended. “S’not exactly a tough lookin’ piece of work.”
The woman hesitated, lowering the pistol a little. “It wouldn’t be permanent. Just for a couple days, while we review work details and determine if there should be an escort. It’s for safety.”
Hana rolled his eyes, a great, overexaggerated movement. “Sure. Fine. Look, if ya want to do containment, do it here.”
The woman’s gun lowered a little more, out of sheer confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
“Do the containment here.” Hana lifted his hands to gesture at the room around you. “Ya can shut the door that connects this place and the main facility, right? Do that and keep the little killer here.” He waved a hand toward you again.
“I’m not certain that’s a good idea,” the woman said.
“What d’ya think is gonna happen? Little killer can’t get through the door once it’s closed. Not without your permission.” He paused, likely for dramatic effect. “Unless ya think she’s gonna pull something on me.” And then he grinned, showing off his teeth, especially the ones that were too pointed to be a human.
The woman looked at you, then him. Then you, then him again. Then she sighed. “Fine. If you’re determined to keep an eye on her, then I’m not going to stop you.” She placed the gun back under her jacket in a holster you hadn’t noticed before, then grabbed the newcomer by the arm. They walked out together, the newcomer’s eyes locked on you until they vanished down the tunnel. A moment later, the door at the end of the hall shut and locked.
The tension vanished at once, and you sank to the ground. Your heart raced along in your chest, your breathing quick and trembling. You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to calm yourself. Hana didn’t approach, but he didn’t leave either. He just studied a wall, waiting for you to pull yourself together.
You did, eventually. “Thanks,” you mumbled. Hana glanced at you. “I mean it. You didn’t have to do that.”
He hummed, turning away from the wall. “So. Ya kill someone?”
Straight to the point, huh? You took a deep breath. “Yeah.” You paused. “Have you ever, uh. Y’know.”
“Killed someone? Couple times, yeah.” He stretched. “Well. Actually. Probably a lot more than that, but I don’t know if they count.”
You stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He shrugged, plucking at some of his hair. It was in really good shape, considering that he’d been outside for ages. Actually, he was also rather clean. Did they give him access to a shower or something? How did he fit? Did he just get hosed down?
“This big ol’ thing,” he said gesturing to his body, “has been around for a bit longer than this.” He tapped a finger against his head. “We were all like that for a while.” You assumed he meant the other phobics. “‘Ventually we woke up, but I killed quite a few before I got there. Wasn’t really me doing the killing, though- didn’t have my sparkling personality.” He threw you a wink. You rolled your eyes. “Not like I remember what happened then, anyway.”
He fell silent after that until you piped up. “What about the other two people you killed?”
“Oh.” He finger-combed his hair, seeming very interested in picking out the knots. “One of ‘em tried to kill me. Came at me with a big ol’ knife. That was before I ended up here.”
“The other?” you prompted when he fell quiet again. He snorted, lips curling up over his fangs.
“The other was after I came here. Nasty piece of work. A criminal from your compound, though I dunno if he was a part of the compound itself. Didn’t seem like it. Asked him about what he did to get sent here.” Hana’s lips curled further. “Don’t think he was in his right mind. Said he was pickin’ off people from the farms, raping them, then chucking their bodies somewhere in the fields to rot.” Hana hissed. It was low, inhuman. It made your hair stand on end. “So I killed ‘im. Don’t think he appreciated being on the receiving end.”
Your chest clenched so hard you couldn’t get in a breath. You remembered that. It had happened a few years ago. You had been so grateful that you worked closer to the inner compound, so that something like that could never happen to you. You’d been so sure it would never happen. So, so sure.
“Woah there.” Hana reared up a little, looking at you with clear alarm. “Easy. I didn’t mean to freak ya out. Take a breath before you pass out, all right?”
The choking sobs eased enough for you to do just that. Hana came hesitantly closer, caution in his eyes. “S’okay. He’s dead now. Did you, uh. Know him or somethin’?”
Your voice was strange, strangled, but you got the words out. “Knew of him, more like. I thought- I thought it was so good when he was gone because- I would never- worry about it-” You kept having to pause to gasp for air. Hana winced.
“Maybe we should talk about somethin’ else now, yeah? Uh. Damn, they didn’t give us water, I think ya could use some…” He scrounged around. “Thought there was a spigot somewhere around here… not that it’d be super clean water, I guess.”
“I’m fine,” you said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry about things ya don’t need to be sorry for. It sets a bad precedent.” He finished fumbling his way along the wall and sighed. “Hmph. I don’t see it. Maybe I can bang on the door and make them-”
“Don’t bother. Like I said, I’m fine.” You took in a deep breath. Water would have been nice -your mouth was getting kind of tacky- but it wasn’t necessary. Hana gave you a skeptical look, but he didn’t bang on the door. That was probably for the best- the space was small enough that the sound would have echoed and that would have freaked you out more.
“Suppose it’s a bad time to ask and all,” Hana said. “But, uh. Y’ever gonna tell me why you killed someone? Just seems fair, is all.”
You took a deep breath, and then another. And then another and another. Hana waited, not really looking at you. His tail was still partially in the tunnel, but you could imagine his tail tip flicking idly, back and forth, while he waited.
“It’s not easy to talk about,” you said eventually.
Hana nodded, accepting. “I can see that.”
“I didn’t mean to- no.” You didn’t want to lie to him. “I did. I knew what was going to happen when I went there and I went anyway. I knew.”
Hana remained silent, his eyes flicking over to look at you. Another deep breath. “When I was there, I worked mostly in the town. It was a lot of stuff that I did. Repair work, maintenance, animal care, that kind of thing. Outside, but close to the center of the compound. That’s how you knew how important someone was. How close to the center they were. Eventually, I started getting called for other things. Maintenance on the hall itself, being a gopher for messages from the hall to the other workers or even bringing food into the officials. That was the first problem, I guess. The officials.
“There were a bunch of them, people who kind of ran things in the compound. I mean, I say a bunch. Probably around five or six. We never saw all of them. But Peter was one of the ones we saw, often. He was the… I don’t know. The charisma, maybe. His official job was something to do with assigning tasks and population management, but he really made people want to stay. He could talk to you and make you feel like the most important person in the world, or like the shit under his shoe. Peter could make you feel good about doing the most menial, backbreaking work every day because he could make you feel like you were doing something important.” You paused. You’d expected to feel upset or near tears, but you just felt oddly numb. “He made me feel important. About everything.”
Hana was a short distance away, watching with rapt attention. You couldn’t quite bring yourself to look at him, but you could tell he was paying attention. “He was nice to me, and I thought he was kind. I was so happy when he started getting me to work more in the hall. I thought it meant I was doing well. And eventually he started getting close. Asking me to take meals with just him. I thought it was strange, but I was happy. And then he started to ask for other things. And I thought… I can’t refuse him. Ever.
“The first time he tried to have sex with me, he was drunk. Like, pretty damn drunk. I let it happen because I wasn’t sure if he would remember it. I didn’t want to offend him if he did. I thought it was just a one-time thing. Except… the next time he was less drunk. And then the third time he wasn’t drunk at all. And every time I thought he wouldn’t do it again. By the time I realized it was going to keep happening, I had no idea how I was supposed to stop it. Refusing felt like I was suddenly kicking up a fuss over something that hadn’t been a big deal at first, but it had been a big deal all along!”
Your voice broke, rising in volume. Hana bristled, looking alarmed, but uncertain. Should he move closer? Back away? Comfort you? Seeing his panicked bewilderment, you took a deep breath and tried to relax. “It’s- I tried to stop it in small measures. Tried to tell him not now, or another time, or even tried to just cuddle.” You giggled, a little hysterically. “He wasn’t pleased. He got pushier. More demanding and more controlling. I started to get a little desperate. I talked about what was happening with some other people, but those who weren’t jealous or thought I was being ungrateful were scared of him. And then when he found out I was telling people, he was furious. Said I was trying to make other people jealous or get attention, even when I said that wasn’t what I was doing at all. He got more aggressive. Angrier with me. I couldn’t do anything right anymore, and every time I did something wrong, he threatened to send me away. I didn’t want to stay with him, but I didn’t want to leave, either. It was awful.
“I think I went crazy for a while. I was so stressed I couldn’t even think straight for ages. I just wanted him out of my life. I had access to a lot of things in the hall at that point, including the medicine storage. I thought if I slipped something into his wine when he was drunk enough, maybe I could pin it on his drinking, that he’d just had too much. It wasn’t like we could do autopsies. And that’s what I tried. Put a bunch of crushed-up sleeping pills into the wine and brought it too him when I thought he might already be too drunk to notice the taste. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong. Maybe he didn’t drink enough, or I put too little in, or maybe he was just in death throes. But he came at me, and I hit him. I think it killed him, or it was a combination of that and the medicine. So I panicked, tried to hide the body, and then, well. You know what happened after that.”
Hana was silent for a moment. He took in a deep breath, released it slowly. His eyes closed for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s really, really not,” Hana said. “It’s gross. And fucked. And horrible. I’m glad ya killed him.” He turned toward the door with a murderous look in his eyes. “And that bitch was going to-”
“She didn’t know. Why would she? It’s not like most people knew what happened. She knows what they told her. I murdered one of our leaders. Honestly, getting thrown into the pit was a mercy for me. I thought they might string me up and have a torture free for all.”
Hana shuddered. It traveled along his shoulders and all down his tail. It was sort of funny to watch. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” You weren’t sure what else to say. You were just tired.
Hana moved a little closer to you, but stayed out of touching distance. “I’ll talk to ‘em. If you want. Tell them not to- not to have ya here anymore. Ya don’t deserve it.”
“It’s fine.”
“It ain’t fine! Ya don’t deserve it!” There was a thump from outside, Hana’s tail swinging wildly. “It’s about not lettin’ them punish people who shouldn’t be punished!”
“I did kill a man,” you observe mildly.
“Yeah, and ya should have gotten a medal for it,” Hana huffed.
“I don’t really mind being here. It’s not so bad. Company’s nice.” You smiled at him. He frowned back.
“Thought ya didn’t like me.” He wasn’t saying it accusingly. Just as an observation.
“Oh. No, I don’t not like you. I know I freaked out last time I saw you. I got… worried when you were upset about Thierry.”
Hana drooped. “Eh. Yeah. That wasn’t my best moment. I didn’t mean to scare ya. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Running wasn’t my best moment, either,” you said. “I thought about coming back soon after I ran, but I was kinda embarrassed. Sorry.”
Hana laughed. “We both fucked up then, huh? Maybe me more than you. Glad you’re here now, though. S’good to see ya.”
“It’s good to see you too,” you said. “Like I said before.” Hana grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners.
Eventually, he departed back to the surface, but he spent much more of his time down in the cave with you. It was quietly peaceful. After what you estimated to be a few hours, the door banged and Hana perked up as food was slipped through the door. He managed to catch it before it closed completely and there were a few minutes of mumbled conversation. Hana retreated, letting the door close. He seemed smugly pleased with himself.
“I gave them a piece of my mind,” he said. “Not as much as I wanted to, but ya know. They wanted it to be all quick.” He shrugged. “They’re gonna let ya out soon. Didn’t tell ‘em too much, but I did say it was self-defense.”
“They believed you?” you asked, a bit skeptical.
“More or less. Honestly, I think they’d already gotten the idea that you killed someone high-ranking, and they’re more likely to call self-defense for that. When I told ‘em you’d killed someone in self-defense and they were a high-up, they seemed to be content.”
“It wasn’t really self-defense,” you said. “It was premeditated murder.”
Hana snorted. “He was raping ya. Ya stopped him. It was self-defense.”
It was such a simple sentence, but the way he’d said it, like it was obvious and clear, that you should have done it, that it was as simple as protecting yourself- it made you crumble. You dropped your head into your hands and whimpered. Hana froze, then slid closer. He seemed momentarily lost, until you slumped against him. You didn’t hold him back, but you allowed him to hold you while you shivered and whimpered. He was careful, keeping his touch light, but there. It wasn’t restrictive- just a reminder he was there for you.
Once you were done crying yourself out, you lay down and closed your eyes, exhausted. “I’m going to sleep,” you mumbled. “Let me know when they come to get me.”
Hana nodded. “Will do.” He lay down next to you, watching you lazily. “When ya get out of here… come back to visit me, yeah?”
You opened your eyes. Hana seemed… melancholy, tense. He was waiting for your answer. “Yeah,” you said. You slid your hand out over his. “You’re never going to get rid of me after this. Promise.”
Before you closed your eyes again, you saw Hana grinning.
True to his word, you were released from the cell and allowed to go back to your room. The newcomer still glared at you, but she never made any effort to do anything. In fact, a week later, she came up and gave a mumbled apology. You forgave her, at least enough to tolerate her presence.
And you were back on feeding duty for Hana. He was pleased every time you came by, always attentive and waiting. The feedings took longer now- sometimes so long that people had to come get you. It was just nice talking to Hana. The only issue was that it was uncomfortable for him to stay down for a long time. You hadn’t realized it before, as he never complained, but the tunnel was little tight around him, and his tail could cramp if he spent too long in there.
One day, as he was carefully retreating back through the tunnel, (he had to hold his arms out in front of him, lest they catch awkwardly on the uneven walls), you caught his attention. “I, uh. I couldn’t go up there with you, could I?”
He froze, arms still outstretched. “Ya want to?”
You huffed. “You don’t need to sound like it’s insane to want that.”
“No, no, s’not what I meant.” He wriggled a little ways back out. “I meant, ya never want to go through here. It’s too tight for ya.”
“It’s tight,” you agreed. “But I want to try anyway.” Your heart was thundering just thinking about it, but you liked the idea of the fresh air and sunlight on the other side.
Hana pursed his lips. “Are ya sure? Not to doubt ya, but if ya get in and decide ya don’t like it, it’s gonna be hard to get back out.”
“I got it. Trust me.” You gave him a pleading look. He squirmed, restless in his worry. Then he sighed.
“I can’t stop ya. Just be careful.” He retreated again, slower this time. You took a deep breath and pressed inward.
You were going forward, instead of in reverse, so your arms were pinned to your sides within a few moments. You couldn’t move them an inch, could barely lift your head. You could kick your legs and wriggle to force yourself forward.
There was panic from the moment the stone walls restricted your arms, but the moment when they pinched in so tight you couldn’t move without some scratches was when it really set in. You tried not to breathe in great, whooping gasps, because that make dust fly up your nose and mouth and only increased the terror that you couldn’t breathe, but it was hard. The walls were so tight. You could barely breathe enough to scream, but you could make little noises of terror. There was a pale light distantly above and in front of you, but you couldn’t reach it. You could see the sun, but you were in the dark and you couldn’t bring yourself to move forward.
The pale light wobbled, then a shape moved across it. A head and shoulders. “Hey!” Hana called out. His voice echoed faintly down the tunnel. “Ya stopped moving.”
You tried to speak, but it came out as a thin squeak. Hana went very still. Then he spoke again, in a soft, gentle voice. “Hey. S’okay. Ya got this. It’s scary, yeah? Being stuck in there. But if ya just move your legs a little, ya can keep moving forward. Ya can get out. Just a little further.”
You groaned. But you kicked. Your legs thrust you forward. And Hana’s shape, backlit by the sun, got clearer and clearer.
His hand reached in as soon as you were close enough and he pulled, gripping your collar until you had wriggled free.
“There ya go!” Hana sagged in relief as you scrambled onto the dirt floor. “Whoo! Was a little worried.” He lowered himself to look into your face. “You’re okay? Nothin’ hurt?”
“Nah. Fine.” You could steady your breathing. “It was tighter than I remembered. But I’m okay now.”
You rolled onto your back, letting the warm kiss of the sun land across your face. “It’s a nice day.”
“Yeah,” Hana said, staring down at you. “It is.” He curled his body closer in around you, surrounding you in snaky coils. He didn’t block out the sun, careful to keep his body to the sides, rather than directly overtop you.
You reached out and tentatively patted his side. The snake body shifted under your touch, the scales slightly warm. Hana watched indulgently as you traced the scales with a finger. Then, finally, he lowered his upper body to the ground next to you. You lay there together for a bit, basking in the sun.
Hana shifted next to you, a little restless. “Are ya goin’ to be up here long?”
“Trying to get rid of me,” you teased. You couldn’t see his face from your angle, but you knew he was rolling his eyes.
“No. ‘Course not. Just wonderin’ if they were missing ya down there.” He was quiet for a moment. “Just thought ya might want to stay up here a bit longer.”
“I’m not eager to go into the tunnel again,” you agreed. “And it’s nice up here. The sun’s nice. Haven’t seen it in a while.” Hana shifted, as if impatient. “And the company is nice.”
“Just nice?” Hana poked. “Faint praise, isn’t it?”
“Well, maybe I could think of someone else I might want to hang out with. Thierry cou-” Hana lifted himself so he was leaning over you, practically pouting. His tail moved, curling even tighter around you. It could have been threatening, but you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling.
“Hey. What did I ever do to ya?” he complained. “I’ve been nothin’ but cordial to ya and now you’re just-”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you huffed. You reached up and petted his face. He closed his eyes, instantly melting into your touch. You brushed your fingers along his cheekbones. He looked quite peaceful. Happy. You had a sudden impulse.
Before you could think better of it, you pulled his face in and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
Hana’s eyes flew open. He blinked once, twice, startled. You wanted to giggle, but a flicker of nervousness in your guts stifled it. His tail curled in close, a tight mass of muscle. Despite that, he kept it from tightening so much that it would make you uncomfortable. “Did ya mean to do that?” he asked. You nodded. A slow grin spread across his face. “Then I’m going to have to return the favor. If ya don’t mind…”
No sooner had you nodded than you were covered in enthusiastic kisses from a snake man. Giggling at the ticklish feeling and wrapped in coils and arms, you felt… surprisingly safe. And not even a little afraid.
#exophilia#monster lover#male monster#naga boyfriend#naga#snake man#monster romance#ocxoc#naga lover#romance#sorry i didn't edit this one at all I have a cold and my head is foggy I just wanted to get it out
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Ogon’s pale hands scraped up her umber thick thighs, leaving noticeable goosebumps behind the trail—applying pressure as he settled in the junction of her knees.
Genevieve placed a hand on his abdomen, not to push away but to release some of the need she had to touch him. The muscles tensed under her touch and he groaned deeply at the gesture.
Pushing forward until her knees were almost leveled with her ample breasts, Ogon collected both of her legs with one large calloused hand whilst grasping his weeping cock with the other.
He stroked his shaft slowly, tapping the bulbous head onto her clit that peaked through her drenched folds, watching unblinkingly as she withered and jutted her hips for more friction.
“May I?”
#monster fucker#monster smut#tw monsterfucking#female writers#fantasy#possessive#writeblr#writers on tumblr#male monster#alien x human#alien x reader#monster lover#monster nsft#female reader
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Pt 2 18+
Pt 2.
Werebear Toric 18+
Y/n P.O.V
I finally have the mate bond everyone was telling me about. It's only been three days since the ball, and I've been completely different. Toric has taken over the political side of my kingdom, so I could worry about my people. I've even helped in the woman's home. I make sure they get everything they need to start for themselves.
Tonight is a full moon, and since I have goddess blood I must shift on the first full moon. I walk into Toric's office with a basket of honey biscuits I made this morning. He's told me that he'll eat anything with honey. His head snaps up as I walk in, I giggle to myself when I see him sniffing the air.
"What's you got there, honey bee?" He looks at the basket as I slightly swing it.
"Honey biscuits." I put the basket in front of him. "I actually have something to tell you."
He stops mid bite to beckon me to his side of the desk. Once I'm there he pulls me to his thick thigh, giving me his full attention.
"As you know I have goddess blood, so that means on every full moon I must shift. It's only the first night though." I fidget as I talk to him.
He grips my hip in his one large hands to stop my movements. I rest my hand on his wrist while I look up at him.
"We'll go into the woods if you need to just stop moving like that." He growls in his chest.
"That's not all Toric." I look down timidly. "My heat also starts the next morning."
His body completely shakes as he growls, holding in a tight grip. He sits me on the desk, so he quickly gets a hold of himself. He gives me a quick kiss as he stands.
"Okay we'll shift at sunset, and then when you shift back to this gorgeous form we will come back to our chambers. Now it's your decision if I lock you inside alone or with me, and we mate fully." He looks me in the eyes as he gives me his plan.
"I want my mate with me." I move my hands along his chest before I lean my body into him.
I'm moved back to his lap as we enjoy the biscuits. Me feeding him a piece made us start kissing, getting completely lost, but not for long, he had a lot of work to do if he was to spend a week with me without any interruptions. I give him a kiss on the cheek before I leave for the kitchen.
As I'm putting the food platters on the table at the foot of our bed when I noticed the sun was setting. I quickly grabbed the bag I put together that had a blanket, a couple of Torics shirts, and I almost ran out the door. However I'm blocked by my mate with a very amused face as he practically catches me.
"I take it you're ready Honeybee." He laughs as he smooths his hands down my arms.
"I was making sure everything was prepared for this week, and I lost track of time." I grumble at him. "But I am ready." I hold up the bag with a proud smile on my face.
"What do you got there?" He eyes the bag as it moves in the air.
"A blanket and two of your shirts. I thought it would be easier for me than a whole gown. Is that okay if I use one?" I smile when he pulls me close to him.
"Oh Honeybee, you wearing my clothes is something else that makes me grateful for your heat." His deep voice makes me lean against him.
We began our walk to the woods, and I could sense Toric getting nervous even though his face is still plain. We get to our spot on the far left side of the border. When everyone was told I shift over here they don't come over here out of respect. Toric places the blanket down once we stop, and he helps me sit down. He however stays standing, causing me to look at him in confusion.
"Why won't you sit Toric?" I raise my hand to him.
"Because I have to be honest with you Honeybee." He lightly holds my hand. "When we shift I will not be a wolf. My mother had me before she found her true mate, and then had my brother." He looks so vulnerable. "I'm going to shift first so you know I won't hurt you."
I began to say his name, but he stopped me. He steps behind a tree, and it's not long before I hear him shift. I hear the leaves crunching as he walks around. I gasp as a grizzly bear walks toward me with clothes in his mouth. I gently take the clothes, and place them on my lap. I'm completely amazed that my mate is a big bear. I run my hand up his snout to the top of his head, but when I move over to one of his ears I giggle. When I start to scratch them he leans his heavy head into my chest. I keep scratching for just a moment before I start to feel cramping in my lower stomach and back.
"Toric." I whimper. "I have to shift."
I quickly step behind the tree and quickly throw my dress down. I still wasn't quick enough because when I shift my dress rips from it getting stuck on my head. I hold the dress in my mouth as I growl in frustration. I walk out dropping my dress on the blanket swatting at it with my paw. Toric gives me a soft roar before nudging my neck with his nose. I just lean my head into his neck and rub my head into his scent glands. He lets me keep rubbing my body to him until I'm completely sitting in front of him.
Toric holds his big arms around me as he lays us down with his body curled around mine. I'm brought out of my peace when the scent of a deer. I'm rising up to go hunt it when I'm pushed back down with a grunt. Toric licks my nose before leaving me to go hunt. I give him a quick yap of excitement just as he walks through the bushes. My mate is hunting for me. I roll on my back, kicking my legs, yapping for my mate to hurry. I'm so wrapped up in my own head I didn't realize my mate was watching me act like a complete pup. Him nuzzling his face into my stomach made me jump. His eyes held amusement as he turned his head to the dead deer on the ground.
After eating we lay back down. I fall asleep from the warmth of his fur, and when I wake I'm human. His deep snores tell me he's still sleeping, so I slowly reach the bag. I'm putting his shirt on as I hear him shift back to human, and wrap his arm around my stomach.
"How was your shift Honeybee?" His breath hits my shoulder as he leans closer grabbing his clothes.
"Great. I had great meat, and didn't need the blanket." I giggle.
"Speaking of meat. Please tell me what had you rolling and kicking around." He chuckles when I turn away from him. "Oh come on now."
I move my face back to him with a sigh. "I was happy I have a mate that hunts for me. I was just going to do it, because I'm used to doing it myself." I laugh.
"(Y/n) you are my mate, and you are meant to be a Queen." He grabs the bag, pulling the blanket out. "Which means…." He wraps me up in the blanket before lifting up like a bride. "You don't do anything, but get taken care of while I get you whatever it is you want." He carries me back to the castle.
We have just walked into the kitchen when I feel a wave of heat causing me to whimper and grip Toric's chest. He then quickly gets us to our chambers, lightly laying me on the bed, and locking the doors. I'm whimpering as he walks back to me. When I can finally look at him I realize he hasn't had a shirt on this whole time, and just the thought of me touching him makes me whimper at him.
"You ready Honeybee?" He moves a hand up my leg.
I don't respond, just move to my knees and lift my ass into the air. I need him now, and hearing the growl he releases lets me know he feels just like me. He moves his hands over my ass to my hips as I lean further to the bed. My chest is against the blanket when I hear him tear something, and it takes me seconds to figure out it was his pants. I'm beginning to pant when I feel him rub at my opening.
"Toric, please." I whine desperately.
"I got you, little mate. Just take it slowly." His voice goes deep as he slides inside me.
He gets stopped at the barrier, but he just wraps his big arms around me giving me a kiss to the shoulder as he breaks through. I gasp loudly, gripping his arm while he keeps going until his hips are connected to mine. He doesn't move his arm, he just moves my hair to hold in his other hand as he kisses along my shoulders. My head leans back to his shoulder feeling my body relax under his, and he took this as a sign to move.
"Honeybee, you feel so good." He groans as he begins to move.
I move my hips back to meet his every thrust, but I know it won't last long. I feel his grip on my hair tighten when I move my hips up and down. I smirk to myself when he growls in my back as he stands up, and begins to pull my head back. I moan out from him grinding into me, and the pain from my hair getting pulled.
"Mine." He growls into the air.
He gives my hip a forceful push down, and just rams into me roughly, holding for a second.
"Toric please." I whine out while I try to move with him.
"What little mate? Tell me what you need." He mocks me.
"I need you." I move my hand back to try to grab him somehow.
"You need me or do you need…." He does finish, he just begins to ram faster this time.
"Yes." I scream out as my nails dig into the blanket.
I feel my body lock up, my legs shake against his thighs, and my eyes squeeze shut. He pulls me up to his chest, his hand moves to my jaw, moving my face toward his, so he can kiss me deeply. His other hand moves up to play with my breast as he keeps pounding away at me hitting the same spot over and over again. He growls when I start locking up again, but doesn't let up he even goes faster.
"Let go Honeybee." His hand falls down to go back around my stomach holding me tighter.
My head lazily falls back with a body crushing moan as I scratch his arm. I move my hips in circles to chase my release only for it to make us fall to bed with him covering me, and releasing deep inside of me. I look up at him with half open eyes, and lean my forehead against his cheek. We take a second to catch our breaths before he slowly pulls out, making me gasp.
"Just lay here I'll be back." He gently lifts me to the pillows.
I smile to myself as I try to gather my body. Toric comes back with a soft linen with warm water on it from the basin next to the fireplace. I give a smile of thanks as he helps clean me up, but my head is thrown back with a moan when he moves over my clit. He smirks at me before he moves his fingers in circles. I grip the blanket as I lean up to moan at him.
"Toric...I cant."
"Just one more little mate." He leans up to kiss me quickly.
He keeps moving his fingers in circles, but when I lift my hips he pushes one inside. He curls his finger upward. I fall to the bed with an arch. I can't find my body as I throw my head back with an actual scream of release. With his finger in his mouth he comes to lay next to me. He covers us with the blanket I threw across the bed.
"Get some sleep when you wake I'll be here for you, my queen." He growls into my neck.
"I love you my mate." I tell him my voice is full of sleep.
"I love you as well my Honeybee." I comfortably wiggle myself to be on his knee, basically like I would be if we were sitting.
My heat lasted the whole week, and poor Toric was so tired once it was over. I laugh when he gives me looks now when I tell him a full moon is coming. I do tell him he can lock me in if he can't do it this month. He just growls at me and bends me over, usually it's his desk. He finally met my mother when she came to tell us I was with child. Toric immediately dropped to his knees to place his forehead to my stomach. Our son, Ambrose was born in the middle of winter. If it wasn't for Toric's warmth I don't think I would've made it.
#werebear#shapeshifter#bears#x reader smut#x reader#smut#reader x oc#reader#fluff#romance#monster boyfriend#monster lover#monster romance#monster boy#monster love#werewolves#werewolf smut#mate bond#male monster#fantasy romance#long reads#bear love
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Centaur: Night Rider
That feeling when your centaur lover of elven origin has had enough of your nonsense. Your insistence on reading when its that special time of year for his people, and you are insisting on staying in and reading! His annoyance is laid bare as he insists on going out with the moon begins to climb, but you decline in favor of reading your favorite book. Forcing him to be direct as his mother has taught him with troublesome mates.
Resulting in you, still laid on your favorite blanket, suddenly finding his rear hooves slamming down on either side of your shoulders. Startling you to no end before finding your head pinned to the floor by two extremely warm and swollen balls as he squats down on you. Musky and near sticky from the intensity of his natural needs. Each bigger than your chest and weighing just as much as he settles his weight down on you.
Nearly sitting as a dog on your head as he makes a point of taking your shorts off. Unbuckling and sliding off to show he's not a brute as you protest. Only to be silenced by him shifting his rump across your face to have his plump sack pressing against your mouth. Ensuring no further protests as he grips your throbbing member and begins stroking.
Feeling his determination to get you to relieve yourself with his firm practiced strokes. Needing but a few minutes before you spill heavily into his hand for him to loudly drink and lick clean before he gets up. Leaving you breathlessly as he grabs a belly harness you purchased for his birthday the month prior.
Something you immediately regret as he stands over you for a moment with a smile. Then leaning down and sniffing your face for a few moments before kissing you and stripping you of your shirt. Making it far easier for him to slip you into the harness before stepping into the straps and pulling you up.
Nice and taunt against his belly and rump firmly pressed against his sheath. Barely getting everything in place and tightened down properly before you moan with his cock pressing free of his sheath and entering you in one smooth motion. Needing but a few tense pleasure digging moments before you find your favorite blanket wrapped around you.
"Now, we have much time to make up for, most of the herd are already on their seventh releases into their partners. And I still intend on setting the new record with thirty before the first light of dawn!", he proudly says as you jostle and bounce on his swelling cock as he walks out the front door.
Feeling his plump sack bouncing and smacking against your rear with each step as your belly and his becomes warm with your pleasure driven release. Earning a delighted chuckle from him before he sprints off into the field and away from the house. Barely slowing as you cum again with his own balls clenching against your rear. Letting loose a flood you know to be dozens of gallons yet refusing to miss a single step or sway in his gallop.
Racing hard into the night to catch up with his herd, joining them for their games and chases. Sharing in the joyous fun as you speak to the others on their lovers belly as you are, drinking wine brought by the others. Laughing heartily as you do not regret teasing your lover as you had. Joking over who is leaving the bigger and longer trails of seed behind them. And by the peak of the moon he has already caught up and exceeded most others in releases.
A delightful eighteen heavy releases into you with no signs of slowing or stopping as he takes the lead in the next race. Galloping hard and fast with his balls slapping against your ass as its a long one this time. Earning another two releases by the time he reaches the finish, in third place. But no hard feelings are hard as everyone, including him, cheers for the one who came in first.
As the moon reaches high above he proudly declares his count of twenty-seven. Earning a few whistles and cheer as more wine is had before he and everyone gathered hunch over slightly and really begin fucking their belly tied partners. Encouraged by the others to thrust hard and fast into you as your seed has long since soaked through his fur and spilling out around your belly and back. Dripping heavily onto the ground as he cums again and again.
Determined now as he breaks the record of thirty releases and continues without slowing. Leaving you to try and count with difficulty with the pleasure soaking through your numbing mind. Feeling his release blending together with the next till exhaustion finally takes you. Slipping into a intense dream of pleasure that seems to never end.
Waking the next day with a pleasant snap, finding yourself staring at your lovers chest. Taking a few seconds to realize he has not taken you off yet. And... he's cooking breakfast.
"Fret not dear, its tradition for one to keep their partner on them for the weeks leading up to the full moon. To ensure proper bonding and show of love between two men such as ourselves. And for those with woman as their lovers, to ensure their seed takes.", he says with pleased tones.
Barely finishing before you feel his balls tense once more with a fresh filling of warmth. Only to frown up to him as you point out he's the one who is going to be scrubbing the floors clean, not you.
#nsft monster#monsterfucker#monster lover#monster boyfriend#male monster#terato#tetrophilia#fantasy#monster breeding#nsft centaur#Belly rider#centaur x human#Male Centaur x Male
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Commission: M!Dragon Boss x NB!Reader
Notes: A lovely commission from a lovely follower! I have edited out their personal details and anything they wanted removed. This has been made a NB-Reader Fic for the public enjoyment. Enjoy!
Warnings: no warnings
Themes: 5K words, sfw, slow burn
~See this first and Part 2 on Patreon~
A massive yawn ripped through you as you made your way to work.
The morning was as normal as ever. And the traffic going to work was slow, but nothing that would make you late. Your brother, Jimmy, was seated beside you in the driver's seat and was feeling just as sleepy as he drove the usual route on autopilot.
When he spoke, it startled you a little out of your thoughts, “Hey, isn’t that new boss coming in today?”
You hummed an affirmative. “Yeah. He’s coming in to meet the managers and staff, apparently.”
Jimmy nodded and slowed to turn into the parking lot of your workplace. And almost immediately, you spotted the very expensive sports car amongst the various normal vehicles. It gleamed with a polished shine in the sunlight and even had a personalized plate with the word “Boss” on it.
Your brother laughed as he parked beside it.
“I like this guy already.” Jimmy said as he turned off the vehicle.
You got out of the car and admired the sleek looking vehicle. It was well cared for and didn’t have a single dent or scratch on it. You were almost scared to walk past it in case you somehow caused some damage to the paint job.
“So, any bets on what he looks like?” You asked and Jimmy shrugged. Leading the way towards the main building.
“I’m getting ‘rich pompous man’ vibes from the car. Possibly mob-boss style clothing and an attitude problem.” Jimmy said. You walked along the side of the building towards the front entrance. You overtook your brother, half laughing at the image you were getting in your mind.
“I’m thinking, a guy like the Penguin from Batman,” You said. “Kinda ugly, but rich and well dressed. Attitude problem that is going to cause us a headache- Oh!”
While talking, you were only half paying attention to where you were going. And as you flung open the door to enter your workplace, you almost slammed right into a towering being of muscle and hard scales.
A massive hand reached out and grabbed your arm, steadying you as you stumbled back.
“Oop, my apologies! I didn’t see you coming in.” A rumble of a voice said as you were released from the iron grip. And as you looked up, having to crane your neck a little, you met the startling golden gaze of a Dragon.
His smile was easy-going and showed a small sliver of white fangs behind his lips. The crisp black suit hugged the huge toned body well, displaying the curves and thick muscle beneath the material.
And his scales, a deep ocean blue, contrasted beautifully with the dark coloring of his clothing.
“Oh, thank you. No it was my fault, I wasn’t paying attention.” You said, unable to properly look this creature in the eyes. His gaze was captivating and he towered over you like a tree. You weren’t intimidated in any way…just a little flustered.
“Ah, well, let’s both share the blame. Then at least no one is at fault.” His eyes gleamed like melted gold coins, matching the warm laugh that rumbled through his chest. “Kierce Silver. I’m the newest addition to your workforce.”
He eyed your uniform and offered out his hand. Which you took and your fingers were swallowed in the wide palm. You felt his claws carefully move so they didn’t scratch your skin as you shook his hand.
“I’m (y/n), and welcome! Do you need a tour to the main office? Or have you already been given the rundown of the place?” You asked.
The building wasn’t complicated to navigate. And training always involved a heavy dose of orientation before actually getting the person to work. But you still remembered your first day here and remembered the comfort of a friendly face being there with you while you were shown the ropes. You tried to help out any new people so that they didn’t feel awkward while being introduced to other employees and actually feel comfortable on their first day.
Kierce smiled and his chuckle was warm. He stepped to the side and gestured for you to lead the way. “By all means, I’d love a tour.”
Jimmy, having been standing somewhat behind you, watching this entire interaction go down; slipped past you and hurried inside. Giving the newcomer his own introduction and shook the man’s hand.
“I gotta run, but if you need anything, just let me know.” Jimmy offered as he retreated into the building. Shooting you a little cheeky grin as he passed by.
You ignored him and started making your way through the hallways. Giving Kierce a rundown on the building and where everything is. You knew the place fairly well and gave your best explanations to each of the areas and what Kierce would expect in each one.
The Dragon hadn’t told you where he would be working. But usually new hires were always on the factory floor with the conveyor belts or working alongside a seasoned employee. Until they were trained and able to do jobs by themselves.
Halfway through your walk, you realized you were talking nonstop, gesturing wildly as you went on and on about the building. You quickly stopped and gave Kierce an apologetic smile.
“It’s a lot to take in, sorry. But you’ll figure it all out after a few days.” You said with a shrug. “The warehouse is pretty basic. Have you been given the safety orientation?”
Kierce nodded. Seeming to have been drinking in every word you spoke. “I’m familiar with the protocols. I have a lot of experience with this line of work, so I don’t think I will need to do any of the orientation details.”
“Everyone needs to do it.” You said. Coming up to the windows that showed the massive layout of machinery and conveyor belts. “It’s part of the company’s policies and guidelines. If you don’t, you can’t go onto the warehouse floor.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can squeeze past that little roadblock.” His grin seemed too wide. And it slightly annoyed you at how smug his tone was. “But I appreciate you taking the time to show me around. We should do this more often, I’d like to get to know all of my employees.”
Em…Employees?
You finally properly looked up at this Dragon. His ivory horns were neatly filed and polished to a shine. His blue scales were almost reflective like a mirror and the suit was a little more tailored now that you looked a little harder. He looked too…well dressed for someone who was going to be down on the floor all day. Or was coming in for an interview. Which would have been your other guess.
His handsome features crinkled with a soft laugh. “You were too cute to pass up the tour.” He said. “Let me start over. I’m Kierce Silver, your new boss. I was just dropping by to get some paperwork and make introductions. I couldn’t pass up spending a little time with a pretty little jewel like yourself.”
Your heart was hammering in your chest.
This was your new boss? This was not at all what you had expected. And…did he just call you…pretty?
There was something in the way he smiled. It seemed…to smug for your liking. And the dazzling, coy crinkle around his eyes rubbed you the wrong way.
So much so, that the friendliness you shared with him dwindled into a polite, professional smile. And you nodded curtly. Nothing that would be considered rude or impolite, but merely acknowledging his words.
“Well, welcome to the workplace.” You said. “I’m sure you don’t need me anymore then, I’ll be off to clock in.”
Before Kierce could try and rectify the conversation, you were turning away from him and walking towards the office. The Dragon physically gawked at the sudden change in your demeanor. Caught by surprise, he wasn’t able to kick his body into motion to chase after you as you disappeared through another set of doors.
He managed to catch up with you just as you were halted by a coworker, who seemed to be talking rapidly about something.
You didn’t see Kierce come up behind you, but the way your friend Amber’s rant about the hot new boss came to a screeching halt, told you that he had just come up behind you.
You turned slowly to look up at the guy, and his smile was apologetic, but still had the curling smirk at the corners.
“I’m sorry if I offended you back there,” Kierce said. “I was only being playful.”
“I wasn’t offended. You just caught me off guard, is all.” You replied. But the bitterness in your tone told Kierce that he had in fact hit a small nerve. “And if I kept talking, I would have been made late.”
It was only a half truth. You had possibly ten minutes before you really needed to clock in.
Kierce nodded and looked around the office where you had put your bag down. There were alot of people staring and a few were whispering amongst themselves. None were paying attention to you thankfully.
The woman beside you was beaming up at him. And he smiled in return, offering his hand to her as he introduced himself.
You found yourself rolling your eyes as the coy tone returned to the Dragon’s voice. You decided to use Amber as an escape and quickly ducked away to go start your day.
Kierce was the talk of the factory.
He seemed to be all anyone could talk about. He stuck around for another hour to meet the rest of his employees and then had to leave for other business.
But he might as well have stayed around for the rest of the day. Since every conversation you had with someone was about the new Dragon.
“He’s so handsome! I’ve never met a Dragon before. He is so pretty.” One person cooed as a few of you worked over an assembly belt. “His blue scales are gorgeous! Is it too weird if I ask to touch his arm?”
“Did you see him bring flowers for Milly? What a sweetheart. He’s only been here for a few hours and he’s already got everyone liking him.” Another had said with a laugh.
And you couldn’t really escape him either. Everywhere you went, he was there. And that warm, cocky smile was there to greet you. Through the work week Kierce was coming and going from the building. Instead of Milly going out of her way to leave the building just to talk with him about the business, he would come to her.
Sometimes their meetings would go on for hours at a time and Milly would come out with new piles of paperwork. Once or twice you had to come in a little earlier for a meeting that everyone had to sit through. Mostly some changes the bosses wanted the workers to know. It was small things. And no one really cared about them since it didn’t properly affect their jobs or hours. It was only minor things affecting the company itself and not the people.
Kierce would accompany her through this process, answering any questions people had on anything that changed. He vouched for transparency when it came to his company.
“I don’t want any of you to think we’re hiding any information from you.” Kierce said in one morning meeting. “If you have any questions, even silly little enquiries, don’t be afraid to approach me and ask.”
He was approachable and friendly. And it was incredibly annoying.
You tried to ignore him. But the giant Dragon with a smooth voice and even silkier lines was hard to ignore when he signaled you out for conversation.
Amber didn’t miss a thing throughout the week. Seeming to catch every little smirk and wink Kierce sent your way. And teasing you relentlessly when you scoffed or blatantly ignored him.
But thankfully, she only once caught the coloring in your cheeks when Kierce spoke to you.
“Admit it,” Amber teased, speaking low enough that only you could hear her. “You find him just as cute as everyone else.”
You pretended to think about it. Pouting your lips like it was a hard question. But then shrugged and said casually. “He’s…ok.”
Kierce was definitely more than ok, but you weren’t going to let everyone know that. A couple of people had already teased you about “showing the new boss around” on his first day.
Apparently, Kierce had also made mention of your little walk around with him a few times, to a few people. And of course, the gossip mill worked its magic. But you weren’t really worried. There was always some sort of rumor or piece of news floating around the workplace, and rarely did it last very long.
But during that week you saw Kierce start making the rounds to every station in the building. Making introductions and shaking hands with the employees of the warehouse. To the people that he missed because they were sick or didn’t work on the days he had come in.
Again, no matter who he talked to, they loved him. You seemed to be the only person that found his overly cocky attitude and playful smirks frustrating.
You and Amber were one of the last for Milly to bring Kierce over too. It was on your Friday, just before lunch. You kept working while Amber made small talk and laughed at the small jokes Kierce made.
It almost had you rolling your eyes. But you refrained from doing so, in case Milly didn’t take too kindly to it, since this was her boss. As well as yours.
“And of course, you’ve already met (y/n).” Milly smiled. You could see the silent chuckle on her lips as Kierce nodded.
“How could I forget~” Kierce practically purred. If a Dragon could purr. It could have been a soft growl. But that was probably something you weren’t meant to ask someone.
But instead you plastered on that same polite smile as Kierce leaned against the machine and watched what you were doing. “This is obviously a stupid question, but are you enjoying your job?” Kierce asked. The playfulness in his tone was replaced with something along the same lines as professionalism. “Is there anything you think would help you improve your work life here?”
“Shorter hours and more pay?” Amber quipped. Which rewarded her with a somewhat sharp look from Milly. But did get a chuckle from Kierce.
“Wouldn’t that be the dream?” He said. “But seriously. Do you feel safe working with these machines? Do you think you need more training? Maybe some better equipment or safety measures?”
As much as you wanted this to be a serious conversation, you couldn’t quite concentrate while Kierce was leaning so close.
There was a subtle cologne wafting from his massive chest and, damn, it smelled really nice.
“Um, well…” You tried to run through all your time here and come up with an answer that was a little bit better than; ‘oh, it’s ok.’ and follow it up with a shrug. Because it wasn’t, not entirely anyway. There was always something to improve in the workplace. But Kierce was making it really hard to think of anything but him right now.
You decided to stall just a little bit. “There is always something to improve, but since it’s still early in the day, I can’t think of anything right now.”
“It's almost lunch time,” Amber said, and you tried very hard not to kick her shins for it. You ignored her and continued.
“I could always write a list and get it back to you.” You suggested, and Kierce laughed. He stepped closer and started helping with your task as Milly stayed back.
“An entire list? I didn’t think this place was that bad.” Kierce said.
“Oh, no, it’s really not. It’s just-”
Your words died in your throat as Kierce winked down at you.
“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing, shortcake. If you can write a list of improvements or any concerns you have, I’d really appreciate it. I want to know every little dirty detail about this place.”
He finished up what he was doing and bid his farewell to you and Amber. “Thanks for the talk, ladies. Don’t work too hard now.” Another wink and another charming smile and Kierce was walking away with Milly trailing behind him.
Amber waited till Kierce was out of earshot before grabbing your arm and shaking it with an excited giggle.
“Oh my God, he is so into you.” She giggled. And you made a dramatic gesture of gagging as you wiggled your arm out of her grasp.
“Oh please, the guy has flirted with everyone that walks in front of him.” You replied, a little bitterly. Hoping Amber would let go of the subject. “If the machines had eyes, he’d try to woo them too.”
~~~~~~
Over the course of the next few weeks your usual routine was shattered with the constant presence of Kierce. You had hoped he was there for only a week. That he would show boast around and then leave.
But instead, Milly had informed everyone that he would be taking over while she was away on leave. It wouldn’t be too long. But you knew what that meant.
Kierce was going to be here everyday.
And he was always at the front doors when you arrived, smiling and greeting you warmly. But there was always a reason for him to be there.
First he was speaking with a construction team on some new plans for the main entrance and showing them around.
A few times he had run into a co-worker on his way in and they would stand by the doors and chat almost every morning.
Once he was on call with someone, and even hushed them over the phone to say good morning to you.
But as far as you knew, he did this with everyone. Kierce was so friendly that you couldn’t say he was, or was not, singling you out with his attention.
And you were getting tired of trying to guess his intentions every time he came up to you.
Except for this morning, where a single rose was resting on your desk. Next to it was a note that read;
“Thank you for giving me your insight on the building and its protocols. You’ve been a great help to the improvement of this workplace.
Kierce”
What was worse was the little drawn heart next to his name. Which, much to your surprise and frustration, caused a little flutter of butterflies in your chest.
You quickly stuffed the note into your pockets and picked up the rose. You didn’t have anywhere to put it, other than leaving it on your desk with your things. Or stuffing it into your bag.
Leaving it on the desk would be a nice thing to come back to anytime you weren’t on the factory floor.
But then again, you didn’t want to give in to the rumors and fangirling that everyone was still tightly caught up in.
You couldn’t deny however, that receiving a flower like this and being appreciated had you smiling for the rest of the day. And when you gave the flower to Amber, she was grinning ear to ear just as much as you.
“Jake is going to have to step up his game.” Amber said. Placing the flower in her bag so she remembered to take it home with her. “I don’t think he’s gotten me flowers in a while.”
“Well, I’m happy to lift your expectations up.” You replied, laughing. About to step away from your desk when Kierce came through the doors. Almost barreling into you as he did.
“We really have to stop meeting like this,” Kierce teased. Chuckling as you stepped back to let him pass.
“It’s almost like you wait for me behind these doors.” You quipped back. “And then when I’m too close, you push through. Forcing me to talk to you.”
“Aww, what? You don’t like our little conversations?” He asked with a wink before disappearing into the back office. From your desk, you could see into the room he had entered. He placed down a cup of coffee and sat behind the table.
With how big he was, the desk looked so much smaller than it actually was. And you had seen him get a bigger chair than the one Milly usually used. He dwarfed a lot of everything around him.
Which had made you giggle a little at the thought of such a huge guy trying to sit on an averaged sized office chair.
“You’re staring,” Amber said. A very mocking look plastered on her face as you jabbed her playfully in the ribs.
“Oh, and you don’t?” You tried to say.
But then Amber laughed.
“You’re not denying it!” She said, drawing out the words as she exited through the doors towards the factory. You rolled your eyes and followed her through.
The note stuck with you in your mind throughout the day. You accepted that it did in fact make you a little giddy inside. When was the last time anyone got you flowers?
But then you were brought out of your thoughts by a tap on your shoulder. You turned and smiled at a man around your age. You knew him as one of the newer employees. With scruffy blonde hair and freckles covering his cheeks.
“Hi, sorry to bother you. I’m Max, we haven’t been properly introduced.” He offered you his hand and you shook it, giving your name in return. “Oh, I know, your name. Amber here has told me alot about you. And I was wondering if you’d like to get coffee sometime this weekend.” Max’s cheeks went bright red and he nervously looked down at your shoes before forcing his gaze to raise back to your eyes.
Amber beside you made a quiet squeak noise. But her attention was heavily on the belt in front of her.
You were utterly shocked by the question. So much so, your mouth went into autopilot and accepted the invitation before your mind could kick into gear.
Max’s smile was so wide you thought he was going to split his cheeks.
“Awesome! Um, what’s your number and we can organize a time.”
You couldn’t exactly back out now. So, you gave Max your number and he scribbled it down on a piece of paper. Since phones weren’t permitted in the factory. He’d have to wait till he returned to his bag and put it in then.
“Alright! We’ll talk soon.”
And just like that, you had a date planned for sometime over the weekend.
You turned back to the belt you were working on with Amber in somewhat of a daze. Until Amber laughed and nudged your side.
“Look at you getting a date.” She teased. Glancing over at Max as he returned to his station. “He’s cute. He’s no Dragon, but he’s cute.”
You laughed nervously. You could feel the heat in your cheeks as you tried to busy yourself with work. “I didn’t even think about it. I just automatically said, yes.”
Amber laughed. “Give him a chance. He might be really sweet.”
You nodded, agreeing you might as well give Max a chance. And it was something to look forward to over the weekend.
You weren’t exactly feeling the excitement when the day came to actually go to the date.
The nerves that rattled your body were almost overwhelming the joy of going into a cafe and treating yourself to something sweet.
Max smiled and gave you an awkward hug when you arrived, already having picked out a table for the two of you to sit down at.
The coffee shop itself was quaint. It was surrounded by lush gardens and had an outdoor seating area with large picnic tables that were protected from the sun by broad, colorful umbrellas. The colors bathed the area in mix-matched hues that filtered through the thin layer of material. It wouldn’t entirely shade you from the sun, but protected you enough to not get sunburnt.
Max had picked an outdoor table for the two of you and the server came over just as you sat down. You quickly looked over the small menu and picked out a drink and something from the breakfast menu.
The server smiled and left. Leaving the two of you to sit in a somewhat awkward silence.
“So, uh, what made you say yes to the date?” Max asked. Scratching the back of his neck nervously. He looked just how you felt on your way here. And he was sweating a little.
You shrugged, not entirely sure what he wanted you to say to that. You couldn’t tell him the truth and say it was automatic. “It sounded like a nice time.” You managed to lie. “What about you? Why did you ask me out?”
“Oh, um, you’re just really pretty. And I think you’re pretty funny too. I hear a lot of your conversations with Amber and Jake. They’re great people.”
Max’s words did bring a little color to your cheeks. And you smiled down at the table, chuckling.
“I’m sorry if I seemed like I ever ignored you. Sometimes I get lasered in on a conversation.” You fiddled with a napkin that was sitting on the table. “How long have you been working at the factory?”
“Oh, a few weeks now.” Max said with a shrug. His own eyes wandering elsewhere. “I’m a bit of an antisocial guy so I rarely talk to people at work.”
The conversation went into the subject of the factory. You had to admit, you were getting a little bored talking about the place you were at all week for many hours of the day. Your drinks were brought out to you and you thankfully now had something to change the subject onto.
And you were almost glad when he excused himself to go to the restroom. And you were allowed a few minutes of peace. Looking at the gardens and all the flowers that were beginning to bud.
“Ah, so they do exist outside of work!” A shadow passed over you as a large form stepped around the table to sit in Max’s spot. Kierce smiled broadly as he smoothly slipped onto the bench. Tucking his long legs under the table and curling his thick tail out of the walkway. “And here I thought you just lived in the factory basement.”
You laughed and rolled your eyes. “Oh please, I do have a life outside of that place. What are you doing here? I would have thought you’d be drowning in paperwork.”
“Unlike other workaholics, I can pull myself away from the desk every so often. I need to see the sun at least twice a month to keep my scales shiny.” Kierce said. His smile was broad and didn’t carry the coy smirk you were so used to him wearing. And his clothes were more casual. A simple dark shirt with tight fitting jeans. “I’m here for my weekly treat of raspberry scones and cream. And a very heavy dose of caffeine on the side. What are you doing here? On a…date, are we?”
The bony scales that served as his eyebrows wiggled teasingly as you probably went three shades of red.
“You guessed correctly.”
Kierce clicked his tongue and leaned forward excitedly. “Oh? Do tell? Are they from work?”
“You’re my boss.” You laughed, shaking your head. Being entirely sarcastic. “I can’t share those type of details with you.”
“I could just wait till Monday.” Kierce shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be all over the workplace by then. Or sit here until they come back. I couldn’t let a pretty jewel like yourself sit alone for long.”
A waiter came by and dropped off Kierce’s massive to-go coffee cup and a medium sized brown paper bag. His smile transformed into that very familiar smirk as he addressed the waiter. “Thank you, sweetheart.” His attention went back to you and he tilted his head. “Or, heaven forbid, did they ditch you?”
Some part of you would have been thrilled if that was the case. The conversation had been so dull, you were glad to talk to someone else.
“Or maybe you scared them off.”
“Puh-lease, I am not that intimidating.” He scoffed playfully. Taking a sip of his coffee. “You’re not scared of me, are you?”
“I find you a little annoying.”
“Hey, I am your superior. You can’t say that to me.”
“We’re not in the factory anymore, Kierce! I can say what I want.” Despite the tones, you could see the twinkle in his eyes. Conveying he was being just as sarcastic as you were. And it made you laugh as he scoffed dramatically.
“You wait till Monday.” The growl, though utterly playful, sent a chill through you. And you hoped Kierce didn’t see the way goosebumps ran along your arm. You covered up your flustered state with a laugh. Shaking your head.
You finally glanced around the cafe, looking for Max. It had been some time since he left the table. His coffee would be going cold soon.
Probably thinking the same thing, Kierce also looked around the small shop and its tables.
“Who did you actually invite out?” He asked.
“He invited me. It was Max.” You said with a huff. Surely, you seriously did not just get ditched. “He said he was just going to the restroom.”
Kierce clicked his tongue and pushed his drink and bag towards you. “Hold these, I’ll go make sure he hasn’t fallen in or something.”
You nodded as Kierce stood from the table and went inside. You could smell the freshly baked treats inside the bag. They smelt amazing. And the strong smell of coffee radiating from his to-go cup was mildly worrying.
After a minute, Kierce returned to the table. Shrugging.
“I’m sorry to say, I think he ditched you.” He pointed at Max’s coffee. “Did he pay for his?”
“Not yet. We literally just got here.” You were a little crestfallen about the situation. Your first date in a while and the guy gets up and leaves you to pay for both coffees. Your food would be out any minute as well.
Kierce sat back down and retrieved his goodies from you. He tore open the bag and retrieved one of his scones between his claws.
“Well, his lost. My gain.” He winked and took a large bite from the cream filled delight. Just as your plate of food was placed in front of you and Max’s was placed beside Kierce. Who took one look at it and scooted it a little ways away from him with the tip of his claw. “So, what shall we discuss on our first date?”
The twinkle in his golden gaze almost made you choke on your food as much as his words did.
After taking a sip of your drink, you shot him a small glare. “This isn’t a date.”
“Oh? Then what is it.”
“You hijacking a date.”
“But still a date…” He chuckled at how easily he could get you flustered. With a small wink and a smile, and your little bit of irritation was gone. “It’d be rude of me to ditch you as well. Do you need a ride home after this?”
There was no teasing to his question. But a genuine offer. And you shook your head.
“Thank you, but my brother is going to pick me up afterwards. But I appreciate the offer.” You picked at your food and Kierce carried on with the conversation.
You found yourself talking a lot easier with Kierce than with Max. The subjects ranged from hobbies, to your life and his work before the factory. You found yourself laughing a lot more at his jokes and his chuckle was just as loud when you told a few stories about your family.
Before you knew it, you were both on your third cafe beverage and were only disturbed by Kierce’s phone ringing.
Though he declined the call, he sighed.
“I should get back to the office. I am a little late for a meeting.” He said, gathering the leftover scones and putting them back in the bag. “This was fun, (y/n). We should do this again.”
Again with that damn smirk and crinkle under his eyes. You rolled your eyes and stood as well. Getting your money out to pay, but Kierce tsked.
“The gentleman pays for the first date. Especially when he asked.”
You didn’t even bother trying to correct him. And you let him go to the counter and pay for the table’s bill.
“Thank you.” You said when he joined you to walk towards the car park. “I did have a good time. You made an ok date, really good.”
“Don’t take it to heart.” Kierce said gently. Nodding towards the cafe, to where you both had been sitting. “Some guys just can’t handle talking to a gem for too long. See you on Monday.”
With a flick of his tail, Kierce hurried across the road to his shiny car. Leaving you, yet again, to stutter a ‘goodbye’ after him.
#dragon#male dragon#dragon x reader#male dragon x reader#male dragon x nb reader#non-binary reader#nb reader#slow burn#sfw#commission#patreon#monster lover#dragon lover#dragon boyfriend#dragon boss#monster boyfriend#monster boss#male monster
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December Christmas Monster stories
17.) Dragon x Knight
Nammot the male dragon falls for a brave male Knight and one thing leads to another. Hope ya'll enjoy, this was my first time writing dragon smut.
Warning: NSFW, grinding, cum, person covered in cum, dry cumming, cock humping, thigh fucking, no penetration sex, gay sex, sex with a dragon, large tounge licking human body, threats of death, meantions of eating humans, possessive dragon, let me know if I forgot any warnings.
Minors Don't Interact!!! You will be blocked immediately.
Word count 2751
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Snow fell around the caves entrance slowly blocking the way if not for Nammot’s fiery hot breath melting it all away each time he let out a heavy sigh. Not many knights would make the treacherous path up the steep hill let alone do it in the snow leaving Nammot rather bored waiting for anything of interest to happen. He wanted a knight to fight, to eat up in one bite and play with his shiny armor adding it to his collection. That is what he told himself, he was waiting for a knight yes but not just any knight. He was waiting for a knight who had called himself Percevale.
Nammot was planning on eating him the first time they had met but instead of drawing his sword when he first laid eyes on the dragon he had greeted him and had even asked for his name. No knight had ever done that to him during his many years of terrorizing the villages and kingdom. It made Nommot pause his fire breath and think for a moment about it, he hadn’t said his own name in so long he had almost forgotten it completely. “Nammot you may call me but not for long little shiny one for you sure will be dead soon.” He had growled out, smoke pouring from his nostrils as he readied himself to hurl his fiery breath at him. “Nammot? A nice name. Does it mean anything?” The knight had asked, confusing him and once more causing him to stop the fire building up in his throat. “Pardon?” Nammot asked confused by the question. “Well my name means to pierce the veil, whatever that means. Names have meaning to it, what our parents hope us to do someday. Or for those who choose their own name it means the path they intend to take.” Percivale explained looking up at the dragon. “Seems your parents wanted you to see the dead.” He snorted sitting down on his hind legs, an action reminding Percivale of how a dog sits. “Heh my parents must have wanted me to be a grave keeper rather than a knight then.” Nammot was absolutely baffled hearing a knight actually laugh and make what seemed to be a joke to him. It was always screams or threats of death upon the king's orders. What kind of knight was he to not attack him but to be kind to him? It surely must have been a trap one he will not fall for. Standing back up he snarled as he for a third time readied his fire breath wanting to kill the knight for daring to make a fool of him thinking he could tick him. Seeing Pericivale reach for something he acquired his shoulder ready for the knight to draw his sword all the more ready to burn him to a crisp but all movements froze when the knight pulled out a small dragon carved from wood. “I made this for you. You always take things so I guessed maybe no one has given you anything before.” He explained holding the wooden dragon up for Nammot to see better and for a third time he cooled the fire in his throat and leaned in close to look at the small dragon held in Percival's gauntlet. His pupils dilated for a movement as he stared at his gift before turning back into slits as he leaned back. “Ahem your offering will suffice, I shall not kill you this time but if you come again I shall not be as kind.” Nammot sneered as he held out his large scaled paw for Pericivale to drop the wooden item into.
The wooden dragon now sits on top of his hoard, his prized possession though he never admits it. Percivale came back again and again, each time with a gift for Nammot, each time Nammot said he would surely kill him the next time they met but never followed up with his threat. Between their meetings the longer Nammot waited the grumpier he got, he didn’t like waiting for his devoted follower as he liked to call him. Percivale liked to call him his friend, though Nammot would scoff at the words but never correct him about it.
As the seasons changed to winter Nammot now waited for Percivale to visit him, growing more and more impatient. “This time I really will kill him if the cold doesn't do it before he gets here.” The moment Nammot had muttered those words he had regretted it. What if Percivale had really died and he just didn’t know him. The thought of losing his only friend struck his heart like a piercing arrow. This feeling only grew worse as the hours turned to days, still Percivale didn’t show. Nammot wallowed in his grief thinking his little knight was dead. That is until one day as Nammot was sprawled out letting out soft whimpers the sound of clanking footsteps froze him in his tracks. “Percivale?” He called sitting up staring at the entrance of the cave with baited breath but as the figure drew closer and made no sound Nammot grew worried it wasn’t him and some other knight had braved the mountain in the winter in hopes to catch the dragon off guard. Standing up Nammot readied his fire breath growling as his eyes narrowed.“Ah did the day finally come when you surely would kill me?” a voice called up, almost bringing Nammot to his knees. “Oh my knight!” He wailed out before clearing his throat trying to compose himself. “I mean oh it’s you… thought you were some other foolish knight here for me to feed upon.” Nammot said, puffing his chest out as he looked away. Percivale knew Nammot was embarrassed, he could read that dragon better than Nammot would have liked him to be able. “Ah yes of course, you must be starving with so few knights to eat. They’re all trying to avoid being out in the cold.” Percivale said with a shiver of his own. Smiling under his helmet he walked over to Nammot, not afraid of the dragon in the slightest and plopped down next to him. “What did you bring me this time, my devoted follower?” Nammot asked leaning his head in closer, he knew nothing of personal space and was almost pressing his large head against Percivales armored body. “Food.” He stated looking through the bag he had brought. “Dried meat, it lasts longer. Though with your size I would say this is more of a snack than a few days' meals as it would be for me.” Percivale laughed, taking out the large pouch of meats. Nammot opened his mouth in a silent demand for the knight to feed him. A demand Percivale followed with no second thought to it, just opening the bag and dumping the contents into the dragon's mouth. “Mind if I take my armor off? I worked up a sweat in the cold and now all my clothes are wet from it. It’s very unpleasant.” He started the long process of taking off all his armor, one Nammot nodded his head not caring at all. Dragons were always naked. Why would he care if a human was too?
He found himself watching Pericivale undressing in the corner of his eye, he was trying to act like he didn’t care in the slightest but this had been the first time he had seen the knight take anything off past his helmet and Nammot was a curious dragon. Humans had such an interesting body. They were no dragon of course, such puny things but Nammot found himself admiring Percivales body. Turning his head to look at him better Nammot watched Percivale spread out his cold wet clothes onto the stones in the cave in hopes the dragons heat would dry them. He was unaware of the glowing eyes scanning each scar and blemish on his body as he moved around naked in the cave.
A gush of cold winter air blew in from the cave's entrance causing Percivale to shiver as it bit at his exposed skin. That wouldn’t do, Nammot couldn’t have his devoted follower suffering from the cold. Letting out a displeased snort, Nammot swept his tail around Percivale pulling him in closer to his much larger body. He pretended he didn’t see the wide grin on Percivales face as he sat down leaning against Nammots stomach. It felt strange to him to have someone touching his weaker under belly. It was a great sign of trust for a dragon to show their underbellies let alone let someone be pressed against it but he had that trust for his little human. The two stayed like that for a few hours until Percivale drifted off to sleep curled up against Nammot. He watched the sleeping knight admiring eyes, how does a human like him feel so comfortable sleeping so close to a dragon? “Silly little human.” Nammot whispered, gently nuzzling his face against Perivicales, laying his head down, closing his eyes drifting off into a slumber of his own.
It was a peaceful rest until the sounds of quiet wimpers woke Nammot up. Lifting his head up he looked to Percivale with worry thinking he had hurt him by mistake in his sleep, gotten to careless and shifted his weight onto him crushing him, or maybe nicked him with one of his talons. Seeing Percivale was still in one piece with no crushed bones Nammot tilted his head and leaned him pressing his nose against his trembling form. Maybe he was cold, was that it? Nammot blew a small amount of his breath onto him hoping to warm his little devoted human. It didn’t stop the shivering or the whimpering much to his dismay. Frowning he gently nuzzled his nose against him. Sure enough that stopped the sounds that were causing Nammot distress. Sighing he relaxed and nuzzled him again as he slowly closed his eyes drifting back to sleep. His hot breath caressing Percivales body with exhale. After a while the hot careesses drew too much for Percivale, soft moans left his lips as his dreams turned from the earlier nightmares to sinful thoughts of desire. Nammot slipped into a lighter sleep state hearing the moans, he mistook them for the whimpers from earlier so to comfort his little human he nuzzled him again adding fuel to Percivales burning loins. He moaned much louder at that, waking the both of them almost immediately. Pulling back with wide eyes Percivale looked away, his face turning a bright shade of red as he did his best to hide his lower half. Nammot looked at him blinking a few times as the gears in his head started to turn, still a little slow about it until he finally took in the scent of his arousal. “Oh.” He said with a dry throat only able to let out the one word. “How indecent of you.” Nammot thought his teasing was clear but he froze when he noticed Percivales eyes had started to water at his words. His heart sank at the sight. Letting out a soft rumble Nammot pressed his nose to him nuzzling him once more. “I didn’t mean it like that silly little thing.” He hummed, sending vibrations throughout Percivales body. His tongue slithered out giving Percivale what was meant to be a comforting lick across his body, Percivale didn’t take it that way and moaned feeling the hot muscle drag up his body from stomach up to his chest coating him in drool. It wasn’t originally what Nammot was going for but it was an outcome he didn’t mind. His pretty little human made such lovely sounds. Wanting to draw out more he licked him again causing Percivale to gasp and writhe against the feeling. “What are you doing? Nammot stop it.” Percivale whined as his back arched. “If you wish it.” Nammot whispered, pulling back, he watched him with greedy eyes wanting to taste more of his flesh. Looking up at Nammot Percivale let out a soft whimper as he held eye contact with the dragon.“Do it again?” He whispered embarrassed by his words by controlled by his lust. Nammot smirked as he leaned back in pushing the knight's legs wide open with his nose as he stuck his tongue back up licking his crotch up to his neck causing Percivale to let out several gasps and whiny moans. The dragon let out a moan of his own, tasting the sweat on Percivales body. His skin tastes like sweet nectar and Nammot was almost tempted to take a bite but reframed himself from doing so. Letting out a moan Percivale pushed his hips up against Nammots tongue begging for more from the dragon. Leaning back Percivale noticed a shape to his side that wasn’t there before. Turning his head to get a better look his eyes widened seeing the dragons unsheathed cock. “By the gods I think that might be bigger than I am.” Percivale said in both shock and awe.
“Do you like it?” The dragon asked with a cocky tone, the smell coming from Percivale already gave him his answer. Rolling onto his back Nammot stretched out showing off his cock. “I assume you know what to do.” He said as if it was obvious and Percivale should be able to read his mind. “What? No, no I don’t know what to do. I’ve never fucked a dragon before!” Percivale exclaimed geturing to Nammot and his cock causing the dragon to frown. He was hoping Percivale knew what to do, he hadn’t fucked a human before, he hadn’t the fantiest idea on how this could work. “Climb on top of me and grind against me, it’s why I was licking you duh.” Nammot stated as if it was a fact and not him pulling something out of thin air. Percivale let out a soft oh as he stared at the dragon's cock. Gulping he climbed up his hip and straddled Nammots monstrous cock the best he could. It was burning hot, almost too hot for Percivale but the moment his cock touched Nammots he let out a long moan. Holding onto the ridges of Nammots cock for support he started to move back and forth rubbing his thighs and cock against him to simulate them both at the same time. Percivale was worried at first he wasn’t doing a good enough job as he stared at the unmoving dragon. Nammot wasn’t making a single sound, not even blinking. Just breathing heavily as he watched him with unsatiated hunger. Moving faster Percivale let out a louder moan as his back arched. Still Nammot made not a single sound, he dared not to as he didn’t want to miss a single lewd sound Percivale made pleasuring himself on his burning cock. The sounds and sight of Percivale would be his most cherished treasure for all times, he knew that already. Feeling Percivale grow slower Nammot growled and grasped his waist in his clawed hand holding him as he rutted his hips against him taking control of the situation. “Keep those pretty legs wrapped around me.” He ordered letting out a moan. Percivale gladly followed orders and squeezed his legs against the dragon's cock. Nammot wasn’t sure how long this went on. By the time he had his fill of orgasms both his stomach and Percivale was covered in his sticky cum. Percivale was dazed and panting, his last three orgasms he had been cumming dry, completely spent and having lost track of them long ago. Letting out an over-stimulated whine Percivale looked to Nammot with tear soaked eyes, neither had realized he had been crying from the amount of pleasure he had been feeling. “I don’t have anything left in me.” He said almost pleading to Nammot who nodded his head in agreement. “Nor I.” The dragon said, lifting the knight up, setting him onto his chest. Percivale let out a soft whine but snuggled into him almost immediately. “Wouldn’t mind if this became a regular thing when I visit you.” He said letting out a winded laugh drawing a rumbling laugh from Nammot. “If this becomes a regular thing I don’t think I would let you out of my cave.” Having Percivale live there sounded rather good in that moment, Percivale silently agreed with it too, he could get used to living like this.
#monster fucker#monster stories#monster boyfriend#monster#december christmas monster stories#dragon smut#dragon x human#dragon x knight#gay monster#gay monster smut#dragon x male#male dragon x male human#monster x male#male monster#male monster x male human#monster x knight#monster smut
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ⅶ▬ ⁽ 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝑔𝑜 ⁾
𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 ♡︎ : ₃˖₇ₖ ˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡
𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 ♡︎ : mdni----- unedited, sloppy writing, NSFW, explicit content, teratophilia, wendigo/human, rough sex, unprotected sex, gang bang, dubcon, fear, kidnapping, reader wears glasses, porn no plot. ₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎
૮ ˙Ⱉ˙ ა ʳᵃʷʳ ⁿᵒᵗᵉˢ : ya'll i hate this so much, but i wanted to post something today-- sorry if it's all over the place!
𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 ♡︎: while babysitting for your aunt, you find yourself stranded in the living room.
꒰male!wendigo ₊⊹ afab!reader꒱
" Don't worry Aunt J, I got this. "
𝒯he woman gazes at you with a concerned expression, her eyes filled with worry. However, she manages to muster a nod and gently plants a tender kiss on your cheek. "Make sure to lock the doors before you go upstairs. The house only locks my room and the kids’. You must be upstairs before 9:30, as that's when the doors lock. If you're not there by then, you'll be locked out until morning, but even so, if you've locked the front and back doors, you'll be fine. Don't. Forget."
You give her a firm nod, "I won't, I promise."
Recent sightings of a peculiar creature moving around the neighborhood have stirred up fear among the locals, particularly your Aunt whose anxious for the safety of her kids. She sighs and lovingly kisses your forehead, "Alright, enjoy yourself."
As you wave goodbye and lock the back door behind her, you pivot to find your younger cousin watching you with excitement, struggling to manage the baby boy in her arms. You laugh and relieve her of the baby. "How about we bake some brownies together?"
She lets out a joyful cheer, giggling as she dashes towards the kitchen, her excitement palpable. You carefully place the baby in his high chair, turning him to face the bustling kitchen. His eyes widen in wonder as he takes in the scene, a big grin spreading across his little face.
You enthusiastically bring your hands together, a wide grin spreading across your face. " Shall we? "
—
As you cradle the baby boy in your arms, a sense of warmth and tenderness envelops you and you can't help but pout softly, and coo at him. His little tiny fingers have loosened their grip on the milk bottle, causing it to slip from his hands and land softly on your lap. His eyes are closed, and you can't help but admire the long, black lashes that frame his lids. With a gentle touch, you press a loving kiss to your cousin's forehead, careful not to disturb his sleep.
You rise from the comfortable couch, making sure to move with utmost care so as not to awaken the sleeping child. A soft giggle escapes your lips as you hear a shuddering sigh emanate from him. It's moments like these that remind you of the innocence and beauty of childhood, it's something you miss.
Navigating your way around the couch, you begin your ascent up the stairs towards your Aunt's room. The woman had been nervous to leave them with your grandmother, though loving and caring, she's started to show signs of hip pains and occasional forgetfulness. Hence, your Aunt relies on you to watch over the little ones during her night shift at work.
Using your foot, you nudged the door open and switched off the lamp that cast a faint glow in the room. Gently placing the boy on the bed, you made sure his tummy was flat against the soft mattress before pulling the blanket over him and only up to his waist. You brush his hair away from his face before quietly exiting the room, the soft click of the door closing making you heave a sigh.
Turning around, you take a couple of steps forward and enter your other cousin's room. She's lying with her laptop open on her chest, her eyes closed, and her soft snores filling the room. A smile played on your lips as you walked over to her, closed the laptop, and placed it on her desk. Using her LED remote, you turned off the strips of light around the room, plunging it into darkness.
After your eyes swiftly adapted to the darkness, you carefully tucked the covers over her petite frame and quietly exited the room. The gentle sound of her door closing brought forth another sigh of relief. Glancing at your watch, you nodded with contentment, realizing that you had a valuable half an hour before all the room doors would be securely locked for the night. It provided ample time to tidy up and prepare for the following day.
As you made your way down the stairs, the creaking noise made you wince, fully aware that you couldn't afford for either child to stir. Swallowing hard, you descended the stairs with newfound caution. As you finally reached the bottom of the staircase, a wave of relief washed over you. The tension that had been building in your chest slowly began to dissipate without any sounds of the baby crying or the little girl calling out.
You started by straightening up the living room, turning on some lo-fi music, and cleaning quickly. After switching off the main light, you flick on the display light, which emits a soft glow, barely doing anything to brighten the room. The kitchen took a lot longer, particularly when clearing out the solidified chocolate from the bowls and wiping down the counters. In the end, it took a total of 20 minutes to finish cleaning the kitchen.
You couldn't help but feel a surge of nervousness as you stole another glance at your watch. The timer displayed only 10 minutes left, intensifying your anxiety. Shaking your head, you dismissed your nerves and concentrated on preparing for tomorrow.
Lost in thought, the sound of your watch going off caused your heart to skip a beat. Cursing, you quickly packed up, whispering small, scared 'no's to yourself. A faint cheer escaped you as you completed the task, rushing to ascend the stairs on time. Your heart sank as the resounding click of all the doors locking echoed in your ears.
You felt a slight vibration and immediately retrieved your phone from your back pocket. It was your Aunt, making sure everything was okay with you and the kids.
Auntie : Hey girly, are you and the kids in alright? Did you make it to the room?
Nervously, you gulped, your hands shaking and palms moist with sweat. Without hesitation, you promptly responded, your teeth prodding at your bottom lip.
You : Yes we did, the kids are asleep.
Lying to your aunt made your heartache, but you were too prideful to tell her the truth. Instead of offering a reply, she simply responded with a thumbs-up emoji and a heart. Letting out a heavy, ragged breath, you swiftly returned your phone to your pocket. Descending the stairs, your eyes slowly adapted to the dimness. The previously illuminated display had now turned off automatically, leaving you huddled on the couch, overwhelmed by a sense of unease.
Following a good thirty-minute interval, your fear gradually subsided. You reached for your phone, scrolling through social media to find no one online.
Growing more confident, you entertained the possibility that whatever had caused unrest in the community had either disappeared or would not manifest tonight. As you removed your glasses, your vision blurred slightly, your body relaxed, and your gaze fixated on the phone screen that was dangerously close to your face. ( It was probably why you had glasses in the first place. )
Time slipped away faster than expected, and suddenly, it was midnight. The profound silence stirred up a fresh wave of concern, as the absence of wildlife sounds, like crickets and owls, made you feel the urge to curl up and disappear into the couch.
Your phone vibrated, signaling the low battery before shutting down abruptly. You clicked your tongue in annoyance and silently made your way towards the charger, plugging it in. Slipping out of your tight-fitting jeans, you remained in your undergarments, stretching your legs. Folding the jeans neatly, you placed them on the back of a nearby chair before returning to the couch and settling in comfortably with a soft, velvet blue throw draped over your exposed legs.
As tiredness crept in, your eyes began to droop, causing your vision to blur and lose focus. The sudden piercing bark of a dog jolted you out of your drowsy state, causing your entire body to freeze. Which was so unusual for the neighbor's dogs, who were known for their friendly demeanor and familiarity with the community, this feral, unfamiliar bark made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
The barking grew increasingly louder and more aggressive, accompanied by menacing snarls. The sounds elicited a pounding sensation in your chest, so intense that it caused a searing pain. Unexpectedly, the barking and snarling abruptly ceased, but rather than providing any relief, it caused a profound sense of despair, causing your heart to sink.
Holding your breath, your eyes widened as a towering, monstrous, and slender figure glided past the frosted windows adjacent to the door. Its voice was distorted, emitting broken and eerie sounds, desperately pleading in its otherworld gravelly voice, "Help me. Someone help."
The arrangement of your Aunt's house was peculiar. The back door functioned as the main entrance, revealing the dining room and kitchen upon entry. Moving forward led to the living room, while continuing onwards brought you to the front door. Situated to the right of the front door were the stairs leading to both your Aunt's and the children's rooms.
At the moment, you found yourself positioned in the living room, standing tall with your gaze fixed on the door. In an instant, the door seemed to draw nearer than you had initially perceived, causing a sense of fear to grip you. As it vanished beyond the second window, you released a sigh of relief, nearly letting out a scream as the shadow reappeared by the window, as if it had detected the sound of your breath.
The door was locked, it couldn't get in, right? Your vision became obscured by tears, and you chastised yourself for your stupidity. Part of the prep was making sure that the doors that couldn't be locked by the system were locked manually. Regrettably, in your rush to reach the room, you had completely forgotten to lock the front door.
The turning of the doorknob emits a high-pitched squeak, prompting you to immediately flatten yourself against the couch while covering your mouth and nose with your hands. The grating sound of the door opening compels you to tightly shut your eyes. A cool draft of air infiltrates the room, causing goosebumps to rise on your skin. Within this tense ambiance, a menacing snarl and a huff reverberate, accompanied by the unsettling noise of bones cracking as the intruder maneuvers to enter the house.
The soft whimper of the floorboards serves as a warning of its presence, prompting you to reluctantly open your eyes. A sudden gasp escapes your lips as you behold its towering horns, skeletal face morphing into a snout, and blood-red eyes. With a shudder, you tightly shut your eyes as the creature's head swivels in your direction, swiftly advancing toward where you lay on the couch.
Merely a few inches away from your position, the creature sniffs the air intently before gradually drawing nearer. As you open your eyes once more, you carefully scrutinize its appearance. Contrary to your initial perception, the creature's physique is not as slender as it seemed from afar. Adorned with a layer of fur, its arms display a muscularity that is not excessive, striking a harmonious balance. Furthermore, its thighs possess a substantial thickness, evoking a sense of strength. However, as your gaze trails down, you notice that its hind legs taper into a much skinnier form.
The creature looms closer than anticipated, its intense heat palpable against your skin. Despite its towering presence, its warm breath gently brushes your face. Your breathing stops as you feel something drag across your skin, it's rock hard but there's a softness to it. It pulsates rhythmically, and you swear that you can feel veins throbbing along its surface, a sticky and viscous substance oozing along your skin, inflicting a searing sensation.
You come to the realization that you are positioned just below the creature's waist, nearly at the same height. Was it– its cock touching you? Tears escape from your eyes, and you find yourself unable to move as it accidentally nudges against your lips. The creature is still in search of the sound it heard earlier, but your motionless state and barely audible breaths are causing confusion. You wonder briefly if it's blind.
You ache to turn your head away from it, yet you're acutely aware that any movement on your part could potentially alert it, and you could be killed. You endure it, eyes watching its head whip around for you. It leans closer, hips following suit. Scared that it'll notice your presence, in a hushed surrender, you part your lips, just in time for its throbbing member to slide into your warm, saliva-laden mouth— you had refrained from swallowing, fearing that the sound might betray your presence. Underestimated, its long thick cock pushes against your throat, forcing you to suppress any sound that threatens to escape. Perhaps you should've just made a run for it.
You can feel the hefty weight of its balls against your chin and clench your eyes shut as it jerks its hips back, causing you to exhale shakily through your nose. With its motion paused you observe one of its hind legs tapping on the wooden floor, seemingly quivering with delight from the sensation of being in your mouth.
Tears stream down your face as you stifle your sobs, desperately attempting to keep yourself from gagging. The creature's hips begin to thrust with an untamed ferocity, its primal growls and snarls resonating through its chest. Its flavor is raw and invigorating, not entirely repulsive but rather tolerable. The living room fills with the wet, squelching sound as saliva overflows in your mouth. Its member plunges deeper into your throat, causing drool to cascade down your cheek.
Your pussy throbs and clenches despite your fear. The disgust you feel towards yourself for being turned on in such a situation only heightens the sensation of disdain. The beast emits guttural grunts now, its hips faltering, and you can sense its impending climax. Arousal drips from your cunt, coating your labia and making your panties stick to you uncomfortably.
As terrified as you are, the urge to swallow is becoming overwhelmingly difficult to ignore. Squeezing your eyes tightly shut, you succumb to the temptation, swallowing as discreetly as possible, relieved that the sound remains unheard. However, this action seems to have an unexpected effect on the creature, as the feeling of your throat squeezing the tip of its cock causes it to thrust forward abruptly, causing you to gag, feeling it nearly reach the depths of your throat.
Thick ropes of tacky, sweet cum coat your throat white and you find it hard to swallow. Its legs shudder for a moment and it continues to move its hips in your mouth before it thankfully backs away from the couch, seemingly satisfied.
Anticipation filled your gaze as you observed it retreat toward the entrance., almost sighing in relief as you parted your thighs, feeling the tension release as your pussy lips spread apart, the sensation of wetness trickling down your thighs.
Sniff
Your gaze darted upwards, and a surge of fear coursed through you, and it made you want to scream. The creature was gazing in your direction, yet not directly at you. The door became a distant memory as it slowly retraced its steps toward your position, its nose held high in the air. You realized it must have caught the intoxicating scent of your arousal. In a discreet attempt, you closed your legs, hoping to dissuade its advances.
But it persisted, undeterred. With your eyes clenched shut, tears streamed down, obscuring your vision. It halted at your head, lowering itself to take a deep, lingering sniff, still unsatisfied. Lower and lower it ventured, until it paused just above your belly button. Another teasing sniff, followed by a playful chuff, before it finally made its way towards your tightly closed legs.
With a gentle nudge, its snout caressed your thighs, urging you to surrender. You hesitated, knowing that if you resisted, it would employ a more forceful approach. Reluctantly, you yielded, parting your thighs, cursing your decision to forgo pajama bottoms after removing your jeans. A jolt of surprise coursed through you as its elongated, slightly pointed tongue sensually traced the contours of your inner thigh.
Drawing nearer, it sniffed intently, determined to locate the exact origin of the alluring scent. One of its legs rested on the couch, its body contorted to get closer to your pulsating entrance. Though fear gripped you, causing tremors, your wet pussy clenched and released, eagerly anticipating something, anything. The heat of its breath brushed against your legs, its horns pressed against your stomach. Its elongated black tongue slithered forward, disappearing between your thighs, causing your soaked panties to dampen even more so as it leisurely licked and coiled around the fabric.
Eagerly, it buried its head between your luscious thighs, its horns grazing against your quivering stomach. Your body tensed as its teeth sank into your delicate underwear, tearing it apart with horrifying ease. A provocative sniff caused a blush to bloom on your cheeks, and you resisted the urge to close your legs.
And suddenly you’re lost in a haze of desire, your eyes rolled back, surrendering to the intense pleasure coursing through your cunt. Its tongue skillfully traced a path up your slick folds, lavishing attention on your throbbing clit with a delicious roughness. Your legs tensed, responding to the electrifying sensations, while its commanding hands firmly grasped your thighs, ensuring a steady grip as it delved deeper into your pussy.
The relentless drag of its slippery, warm tongue had you gasping for air. It was evident that the beast had developed a fascination with your tender bundle of nerves. As it continued to lap at it, your juices drooled from your throbbing pussy, the thin part of its tongue coiled around your clit, squeezing and prodding it.
You couldn't help but moan out as you came, pussy spasming. Paying no mind to the noise, it continued to lick up your moist slit, rumbling as it stumbled upon your small, tight entrance. Withdrawing, it grasped your legs tightly, almost folding you in half, pressing your thighs against your breasts.
What was happening? What was it doing?
The sheer heaviness of its throbbing member grazing against your drenched folds elicited a sharp intake of breath, at this point you didn't care if you made noise or not. That thing would surely rip your pussy apart.
It prodded at your entrance, clumsily trying to find your hole. When the head of its cock finally slid against you, it snarled lowly, the tip of its cock getting drenched from your arousal. The wendigo slowly inched in and you whine out as the bulbous tip slowly pops in, painfully stretching you. Your thighs tremble as your pussy reluctantly give way to its overwhelming thickness, pulsating around the beast timidly.
You're a moaning mess, completely enthralled as its fat, long cock disappears into your dripping cunt. Every vein and ridge pulsates against your sensitive walls. Your tightness clenches around its cock, causing it to emit a deep growl as it sinks deeper and deeper. The bulbous head tenderly grazes your cervix, while its weighty, thick balls press firmly against your ass. Your whimpers and spasms intensify, your eyes rolling back and your nipples straining against your blouse. It remains motionless for a moment, its breaths labored and its grip tightening against your trembling thighs.
With a forceful pull and a swift thrust, it sets a punishing rhythm. The silhouette of its member presses against your abdomen, and it makes you even whine in embarrassment, cheeks flushing. The fear has ebbed away and you can only moan and cry for more, you can feel the drag of its pelvis touch your aching clit when it pulls out. The pain and pleasure meld together, distorting your vision, your eyes bleary and lips parted.
A particular rough thrust against your g-spot has you cumming hard and long, your pussy gripping its cock tightly, milking it with fervor. It thrusts into you once more, gently stretching your cervix open, its tip finding a comfortable resting place. Hot, thick ropes of cum flood your womb, the sheer girth of its member ensuring not a single drop escapes, it lasts for a few minutes until your stomach extends slightly and you're too tired to move.
As it withdraws, a torrent of cum spills onto the couch, causing your belly to deflate slightly, yet not completely. The wendigo is finally sheathed, its cock nowhere in sight.
In an instant, a sensation of weightlessness engulfs you, as if you are floating on air. You find yourself nestled against the powerful chest of the creature, your mind clouded with desire and confusion. Despite your desperate attempts, you are unable to break free from its hold, your throat throbbing with pain.
In the blink of an eye, the two of you are whisked away, leaving the safety of the house behind. Your feeble attempt to reach for the door is futile, as it vanishes into thin air. Now, surrounded by the mysterious allure of the forest, you realize that you are not alone. More of those captivating creatures encircle you, their presence both exhilarating and unnerving.
Tears cascade down your delicate cheeks as your gaze is drawn to their thick, long, heavy cocks hanging between their legs— despite how absolutely terrified you are, your pussy begins to ache and drip. Gradually, you are lowered onto the soft ground, the sensation of the grass teasing your supine form. One of the creatures steps forward, communicating with its companion in a series of excited chitters.
Your trembling legs are gently parted, allowing a thicker, lengthier shaft to penetrate your eager entrance. The keening sound of your wanton moans fills the air, blending with the rustling of the grass in the secluded clearing. Suddenly, something nudges your lips, and as you gaze upwards, another creature stands before you, its gaze fixated upon your vulnerable form. Without hesitation, you part your lips, your eyes widening in anticipation as their hips thrust forward, plunging into your mouth, instantly throat-fucking you. You splutter and gag, fear settling deep in your chest.
Your gaze becomes misty as your eyes well up, and as you peer through them, you notice a multitude of over 50 more of them, cocks oozing with precum, waiting for a chance to fuck you themselves.
Is this how you'd be living now?
#monsterfucker#monster fucker#monster smut#monster headcanons#monster lover#monster nsft#monster x reader#monster x human#monster x you#monster romance#tw monsterfucking#fantasy#female writers#possessive#writeblr#writers on tumblr#writerscommunity#female reader#mates#monster imagine#male monster#monster bf#submisive and breedable#wendigo#wendigo x reader#monster kink#deunmiu dessie
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How about monster husband that just goes into ruts and can't hold himself together whenever you're near? Begging you to let him breed you, and "accidentally" cumming too much inside you, all that jizz leaking out of your hole only for him to fuck it back in with his fingers..
"we can't waste anything darling.."
#size difference#male monster#monster bf#monster fucker#size k!nk#female reader#monster smut#submisive and breedable#minotaur smut#minotaur
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Change | Monster Boyfriend
You weren’t a fan of change. It was just something new to get used to, and you didn’t see the point of changing your schedule when it already was fine. But then you were broken up with, and a morning text turned into silence, a midweek date after work turned into eating at the diner alone, and every little thing that reminded you of him was either returned to him, or thrown in a box that was shoved deep into your closet.
You weren’t a fan of change. But you were forced to become one. Because if you didn’t, you’d still be stuck in the past, and you didn’t want to think about him anymore. Even if you two did still live in the same small town that the both of you grew up in.
🌩--🌩--🌩
Your hand came down on the alarm, shutting up the annoying beeping that was the only reason you bought the thing in the first place. Taking a breath, you rubbed your eyes, sat up and stretched, feeling your bones pop and crack as you moved the blanket, turned your legs off the bed, and stood up, albeit begrudgingly.
After a shower and getting dressed, you went into the small kitchen of your townhouse, making yourself a bowl of oatmeal to at least eat something before you went into work. You got used to leaving your phone by your bedside table, preferring not to use it in the morning anymore, since in the beginning you’d wait like a dog does its master for that simple ‘good morning’ text. You shook your head free from the thought before you went down that rabbit hole, eating your somewhat bland breakfast, washing up the dishes and setting them aside to dry.
You slipped a pair of shoes on, and then grabbed your bag, going back to your room to grab your phone. Shoving it into your pocket, you made your way out the door and into your car, even though it was only ten minutes away if you walked. Still, you drove to your place of work, a quaint little pop and pop florist shop, owned by an older couple who used to babysit you when you were a kid.
You walked in, hearing the bell and going into the back to clock in, then going out to flip the sign to show that the shop was open and you found your seat behind the counter. Hearing steps behind you, you glanced back, smiling when you saw Laurie and Samuel. You saw the Dwarf and Elf smile back at you, and you leaned against the counter when you turned the stool to look at them. “You two are down here early, what’s the occasion?”
“Nothing,” Laurie was quick to dismiss, but the glance down to his husband was more than enough to tell you that it wasn’t just nothing.
“You’re still a bad liar, Laurie,” you said. “You two gonna tell me the truth or what?”
Laurie grimaced, but much to his visible relief, Samuel started speaking, voice gruff, like he just woke up, which he probably did, the Dwarf was never an early riser. “We thought you’d do better in tha’ back today, hm?”
“And…why’s that?” You asked, brows knitting together. You never went in the back, ever. It was always something Samuel took over because he liked the gardening aspect, while Laurie was the star seller out of the three of you. “Did I do something?”
They shook their heads quickly and Laurie took back over. “No…just…you know how this town is, people talk.”
“Right, we live in a small town, what’s going on?” The Elf took a breath, biting his lip.
“We know how hard you took the breakup, and we didn’t want you to be upfront if Callum comes in today,” he said after a moment. You tensed, but managed to ask one thing before your mind went blank.
“Why would he even come in here? He’s like the last guy that would come in here…” Trailing off, your heart clenched, but you weren’t going to show what you were thinking, not if it had the chance that you were wrong.
The two, however, noticed, reading the way your hands clenched your knees and how your shoulders got stiff. “...It’s going around that he’s going on a date with a new hire at the garage.”
You tried not to react, you really, truly did, but no matter how soft Laurie’s tone was, you still bit back the urge to tear up, your fists clenching against your legs. It had only been three months since the break up, and while you knew that he was allowed to move on, start dating again, you couldn’t help the way that the thought of him dating someone else made you feel. It was only natural, the two of you were dating for almost five years, starting right after the two of you graduated high school, and he moved on after three months.
You snapped out of your thoughts when you felt their hands on your legs, and you shook your head, forcing yourself to act normally. “I’ll be fine,” you started, a bit weakly, “we’re not together, he can do what he wants.”
Managing a smile, you breathe out a huff, and turn back to the front door of the shop, knowing that if you looked at them and their sympathetic expression, you would’ve broken down.
You could handle it. You were going to have to.
🌩--🌩--🌩
The shop never got many customers during a work day, most of the customers coming right after they get off for a date night, an apology bouquet or just something for their partner. Your foot was tapping against the stool the entire time you were sitting, and you could help but pace around whenever you had to get up. You hated the fact that the thought of him coming in made you this nervous, but you had good reason to when the bell rang, and Laurie failed to greet the heavy steps.
You didn’t look at him for a while, keeping your back facing him as he talked quietly to Laurie, getting a bundle of roses and carnations, pink and red. Your hands trembled, and you turned in the stool to price the bouquet, never meeting his gaze when he placed the flowers down beside the old monitor you and the other two used to check people out.
“Hi,” Callum said after a couple seconds of tense silence, his low voice more familiar than anyone else’s in your life. You looked up at the Minotaur, your eyes meeting his brown gaze, the fur on his face still slightly dirty, and his hands stained from his work at the garage.
“Thirteen-fifty is your total,” you said in response, almost bitter in your lack of wanting to make small talk with him. It pained you to be cold to him, but he didn’t say anything else to you, simply handing you his card and letting you read it in the machine, handing it back to him with a receipt seconds after. You let Laurie give him the ‘have a nice day’ shtick, walking back to ‘help’ out Samuel, even though the work day was over in an hour and a half.
You heard the bell to the door right as you walked back, and your back hit the wall, getting Samuel’s attention right as tears welled in your waterline, your bottom lip trembled and you sniffled, shutting your eyes tightly to stop yourself from crying. But despite your efforts, the tears ran down your cheeks, and soon you had both men trying to comfort you, holding you in both of their arms to offer any form of solace.
They closed the shop early, something you tried to argue with, but you learned quickly that you couldn’t really speak while crying, so it didn’t work other than making you seem like a mess, which you admittedly were. And when the sign was flipped and the door was locked, the blinds sitting over the windows, they all but dragged you up to the apartment above the shop, the home you practically grew up in with the amount of times that they babysat you. It was to keep you from being upset and alone at your own place, you knew that, they sure as hell knew that. You didn’t blame them though.
Laurie made dinner for the three of you and Samuel settled beside you, rough hand holding onto yours as he let you flick through movie after movie until you settled on one you considered one of your favorites.
As the movie played and the three of you were gouging on carbs, you sat off to the side, letting the couple sit beside each other, even though at first they were hesitant to not have you in the middle. You were better tucked into the arm of their small couch though, it let you think and drown out the movie you’ve seen more times than you can count.
Seeing Callum earlier both made your heart race and stabbed it with a knife at the same time. He wasn’t there for you, like he was times before, and if you knew why the breakup happened…if he would’ve given you at least some closure, you would’ve been fine- happy for him even. But it was only three months since it happened, and you still had no idea what happened to cause him to want to break up with you. It was like a switch flipped and suddenly you were single.
You closed your eyes once you were done eating, setting your empty plate aside and dragging a hand down your face to get you out of your thoughts. You were just going to have to accept it. That was the only thing you were able to do at that point.
🌩--🌩--🌩
It was four months since the breakup, and three weeks since Callum came in last. He hadn’t been in since, which didn’t exactly mean much, since he never really did flowers unless it was a birthday or anniversary, and even then he focused more on interests than just flowers. But you hadn’t heard anything else about his date with the new hire in his garage. You had practically bullied Laurie and Samuel into telling you anything, and it came up to nothing, so you chalked it up to nothing being shared, or nothing happening between the two.
You felt weird, being so into your ex’s personal life, but if anything, he invited you into it by going to the shop he knew you worked at to buy flowers for them. No- that just felt petty.
The shop’s bell ringing snapped you out of your thoughts, petty and otherwise, and you looked up, parting your lips to speak, before you snapped your mouth shut when you saw that it was the Minotaur you were just thinking about. You looked down at papers, acting like you haven’t seen him and silently wishing Laurie was still out here instead of in the back with Samuel. It meant you actually had to talk to him.
You glanced up when you heard him say your name, and after breathing out a sigh, you got up from the stool, walking over to the flowers. “Roses and carnations?”
“No, actually. I’m not here for flowers…” There he was. There was the Callum you knew. “The shop closes in an hour, yea?”
You nodded. “Like it normally does.”
He paused for a moment, and nodded, walking up to you and reaching out to brush his fingers against your arm. “Do you wanna go to Izzie’s after you’re off? Our usual table? I need to talk to you.”
It sounded serious, and you didn’t miss the way his soft voice made your heart flip. “...About?”
“...I really just want to tell you then…so…please?” He was begging now. He was actually begging. You closed your eyes for a few seconds and you nodded, looking up at him when you opened your eyes.
“Fine…fine, I’ll go,” you said. Your expression softened when you saw his deep brown eyes light up, the evening glow coming in through the windows making the color look like it had golden flakes mixed with the brown.
“Great- perfect, thank you. It’s my treat, so don’t worry about whatever you get.” Your brow twitched and furrowed, but you nodded again, teeth digging into your bottom lip.
“You don’t have to-”
“Don’t,” he said, lifting a hand. “Just- just let me treat you, ok?”
“Ok,” you breathe out, watching him with a sigh.
The last hour went by slowly, feeling like it was an entire day, and the moment the clock hit seven, you raced out with barely a ‘see ya’ to Laurie and Samuel. With your bag gripped tightly in your hand, you unlocked your car and threw it into your passenger seat, getting into the driver’s seat afterwards. You pulled out onto the road and began driving across town to Izzie’s.
When you pulled in, you managed to pull in beside his van, the nostalgia and familiarity of the late nights in it sending you whirling, but you got out of your car, locked it up and headed straight into the front doors. You were sure you looked desperate, wanting something akin to how you were back when you were with Callum, and you knew you should be trying to move on…trying to get over him, but gods, did you not want to do anything resembling moving on when he asked you to the spot you guys had weekly date nights at.
And when you saw him, your heart started racing, seeing that he was sitting in the booth the two of you used to sit in every wednesday. You forced yourself to slow yourself to a walking pace, making your way over to him before slipping into the booth, sitting across from him as if you didn’t care for any of this.
He smiled when he saw you, and pushed his menu over to you. “Pick what you want. Even if it’s your usual.”
“You know you don’t have to pay for me,” you said after taking a quick glance at the menu. You knew what you were getting, it was all you ever got when you came here. Nothing could go wrong with a vanilla shake and loaded fries in your mind.
“Yea, but I want to,” he responded, waving the thought of him not doing it away. “I invited you out, I’ll pay.”
You let out a breath, but nodded and set the menu down, pushing it away. Your leg bounced, not stopping until a large hand touched your knee and your eyes met his. “Why’re you nervous, Moonlight?”
You could barely process the pet name, tensing under his touch and staring at him with furrowed brows. “...We’re exes…why wouldn’t I be nervous that you wanted to talk?”
Something flashed in his eyes, something that you thought looked akin to hurt the way his lips pursed a little, and he moved back, moving the long hair from his eyes, then on the normal chain he wore on his horns after he got off of work. “Do you want to start talking now or after we get food?”
“Now, please…” you said. He nodded and moved his hand from your knee, then held his hand out, palm up. He left his hand there, even after you didn’t take it, keeping the offer there.
“Right…right…” Callum breathed out, his bullnose ring glinting in the light. “I regret breaking up with you…”
You tensed again, your thoughts spinning around you, and it felt like the world around you went silent. He…he regretted it? “...You regret it?”
“Yea,” he started. “...If…if it’s alright with you…I’d…I’d like to try again…maybe?”
Your lips parted and you gave him a look that just screamed confusion, mixed a hint of disbelief. “You want to…try again? After breaking up with me out of nowhere and going out on a date with someone else?”
He flinched at the questions and gave you an apologetic look, trying to grab your hand. “...Let me explain…-”
You smacked his hand away and stood up, holding your hands up in mock surrender. “Let you explain what? Why you want me back, or why you broke up with me?”
He glanced around and tried to usher you back in the booth. “Moonlight, please sit down,” he said softly.
“Or what?” He took a pause, sighing and standing, grabbing your arm before you could pull it away and guiding the both of you outside and to your cars, lifting his hands when you settled against your passenger’s side door.
“Please, don’t fight with me,” Callum said after a moment. “Let me explain…whether you accept it or not is up to you, but please just hear me out.”
You took awhile to answer, and you didn’t even do it verbally, offering him a single nod and a hand wave. He sighed again. “I know saying that I want to try again after going on a date with someone else is…not the best thing to hear…and I promise it’s not because the date didn’t go well. I genuinely regret breaking up with you and I’m such an idiot for doing it.”
“Then why did you do it?” You asked, not trying to fight, or to respond sounding like an ass, just…wanting to know.
“I didn’t want you to hate me,” he responded.
“What? Why would I hate you?” Callum slowly reached his hand out, waiting for you to grab it and his expression softened when you did.
“We got together out of high school…we were our first actual relationship and…I didn’t want you to start resenting me for holding you back in the future…and I…I knew it wouldn’t happen, but the possibility of me feeling the same made me want to die…I just thought we’d be better if we explored…” He trailed off when he was done, waiting for a response from you, his nerves apparent.
It took you another long, drawn out moment before you finally replied to him. “And you regret doing it now?”
He nodded. “Yea…I was regretting it when I did it…but I thought it’d get better, that if I just held out you’d be happier. And I went on the date…I can’t say I hated it, because they were nice, but I was thinking of you the entire time, how you’d react if I took you there…what you’d wear, which place we’d go to after, what movie we’d inevitably fall asleep to…”
Your heart was pounding again, a slow but loud sound hammering away at your ribs. But he spoke before you could. “I still…- you’re the person I think of when I wake up, and you’re the person I think of when I go to bed and I hate that I ruined us when I still constantly think about how much I love you.”
“Callum…” you said softly, squeezing back when he squeezed your hand. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”
“...I don’t know…I thought you’d think I was ridiculous or something…”
“So you went straight to break up with me?” You pushed up from your car, taking a step towards the Minotaur. “You should’ve talked to me.”
“I know I should’ve. And I regret that I didn’t, but I don’t want what we had to end…will you at least think about giving me a second chance?”
You didn’t have to think when you nodded, grabbing his other hand and squeezing them both. “...I’ll think about it. But you have to earn that, alright?”
He managed a smile, nodding back at you firmly. “I’ll make you weak in the knees faster than you can blink.”
And to tease him, you blinked, grinning when he laughed.
🌩--🌩--🌩
It was exactly four months later, but you were three ‘second chance’ dates in with Callum, finally folding after he consistently made an effort, constantly threatening being late to his shift at the garage to drop off a coffee, tea or pastry at the shop, and to occasionally earn a kiss on the cheek after he kissed yours. Laurie and Samuel were practically sick at seeing the two of you, despite the amount of PDA the couple were giving each other at every possible opportunity.
At that very moment though, you were relaxing on the worn couch in Callum’s home garage, watching him work on his van and all in all, enjoying your day off.
“You’re awfully quiet, Moonlight,” Callum said, wiping his hands off with an old rag. “What’s on your pretty, little mind?”
Your cheeks warmed, but you rolled your eyes. “Just admiring, Sunshine.”
“Yea? You still into something you’ve seen for five years?” He asked, teasing tone blatant.
“Obviously,” you chuckled. “I’ll still like this fifty years from now.”
He hummed and walked over to you, lifting your legs to settle beside you, resting your legs over his. “You really think so?”
“I know so, Callum.”
You didn’t like change, but you could get used to this…instead of sticking to how it was before.
#original writing#writing#monster lover#monster x human#monsterfucker#monster fucker#monster romance#exophilia#gender neutral reader#gn reader#x reader#monster boy#human x monster#male monster#monster#monster bf#monster boyfriend#monster fucking#monster fudger#monster husband#monster love#monster oc#monster x reader#tw monsterfucking#Take it#I shall go off to die before next month
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Nothing's Wrong with Dale - Part Twenty-Six
It’s been a week, but you’re fairly certain your fiancé accidentally got himself replaced by an eldritch being from the Depths. Deciding that he’s certainly not worse than your original fiancé, you endeavor to keep the engagement and his new non-human state to yourself.
However, this might prove harder than you originally thought.
Fantasy, arranged marriage, malemonsterxfemalereader, M/F
AO3: Nothing's Wrong with Dale Chapter 26
[Part One][Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five] [Part Six] [Part Seven] [Part Seven.5] [Part Eight] [Part Nine][Part Ten] [Part Eleven] [Part Twelve] [Part Thirteen] [Part Fourteen] [Part Fifteen] [Part Sixteen] [Part Seventeen] [Part Eighteen] [Part Nineteen] [Part Twenty] [Part Twenty-One] [Part Twenty-Two][Part Twenty-Three] [Part Twenty-Four] [Part Twenty-Five] Part Twenty-Six [Part Twenty-Seven] [Part Twenty-Eight] [Part Twenty-Nine] [Part Thirty] [Part Thirty-One] [Part Thirty-Two] [Part Thirty-Three] [Part Thirty-Four]
You’re grateful this gala does not require a grand entrance despite it being the last of the parties at the Governor’s house and in Connton. Instead, you're on a dais to one side of the room in a sort of receiving area. Everyone who's come to Connton but will not be going to the wedding itself on the Northridge estate has come. They all want a chance to speak to the Northridges and express their well-wishes before you leave town. You've had no moment to yourself since arriving.
It's a real test of your memory. You've met so many new people over the course of these galas and now you must see if you can match the faces to their owners. Dale is surprisingly good at doing so, thank the light. Your notes help you to remember specific details with the names, so you end up working well with each other to ensure no one thinks you’ve forgotten them.
You fall into an easy back and forth rhythm and you can't help how satisfied your partnership makes you feel, even if you begin to grow tired with the constant social interaction. It's been over an hour without a pause in conversation you're expected to be attentive and contributing to. Dale appears ready to continue into perpetuity, but you hope when the next round of food is announced, the unofficial line of those you need to speak with will have dwindled enough that you can stop for a time. You’ve never been so eager to join the typical press and crowd of a typical gala.
Of course, after you've spoken to those who sought you out to, there will likely be a number requesting dances with yourself or Dale. You can only hope that's after the food as you've once more reached the part of the evening where your anxiety has been quelled by weariness.
Something bumps your hand and you turn to see Dale offering you a goblet of wine, light and cool. You smile gratefully at him, murmuring your thanks and unsure why the kind gesture brings heat to your face. You sip on the drink, your throat thankful and your mind appreciating the reprieve from talking as Dale brings your current discussion away from the intricacies of divining new mineral deposits and onto the wine. You're able to hum appreciatively in all the right places and the couple moves on with a polite smile.
Dale presses close to you, leaning over to peer into your nearly empty wine glass. "Another?"
You shake your head, resisting the urge to lean into him. The evening's just begun, you remind yourself, it's too early to be tired. "I am fine for now."
"I'll be fine once it is time for the main course," Dale grumbles good-naturedly. "Grandmother ushered us up here so quickly I could snatch nothing more than a single roll."
"I think the crowd around us is thinning," you attempt to console him. Dale is nearly always hungry, or so it seems to you, but he isn't wrong. Between the meeting this afternoon to discuss the assassins, the preparations for this final gala, and then being whisked away to hosting duties as soon as you arrived, you two haven't had a meal since breakfast a little before noon. "The later crowd should not gather until after supper."
"Thank the stars for that," Dale mutters as he takes your goblets to leave them on a side table. "This day has been nothing but talks and discussions."
"I agree," you say. "I do believe the musicians Grandmother hired for the wedding arrived in town tonight and shall be playing at this gala."
"Oh? Good, good.” Dale looks cheered by the prospect of some physical activity as you’d hoped. “I know some of our guests are already filling our dance cards, but the first few I intend not to give away."
You know he's probably only looking forward to not having to make conversation, but you like to imagine he also simply would appreciate your company. "I agree." You share a smile with him.
You look away only so as to locate the next guest and finish, itching even more for this first round of focused socializing to end. Instead you hear a familiar voice greeting Grandmother. You stiffen, but at the same time, you're grateful that this final shoe has dropped. You've spent all evening anticipating your family's arrival. At the same time, you're still surprised to see your mother speaking with Grandmother, your father at her side and your brother on the other.
You can feel Dale turn with you, but you can't look away. Has it truly only been a couple months since you were last living with them in your home fief? It feels like so much longer.
Your father meets your eyes first and you can see he also needs a second to take you in. He looks the same as always, the crisp lines of his naval uniform that he prefers to wear for any event is as neat as always, the buttons shined to perfection. It's you who has changed. Still, he smiles, tilting his head for you to join them.
You start toward them automatically and glance up at Dale when you sense him following. His eyes are fixed on them and from the way his bearing and attention have sharpened, you know you don't need to tell them who they are.
"...cannot be helped, of course," your mother is saying to Grandmother.
"Of course," Grandmother says sympathetically. "We are pleased you were able to make this gala if that is what you have been dealing with."
You only hesitate when you get closer, habit telling you to stand behind your father, but you take your correct place at Grandmother's left. You’re surprised to see your oldest brother is here as well. As the inheriting lord, he had every reason to stay at home given your parents’ presence. Your mother's eyes land on you immediately, you can feel her looking you over, but it's your father who speaks first.
“You look lovely, my child." His smile is minimal, but his voice is quiet and warm. He’s where you get your desire to avoid the spotlight from. He’s more than happy to stand in your mother’s shadow at events and he was the one who often employed your ill health to excuse himself from events he couldn't get out of with other obligations when in the country. When you were feeling up for it, he would read to you. On the other hand, if you were too ill, he could never bring himself to stay long.
“Thank you, Father.” You try to push down the return of feeling like a child play acting an adult, something you haven't felt in weeks. Your hand still can't help but smooth your skirts before you meet your mother's eyes.
"You do," your mother confirms, her expression schooled politeness as it always is at public events. It makes it hard for even you to read her. "Even if it surprises my mother's heart to see you in your betrotheds' colors rather than our own. They suit you well."
"Thank you, Mother,” you reply, more focused on your role as a host than fully absorbing her comment, though it echoes one of your own thoughts when you first donned your Northridge dress. Since Father and Grandmother Northridge were the ones who arranged this marriage contract while Dale was away, none of your family has actually met him. You gesture to Dale. “Please allow me to introduce Lord Dale of Northridge, my fiancé.” Dale bows as you continue. “Lord Dale, allow me to introduce my parents, Lord Henry and Lady Fiore of Portsmith, and my brother Lord Asher."
Everyone murmurs pleasantries and greetings while you wait for your nerves to relax. It looks like Asher left his wife home to manage the fief, but did bring at least some of his children, who you can see behind him. You spot your older sister as well, with her husband and heir, all the way from Khinat, but they’re speaking with a few other guests nearby.
Grandmother, and Grandfather move to greet them with Asher acting as the spokesperson for your family, allowing you a moment with your parents. Your mother clasps your arms, making a bit of a show of looking you up and down, before she pulls you into a quick embrace that ends nearly as soon as it started. “I’m pleased you're doing well,” she says quietly enough only you can hear. “I’d been worried about you, away from us.”
You flush. “Mother, I’ve been away longer for school.”
“It is not the same,” she insists, but refuses to elaborate. She steps back and frowns at your dress. “While the colors are lovely, your sleeves are too short,” your mother tuts. “You must be having chills with these.” She gives one of your short sleeves a small tug. “I know they are the fashion now, but you mustn’t neglect your health. Do you have a shawl? Obviously not, or you’d have worn it. I shall have one over to you tomorrow. We’ll ensure the rest of your clothing is sent to Northridge once we return.”
You resist the urge to sigh, to say anything about her own fashionable dress. You merely wait for her to finish speaking her piece. “Thank you, Mother.”
“This gala looks lovely,” Mother continues, looking around with sharp but pleased eyes. “Most befitting such an occasion for Northridge,” she nods graciously at Dale, but continues before he can reply. “I’ve never been to Connton, but it's a charming city. We had some difficulties with the weather and some troublemakers on the river, so it is relieving to have arrived. Although I suppose we have yet to make the final ride tomorrow.”
‘Troublemakers’ likely means folks upset about a tax raise who tried to hold up the boat when they saw the family flags flying, saying those who levied said taxes were aboard. Mother had all sorts of euphemisms for various spots of danger or attacks that might occur. ‘Troublemakers’ meant no one was injured or else they would have been ‘ruffians’. As far as you know, they are not common codewords and exist primarily to keep up appearances.
Dale sees his opportunity and says, “The ride is an easy one, only a day or two depending primarily on how quickly the traffic in and out of the city is moving.”
“Very good,” Mother says. “Are there proper wayhouses betwixt your estate and this city? Given all of our travels, we are likely to leave later and I’ve no desire to ride much in a day or overnight.” Mother gets sick to her stomach if she spends too much time in a carriage, you remember. She’s likely bothered that they can’t continue to sail.
“Yes,” Dale answers before you can. “I can provide the name of where we stay if we stop for the night. We’ll be leaving early enough tomorrow that we won’t be stopping. My understanding from speaking with other guests is that many will arrive gradually throughout the week so it should not be overcrowded.” There will be dinners each night on the estate, but no more formal galas until the wedding. You cannot wait for the lull of social activity before you must be put on a stage.
“Wonderful,” Mother says with a smile up at Dale. She glances around for her secretary who starts to make her way over once Mother makes eye contact with her. “We had meant to inquire sooner, but had never anticipated being so delayed.”
Dale dutifully relates the necessary travel information to her, without you needing to say a thing. Once she has the information not only about the wayhouse, but also regarding what wing of the estate your family will be staying, Mother bustles away with her secretary to ensure your siblings and their families receive the same details, Nevermind waiting to do so in the morning or trusting her secretary to speak with theirs. Nevermind if any of them had planned to leave earlier or stay in Connton an additional day or so. She’ll want the family to all stay together.She leaves, but not before saying, “And I shall check to see if we’ve brought along a spare shawl for you.”
You give your father a look and he nods before following her, so there’s hope she won’t actually return with one to give you. You stay where you are, needing a moment to recollect yourself after seeing them again.
Dale’s quiet voice, leaned close for just you to hear, interrupts your thoughts, “It is not cold and her sleeves…” You wave off his logical points about the fact that it is nearly halfway through Hectary and Mother’s own sleeves were short before he can make them. “Do not try to make sense of it. I’m receiving a shawl now and there would have been no persuading her otherwise.”
“As you say.” Dale sounds confused and skeptical, but he doesn’t argue with you. It is too much to try to explain that Mother often thought your fits were motivated by cold since they at times resembled shivers. She often tried to dress you far more warmly than the occasion called for and had only mildly backed off after you had heat exhaustion once while home on holiday a couple years ago.
A tug on your hand draws your attention to your niece, who you’re guessing is allowed to attend this gala for a couple hours and only on her best behavior. Naturally, she’s snuck away from Asher’s side already. Ten year old Rose had followed you around the family house when you returned from schooling a year ago, suddenly fascinated by you. She’d actually been upset when you left for Northridge and refused to say goodbye.
Instead of greeting you or introducing herself, she narrows her eyes, looking suspiciously from you to Dale. "This is who you are marrying?"
"Hello to you as well, Rose,” you say, but she just crosses her arms with a huff. Deciding that it is not your job to teach her manners—especially not when you feel she is only choosing to ignore them, not ignorant of them—you simply answer her question. “Yes, this is Lord Dale.” Turning to Dale, you explain, “Rose is my niece, Asher’s youngest."
"Pleased to meet you Lady Rose," Dale says with a short bow.
Rose blinks before executing a perfunctory curtsy, though it does nothing to diminish her frown. "You're not what I expected," she says bluntly.
"Rose," you admonish. This is pushing it, even for a child at one of her first events such as this. You have seen her deal politely with guests at the house before and have no idea what could be compelling her to be so rude. Not to mention you've not seen Dale interact with any children and have no idea how he will take her attitude. After all, he didn't grow up with siblings underfoot nor their children.
"In what way?" Dale asks instead, only sounding curious.
Rose hums, tapping her chin in an exaggerated mimic of Asher that you feel some of your frustration melting. If Dale's not put off, and your Mother is out of earshot, then you don’t mind indulging her to an extent. It’s curious to see her almost suspicious on your behalf. Whether or not you usher her back to her father’s side will depend on her answer to Dale’s question. "You're too tall," she proclaims as if that contained all her criticism distilled to one comment.
You blink in surprise, but Dale laughs. "My apologies, but I've no way to change that."
"I suppose," Rose replies grudgingly. She bites her lip, looking between you two, a question clearly on her mind. "Can I visit? Even after you're married?"
"Of course," you say with a frown. While you’d not been allowed to travel out of your home fief when you were young, most noble children often visited cousins and extended family members before formal schooling at an institution. "Why wouldn't you be able to?"
Rose shrugs. "Father said that things change after a person marries. That you might be too busy."
"I would never be too busy for you.”
"He said, it would be his," she points at Dale, "house and so he might not want me to."
You suppose you could see your brother's point. He likely said that more out of an abundance of caution and knowing couples prefer some time to themselves to settle in. Perhaps he was even trying to give you an excuse ahead of time if you’d didn’t want a nosy niece underfoot. However, you do not like the implication you would need Dale's permission for your family to visit. You open your mouth to say so, but you're not the one who answers her.
"Nonsense," Dale says, clearly confused. "With our marriage, it will be our house. Any family of my spouse would my family as well. You are welcome to visit as you please, though I'd caution you to send word ahead of time. We'll be touring the fief in our first year."
"Truly?" Rose asks before grinning, not waiting for confirmation. "Thank you!"
"You also need your parent's permission," you add, knowing exactly how her mind works. Predictably, she pouts. "But we would love to have you. Tell me what you have been up to since we last spoke. You never answered my last letter."
"I'm sorry," Rose says dutifully, but she isn’t truly bothered. "I always forget. It's half finished. Everything was boring until Aunt Callalily came. Come on, you have to meet Sara and Kanti.”
“I’ve already met them,” you point out, but take her hand anyway. “So have you.”
“But they were just babies then,” Rose says dismissively as she pulls you over. “Now they’re almost real people.” Dale laughs and Rose grins, always pleased to entertain an adult. Your heart warms at Dale’s indulgence of her, grateful you do not have the original Dale who likely would have dismissed her outright.
You follow her over to your siblings and find that your other sister and her husband are here as well. Introductions fly around as you all fulfill etiquette’s demands. Your nieces and nephews end up sneaking away before you can see how much any of them have grown. Dale ends up talking to your father and brother, but you are able to talk with your sisters.
“Douglas is coming?” you ask, unable to keep your surprise to yourself when you learn from them that your remaining brother is going to be at the wedding too. All four of your siblings will come, you’d never thought… “I thought he was stationed on the northern border for the rest of the year. Fort Rhimer.”
“He is,” your oldest sister, Callalily, confirms. “However, knights are allowed leave,” she says, as if your surprise is what’s odd. “A family wedding is more than an acceptable reason to take such. We are not at war. He is more than capable of leaving his command for a fortnight or two.”
“Of course, I simply did not think…” You just didn’t think he’d bother to come. Douglas is the sibling you saw and knew the least, with him having been off in the capital for training or on active military duty for most of your life. Perhaps he wants to take leave for other reasons and saw this as a convenient opportunity. Or maybe he wants to see the rest of the family. “Well, I’ll be happy to see him.”
“Yes, it's been too long,” Marigold, the sister closest in age to you, but who is closer still to Douglas. She’s nearly a decade older than you are. “Douglas is too focused on his career and would do well to take more time to enjoy the rest of what life has to offer. And to see us, of course. He neglects his family.”
“Hush,” Callalily rolls her eyes and makes a show of looking around. “Don’t let Mother hear you or you’ll be treated to another lecture on the importance of a noble’s getting married, even though we are already married.”
Your mother is still off somewhere else, but everyone’s making their way down from the dais to join the gala proper. You’re still a little nervous with your family around, that you’re not sure how much you’ll actually end up eating, but you’d like to get away from even this minor stage. Callalily must agree as she leads the two of you over to one of the buffet tables. “No doubt she shall be searching this gala for eligible matches the entire night, especially since he is the only one of her children left who is not even betrothed.”
Marigold laughs. You used to be envious of how effortless she makes everything look. If you tried to wear that bright red scarf with its foreign patterns, even if it matched your dress like hers does, you’d only look out of place and awkward. She has the ability to keep abreast with current trends and styles and play them to her advantage. She has an eye for fashion even if, as a sculptor, she primarily uses no color in her work.
Even Callalily who should look out of place in her Khinat dress manages to only look elegant and interesting as a diplomat should. Your plainer clothes, especially growing up as you only had a few nice dresses given your shyness and often inability to attend more important events, had always left you feeling more than a step behind your worldly older sisters. “Oh, I wonder if he’s realized that now, given the wedding we’re attending.” Marigold leans over and gives you a hug around the shoulders. “Our youngest, all grown up. He’s going to regret coming, isn’t he?”
You’ve often felt cut off from your siblings, being so much younger than them. Now, this gala is for you, for your wedding that you’re helping to host in your lovely Northridge dress. It's fun to be included in the joke with your sisters. To feel like you’re within reach of the same plateau of ‘proper adult’ as they are. “Perhaps.” You smile back at her. “Maybe Mother will succeed in her matchmaking.”
Marigold stifles a snort. “Oh, yes, and then perhaps he will fly back to the fort on the wings of such a mystical love.”
Callalily swats gently at Marigold’s arm, but she’s smiling. “We didn’t think he’d holdout long enough to be the last one, did we?” She looks over the hors d'oeuvres laid out as she decides what to eat. You find you’re not ready to have anything after all. “Who knows what will happen?”
She turns to you and you’re surprised to have her attention at such an event. Callalily always tries to have at least one longer conversation with you when she visits, but she doesn’t often seek out your opinion in a group, or even at dinner. “How are you faring?” Her eyebrows tilt down in sympathy, a common look she’s given you—one that always makes you feel like a child, though you know she means nothing by it. “I hope these preparations have not been too much for you. Or did the Northridges’ take care of everything?” She doesn’t give you a chance to answer, before she looks at Marigold with a smirk. “I must admit, it would be novel to think of a wedding for one of us that Mother did not try to manage all of.”
You know she sees you as someone still ill, someone who tires easily and is overwhelmed easily, but you thought she could see you’ve moved past that. She’s the one who encouraged you to pick your own school, your own courses of study. Did she think you were still so moldable to even the family you were marrying? Or did she think the Northridges were overbearing? You’d not thought she had any particular thoughts or opinions on them.
“Your fault for getting married first,” Marigold says to Callalily. “My fault for getting married to someone without their own mother to fight her off. And Asher’s fault for being the heir. Only you have been so lucky.” She winks at you. You wonder if that’s truly the reason because you remember the arguments and control Mother had sought to exercise over your other siblings' weddings. It was why you’d been almost expecting her to come with you to Northridge, even though it was uncommon for a parent of a betrothed to come with them to stay with the family they are marrying into. Mother hadn’t pushed to be involved, besides ensuring you had all you needed, shawls aside.
You think she’s more committed to acting as though everything is typical, to show too much of her traditional concern over your health. She’d been extremely concerned regarding your health reports and how they might taint a prospective marriage. You hope she’ll continue to act as if she isn’t worried about your health or a relapse, but you don’t know how you feel about it once more resulting in treatment other than what your siblings received. Even if you don’t want her to interfere with the wedding.
“That luck is likely to be running out,” Callalily cautions. “Now that she’s arrived.”
“Everything’s already settled,” you protest, hoping you weren’t wrong about her overstepping to manage what you and the Northridges have well in hand.
“Not sure that will stop Mother if she sees something she feels is missing,” Marigold teases. “You know how she is when she sees a problem she feels she knows how to solve.”
She’s not wrong and you anxiously peer around to see if Mother’s returned. Callalily’s hand on your arm brings your focus back to her. “We shall keep her busy as best as we are able,” Callalily reassures you. “I’m certain you’ve enough to worry about without Mother’s particular style of assistance. She truly hasn’t said anything about the wedding preparations. I believe she is merely delighted to see you wed. I’m not sure she’d thought…” Callalily trails off but you hear the words regardless. Thought to see you marry at all. All your family had thought you’d not live past thirteen, the age at which your aunt had died. “Well, the wedding itself is not her worry. Discussing your health, in private, is likely on the table.”
Mother was the one who managed your doctors and treatments while you grew up. She would go through different phases of how involved she was and what she left to the individual doctors, but she always pushed for new techniques and options to be tested. She’ll likely have some new compound she wants you to take to ensure your condition doesn’t resurge or simply to enhance overall health. “Of course,” you acknowledge ruefully. “I only hope I do not have to talk her out of substances that are actually poisonous once more.” Half of what you’re learned about medicine was defensive, not mere curiosity on your part, due to Mother’s willingness to experiment.
“To her credit,” Marigold says with a grin, obviously remembering the incident a few years ago since she had been visiting them at the time. “I knew a number of people who were using belladonna as well. They were all very convinced of the therapeutic benefits if one did not use too much.”
“Your people—artists—are always so ready to believe beauty is pain,” Callalily says with a smirk before helping herself to a stuffed mushroom.
“Oh yes, only us artists could be so vain.” Marigold rolls her eyes. “And how long did it take your maid to do your hair up in this manner?”
You eye the beautiful and elaborate braids Callalily has her hair in, she even has a few strands of jewelry in that make her chestnut hair look particularly lustrous. It must have taken hours. “The usual amount,” Callalily says with a sniff.
“Of course,” Marigold replies. She never takes anything too seriously nor does she hold Callalily’s, or anyone’s, teases or criticisms against her. “I did want to compliment the work. It truly is lovely.”
“Thank you.” Callalily smiles and then reaches out to touch one of your curls. “Yours are sweet, I hope you do not follow Marigold’s example.” You feel younger in your basic hairstyle, but at least you know you won’t need to respond.
“My hair is fine,” Marigold says quickly enough. “Covered, as propriety dictates.”
“It’s still down,” Callalily tuts.
“And no one has fainted from the sight, since it is covered,” Marigold reiterates. “I have to have my hair pinned up so precisely and tightly to my head when I work that I cannot abide having it done so when it can be helped.”
“Why not cover it while you work?”
“It does not work as well,” Marigold insists around a piece of bread and some cheese, a hand to cover her mouth while she rebuts Callalily. “All my scarves get covered in clay and I overheat.”
“It’s hot enough in this ballroom.” Callalily reaches for a fresh glass to drink, passing one to Marigold and to you.
Your pleasure at the lack of hesitation in her inclusion of you is overshadowed by the reminder of your mother’s intentions. “Mother hasn’t returned with a shawl for me, has she?”
“No…” Marigold frowns, looking baffled. “Why would she? It’s a week into Hectary with nary a sea breeze to cool us.”
“You know how she feels about our sibling and chills,” Callalily reminds Marigold before looking back at you. “No, I believe she’s returned and is speaking with the Governor. If she had found a shawl to foist upon you, she would have done so before joining that conversation.”
“Thank the light,” you mutter and take a sip of the wine she’d handed you.
“You poor thing,” Marigold coos. “She’d have stifled you. I’ve no notion how you put up with her fussing.”
“Yes, truly. I managed to have her stop by the time I left for schooling.” Callalily doesn’t mean to sound scolding but you can’t help feeling like she is. “You should assert yourself more clearly with her.”
Callalily’s never understood how differently Mother treats you than she does your other siblings. She doesn’t see that you could behave identically to how Callalily did when she was your age and not be permitted the same leeway. “She does not listen.”
“You must make her,” Callalily says, as if it is that easy. As if you have not tried. “She’ll never see you as grown if you do not.” You know that too, but you can’t seem to get through to Mother. You’re not sure you ever will be able to. And you’re tired of attempting so.
“Well, it will cease to be much of a problem going forward, will it not?” Marigold asks. “Fussing during Solstices is easy enough to manage.”
You miss what Callalily says in reply because your eyes catch sight of an unnatural shadow. A long tail cuts across the ballroom floor and you follow it back to where Dale stands with Grandfather and your brother. You reverse, looking to see where it leads and spot the end on the buffet. It’s reared up onto the table and you swear there is a mouth on the end of it, trying to steal some cheese.
Your heart pounds at this blatant display. Someone’s going to notice sooner rather than later. How can you get Dale to be more subtle? He’s going to worry you to an early grave, illness be damned.
You need a reason to squash it or cover it up. Your eyes land on a familiar figure at a nearby table and you blurt out without thinking, “Lady Breighton!” She somehow hears you over the noisy crowd and looks over at you. In too deep, you link your arm with Marigold’s. Your sisters look startled and confused by your outburst, but you simply smile at them. “I’ve been meaning to introduce you to Dale’s aunt. She’s an avid admirer of sculpture, Marigold, and I’m certain she would enjoy conversing with you.”
“Oh, of course, ” Marigold still seems surprised that you’re the one trying to bring more people into a conversation, but she can’t resist talking about her art. She grins. “I’d be happy to.”
You head over to Breighton, keeping Marigold on one side and the buffet on the other side. Callalily slides her arm into Marigold’s other arm, which helpfully puts both of them further from the more obvious end of Dale’s most recent slip up. You can see that everyone seems to step over the shadow without thought, as if they instinctively know they shouldn’t touch it.
You deliberately step on the shadow tendril while simultaneously disposing of your napkin directly on top of the little mouth at the end. The texture of the shadow under your foot is somewhere between what you imagine a snake would feel like and pudding. It is profoundly unsettling. You're grateful you haven’t had anything to eat after all. You don’t look at Dale, but you’re relieved you don’t hear any sort of sound to signify what you did hurt him over much.
You concentrate so much on not looking at Dale that you introduce your sisters to Breighton without much thought, relying on the etiquette lessons drilled into you to get through it. Breighton does appear to pay greater attention when you mention Marigold’s passion, so you’re glad you didn’t guess wrong about her interest.
Only once the conversation has started, do you dare chance a look back over to Dale. He’s standing just where he had been, but there’s no longer a shadow connected to the buffet. He looks perfectly ordinary once more and you breathe a sigh of relief. Taking a grateful drink of the water glass Breighton has handed you, you can’t help but hope this gala is done sooner rather than later.
[Part Twenty-Seven]
#my writing#story: nothing's wrong with dale#nothing's wrong with dale#dale#story part#terato#exophilia#monster romance#monster bf#reader#male monster#osha compliant#slow burn#arranged marriage#migraines kept me unable to write when i usually did so this chapters late#but i had some additional time off work so its all good#also this chapter was challenging to write#but hopefully you like it!#let me know what you think!
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The Ship and the Alien
5,486 words, GN reader X M alien.
Humanity sends the last of their species in hibernation pods to the stars. When you wake up an unknown amount of time later, you are on a different ship. Surrounded by aliens.
Content warnings: mentions of death and discussions of medical procedures and illness.
The Ship never had a name. People tried to give it one quite a lot. There was a naming contest first, which was a bad idea. You’d think the bigwigs would learn not to give this kind of power to the internet, but it never seems to occur to them until the two top names are ‘SaveyMcSaviorface’ and ‘The Biggest Dick Ever’ and they have to scrap the whole thing. ‘Eden’ was an idea they tossed around, but there were people who said it wasn’t inclusive of other religions and a bunch of Christians who didn’t believe in the concept at all who were pissed about the connotations of the name, so that didn’t work. ‘Destiny’ was another idea, as were ‘Eternal’ and ‘Onward.’ In the end, by the time anyone had even started to come to a conclusion on the name, everyone had started getting used to calling it ‘The Ship’ and no one was willing to change that for whatever sappy shit they engraved on the side.
Maybe they did eventually name it. I don’t know. I don’t know if it mattered, really. Anybody aboard The Ship wasn’t going to be calling it anything on account of being in stasis, and anybody outside The Ship wasn’t going to be calling it anything on account of being dead very soon. So. The Ship was a fine name to me.
The Ship was not actually one ship, at the time- it was technically seven ships, six stationed on different continents and one stationed at the north pole. They were designed to all lock together in one massive structure, but to be able to function independently, in case of a system failure. There were redundancies, ways to transfer assets between different ships if necessary, and about a billion other things that I never understood, but were probably very important for a metal tube hurtling through space. In all honesty, I didn’t pay much attention to its construction. Crushing despair combined with a vicious fight for survival every day takes precedence, you know.
You don’t know how you ended up on The Ship. You know the basics- engineers, designers, and construction workers all got immediate entry. That took up a few thousand slots. Then were the ‘important people,’ the sorts you would want if you were setting up a colony. Doctors, agriculturalists, building designers, all the big thinkers who can make sure that things run smoothly and work like they’re supposed to. Quite a few military members as well. After that, there was some debate as to who else could come on. Limited number of slots, after all. You heard a lot of very right people tried to pay their way on the ship, but it didn’t work so well. Money’s useless to anyone on the ship, and will be useless to anyone left on Earth. Some people traded favors and influence to secure their spots, but a decent chunk of people couldn’t do that and had to subject themselves to the same system as everyone else.
The way they picked candidates for the civilian slots on the ship was the same way anyone picks anything they want to be at least somewhat random: they made a computer do it. All civilians who put their names in a hat, basically, and the computer system drew them. No one could accuse it of cheating, because it was a computer. Well, people could, and they did, but the idea was that at least less people would accuse it of being impartial than if a human picked.
You were one of the picks. Placed into section 3, chamber 2, pod 3247. You didn’t tell anyone- you’d been asked not to, out of fear of retaliation from those who hadn’t been picked. You just left the shelter you’d been living in and headed to the launch site.
There was a brief physical, involving being stripped, shoved onto and into a ton of machinery, drinking some kind of gross shit that purged your body of what felt like everything you’d ever eaten, getting your head shaved, and an IV port implanted into your arm. You saw other people on occasion, going through the same thing before they were whisked away again. There were no opportunities to talk. Everything was brutally efficient.
You were allowed to sleep for a few hours on a hospital-style cot. You ended up just lying there and staring up at the ceiling. There were other people there, also trying to sleep and failing, but nobody talked. Everyone just waited.
In the morning, you were all herded into the body of the ship. It was massive, bigger than any building you’d ever been in, and still quite cramped when you walked into it. The room was cylindrical, with pods lining the whole thing. The walls rotated, allowing the pods to be lowered to the ground, people to be strapped in and put to sleep, then rotated up to the ceiling, ferris-wheel-style.
You were toward the back, so you got a good view of the people in front of you being placed into the pods, injected with the combination of fluids that would knock them out, hooked into the machinery, and then sent into ‘hibernation mode.’ On your turn, you were pushed into the pod, the fluid-filled bags that supported your body adjusting automatically. The fluid was administered through your IV port and the chill of it made your eyelids droop almost immediately. Your eyelids drooped. The world grew colder and colder as the pod lid closed round you and you were left in the pitch blackness of the pod. You couldn’t tell the difference between your eyes being closed and open, but you must have closed them at some point, because you did drift into the dreamless hibernation of spaceflight.
It wasn’t quite like falling asleep. It was more like closing your eyes for a couple seconds and suddenly everything felt like garbage. Your muscles cramped, your mouth was dry as a bone, your arm throbbed where the IV port had been attached, and your eyes couldn’t open. You coughed furiously as soon as you took your first breath.
The air that touched your skin was horribly cold, but your body couldn’t shiver. Despite having basically nothing in your stomach, your body kept trying to retch. Your limbs were locked up, barely able to move from the slightly-uncomfortable position you’d been forced into in the pod.
Something touched your arm and you screamed. Or tried to- your lungs forced the air out with a sound more like a grating huff. The touch was warm, blazing against your bare skin, and even the texture of it was unbearable. Being without sensation for so long seemed to have magnified your senses a thousandfold.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed before moving became tolerable. You tried to open your eyes a few times, but even once you could physically do so, the room was too bright to look at. You flopped helplessly on your back, squeaking and complaining whenever you were touched.
As your brain grew used to processing sensory input once more, you got better at figuring out what was happening to you. You were lying in some sort of thick liquid, with your head supported so your face was free of it. The thing that kept touching you was alive, presumably, because it was moving. It felt like you were being gently massaged. Kind of the massage used to help encourage blood flow in a limb.
You tried your eyes again. They cracked open, just barely. The light wasn’t so bad this time. Not good, but not bad, either. It stung. You could see someone, probably a person, moving around you, although you could barely even make out the silhouette. It was mostly a blur.
The massage was nice. It was sort of a more pleasant awakening than you thought you’d have. They’d briefed you on the awakening procedures- the pods would gradually warm up so you woke up slowly before ejecting everyone all at once. No one should be awake to care for you. Maybe something had gone wrong? But not so wrong that you’d died, so it couldn’t be something you needed to worry about too much.
You took your time to come back to yourself, slowly warming up to your body again. It still felt like you’d spent a week and a half completely sick with the flu, but you were otherwise not so bad.
The room was slowly drifting into focus around you. It was actually quite dim, you realized. There were a couple of pale blue lights set into the ceiling far above you providing illumination for the whole room, so everything was dark and shadowy. There was still the silhouette moving around you, but they were sort of dark and it was hard to make anything out about them.
The silhouette moved closer, still backlit too much to make out features. There was something slightly off about the shape of it, with the head and the shoulders or something, but maybe that was some weird eye effect of the hibernation. Hallucinations sometimes happened after hibernation, they’d said. Nothing to worry about.
And then the silhouette spoke. At least, you thought it was speaking. It wasn’t using words, though. It made a low, sort of thrumming noise with the occasional pop or creak. They weren’t quite noises a human could make, or at least, not without great effort.
You froze. That was… weird. More hallucinations, maybe? Had the hibernation fucked with your brain so bad you’d forgotten how words worked? That wasn’t good- maybe that’s why you were getting woken up separately?
Before you had a moment to ponder that any longer, there was a mechanical click and a voice, sort of neutral and male, said… something. You still couldn’t understand what it was saying, but there was some confirmation that it was, actually, saying something because you recognized the language: Chinese.
There was a pause. The mechanical click repeated, and then the voice spoke again, in English. “Are you conscious and able to respond? Please raise an arm if you can understand what I’m saying to you.”
You raised your arm automatically, though it was a struggle to lift it out of the thick substance you were submerged in. The thrumming and popping noise started up again, followed quickly by a mechanical click and a voice in English. It reminded you of when they dubbed over someone on the news while they were still talking. “Please remain calm. You suffered some injuries to your extremities, as well as hibernation sickness. We’re attempting to stabilize you, but you’re in a delicate condition.”
You tried to talk, but your mouth was so dry your tongue was trying to glue itself to the roof of your mouth. If the person was bothered by that, they didn’t show it. They moved closer to your head, walking alongside the tub you were resting in. Your eyes tracked them. They were moving weirdly. Were they hurt, maybe? Alarm bells kept going off in your head, the uncanny sense that something was wrong, but nothing in your conscious brain could put together what it was.
The person moved so they were in one of the brighter section of the room. You could see more than just their vague shape. Your heart stopped.
They were not a person.
That was why their shape was wrong. You could see their torso, from their head to nearly their waist, and it was human only in the vaguest of shapes. Sort of a vaguely oval head, with a sort of human-like face, except it was flatter, with pointed, almost horse-like ears. Their eyes were a little deeper-set and rounder. Their coloration reminded you of a Doberman, almost, with black across the top of their face and a paler color underneath. Their torso was longer and more slender than a human’s with narrower, more sloped shoulders and long arms that folded up close to their chest. They made a sort of humming or purring noise as they leaned over you.
You struggled to sit up or scramble away, but you couldn’t move much. You couldn’t even scream, just sort of moan helplessly. One of your legs managed to kick out sideways and connect with the side of the tank. It wasn’t much of a hit, but that, combined with you straining the rest of your pathetic muscles to get away from the thing next to you, meant that you partially slid off whatever was keeping your head supported and your face went under the water.
It was thicker than water, but not by too much, so your head slid under it with disconcerting slowness. It was then that you discovered another disadvantage of your weak muscles- the substance was just thick enough to make moving through it, even just enough to lift your head out of the water, impossible.
You thrashed, but not really, since you couldn’t move. There was only about two seconds of panic, though, before hands locked around you and pulled your head out back out. You sputtered as the hands placed your head back on the little platform.
“Stay still.” Something was beeping frantically in the background, and you could both hear and see the creature shifting around to check on some machines. “The fluid is warming you back to proper temperature. You need to remain still and calm to avoid going into shock.”
There was no way you were not going into shock. But you’d used up all your energy in your near-drowning, so you couldn’t do much but lie there. The creature seemed to relax.
“I understand that you’re frightened. I promise, I’m trying to help you.” When you didn’t move, just watched them, they relaxed further. “Remain still. I will conclude the treatment.”
They fussed around for a little while longer, checking on whatever monitors were giving readouts for your condition. You weren’t sure what indicated that your treatment was over, since you didn’t feel much better, but eventually, they pressed a button somewhere and the fluid drained out of the tub. It was cold after the fluid was gone, and you were completely nude and shivering, resting on some pads at the bottom of the tub. The creature, thankfully, offered you warm cloths that you could bury yourself underneath.
Before you could even properly enjoy the warmth, there was the sound of footsteps approaching. A lot of footsteps. Summoning all your strength, you heaved yourself up and looked over the edge of the tub.
There were more of them. Only three, not including your creature, which didn’t seem to match up with the amount of footsteps you’d heard. And then you looked down a little more and realized why.
They were centaurs.
Sort of- their limbs weren’t hooved, and they weren’t really like paws, either. A bit more like bird talons, if birds rested mostly on their fingertips. Talontips. Whatever. They walked with their torsos bent further forward than centaurs, too, and they had long tails. A couple of them had horns, pointing back off their heads. They were wearing clothes that were relatively close-fitting, like most spacesuits you’d seen.
The one in front, with the largest horns and a sort of fancy marker around its neck, stepped froward. “On behalf of the First Branch of the Agrenier, we would like to officially greet your species. And offer our condolences.” This one also had their words picked up by the machine and recited in a language you could understand, though the voice the machine used was different, a little more feminine. Maybe this one was a woman?
The blankets hadn’t really calmed your shivering, but you managed to speak in a semi-steady voice. “Condolences?”
She scuffed one of her forelimbs, her ears lowering to the sides of her head. “Your ship was found drifting, nearly without power. There was some sort of error with major mechanical functions in the ship, which caused serious damage to the inner workings. Upon investigation of the craft, we discovered several hibernation pods, the vast majority of which were damaged.” She paused, still tapping a forelimb against the ground. “Two contained living members of your species, but you were the only one to survive the initial reawakening process. You have our deepest condolences.”
You opened your mouth, but you couldn’t think of anything to say. Your brain struggled to process anything. Two pods with living people. Only one survived the reawakening. That was- that had to be you, right? You were- the only-
Dimly, you were aware of the robot speaking again. It seemed to be rapidly switching between two agitated voices. People were having an argument, maybe? You didn’t care. You buried yourself under the blankets and hid in the warm cocoon until everything was dark and floaty and your brain didn’t have any thoughts in it at all.
Someone tried to tug the blanket away. You weren’t sure how long it had been, but it was quieter and your limbs were stiff from being in the same position. You tried to keep the blanket over your body, but there was another firm tug and you lost your grip. Your muscles were pathetic. And, as embarrassing as it was, you couldn’t help but crying out when the blanket was taken away. It was the one thing you had in the world and you couldn’t even hold onto it.
“I’m sorry.” The other voice, the one from your centaur, came again from the robot. It did a very good job at adding emotion to the voices- it sounded anguished. “You’re overheating, I need to take it, but I’m sorry.” You curled up on the bottom of the tub, unmoving. The centaur patted your head. It was a small gesture, but you leaned into it. What else did you have?
The centaur patted your head a few more times before moving on. “I know you’re probably scared, but we’re not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you. Your hibernation pod was the least damaged of all of them, but it still had some minor malfunctions. It was hard to wake you up, and you’re not going to be all there for a little while.”
You racked your brains. It was easier to think about facts. When you’d gotten on the ship, there had been a big disclaimer about the dangers of hibernation pods. They were designed to keep a human in a state of suspended animation, with body functions slowed down to the bare minimum. The upper estimate was that it could keep a human asleep and alive for over half a million years. Not that anyone had ever tested them before you. But they were also risky- even minor malfunctions could lead to an early awakening, damage to the body, or the hibernation process just killing a person outright. Even when they’d gone over that part, though, no one had left. Why would they? Between a one hundred percent chance of death and a twenty percent chance, who would take the former?
So the malfunction had probably been in the sleep-wake system, the part that regulated how the machine knocked people out and woke them back up. It was supposed to run through a wakeup cycle on its own when the main computer signaled it was time, but if that system failed, it could be manually activated, and if the waking system failed entirely, there were ways to safely bring a person out of the hibernation without machine intervention. They were always riskier, though, and even if everything was done perfectly, it didn’t guarantee a successful revival.
That must have been what happened to the other person, the one in the other surviving pod. They’d tried to wake them up and…
Nope. Focus on facts. You took a deep breath. “What happened to the ship?”
“We boarded and searched it, and transferred the central computer system over to ours, as well as the supplies we could budget the space for,” the centaur said. “I’m afraid I don’t know any more specifics than that. I’m sorry.”
“How was it damaged? You said it was damaged.”
“An impact, I think?”
“That doesn’t make any sense. The ship was designed with rotator shields and plating and redundancies to keep everything secure. It was safe. It couldn’t be-” You paused. “How many people were on the ship?”
The centaur paused, then turned to one of the machines and tapped something in. “About 45,000 hibernation pods were recorded to be on the ship.”
That was too few for the main ship, but it had been designed with redundancies. If the impact had left a portion of the ship crippled, it was designed to eject the damaged portion and continue on without it.
Which meant your portion had been spit out and left to drift while the rest of the ship continued on toward its destination.
So everyone on the ship wasn’t dead. They were just continuing on to their destination. Without you.
That should make you feel better, right? That they weren’t dead? But you just felt very, very… lonely.
“I’m sorry about your fellow passengers,” the centaur said. He was leaning over the edge of the tub, sort of draped over it so he was resting his arm and his chin there. “For now, you should rest.” He glanced toward the door and his lips lifted into a bared-teeth expression. “Before our first officer comes back.”
He lifted your arm and slipped a tube into the shunt. It took only a few minutes before liquid sleep was coursing through your veins and you fell into a deep sleep.
The awakenings happened on a more or less regular schedule, at least from what you would tell. Often they would happen in that warm bath again, with your centaur rubbing your limbs to encourage bloodflow. Sometimes there was the other centaur there as well, the female one. You were pretty sure she and your centaur didn’t get along. The robot didn’t often translate for their conversations, but they had the tenor of arguments, and your centaur was always huffy and quiet after speaking with her. You ended up keeping time by the awakenings.
After two awakenings, your centaur gave you food. It was all prepackaged meal sludge, which was designed for people who had awoken from hibernation recently, and it made your stomach cramp, but you ate it. After four awakenings, the cramps stopped and you could move on to a combination of meal sludge and broth. Whenever you could, you engaged your centaur in conversation.
“How’d you know what medicines and foods to use?” you asked as he pulled the line administering some sort of medication out of your arm and closed the shunt.
“We transferred the existing data of your ship’s computer over to ours. I’m using your ship’s guide, translated into our own language, and improvising with our own equipment where yours was damaged- the hibernation pod you’ve been staying in is one of ours.”
“It seems too small to fit you,” you said. You weren’t a small person- you were actually pretty average- but the pod was only a bit too big for you to comfortably rest in. The centaurs were bigger than you by a pretty big margin, even your centaur, and he seemed to be the smallest one you’d seen so far.
“Oh, yes, that one’s for children.”
“You put children in hibernation?” You tried not to make the statement accusatory, but it came out like that anyway. There had been no children on The Ship, for multiple reasons. First was practicality- having a population that could breed and work right away upon making planetfall was paramount, and children wouldn’t be able to do either. The second was that no one knew how hibernation pods would affect children. Would it damage their bodies? Their ability to age properly? Hibernation had only been tested on adults- it was hard to convince people to put children in pods that might kill or cripple them, even when the same people had no issue with adults, especially prisoner populations.
Your centaur seemed unbothered. “For medical purposes. That’s what hibernation pods are used for. Slowing the spread of disease until the person can receive medical attention. It’s highly risky to use hibernation pods for long term space travel.” His ears flicked. “Though under your circumstances, I can’t say I can judge you.”
Ah. If they had the computer’s logs, they all knew what’s happening to Earth. What had probably already happened. The planet had a scant few years left by the time The Ship left, and if you’d traveled far enough to come across real aliens, then you’d been traveling for a while.
The centaur walked around the pod as the entire thing shifted from a horizontal position to a nearly vertical one. “I’m going to unlock the restraints,” he said. There was a faint click and the straps that were holding you in place retracted.
Your legs wobbled. It took all your strength to keep your body upright. It was a strain to stand, to walk, even to sit up sometimes. But your centaur insisted on making you move around.
“Hands in mine,” he said, extending his arms. You placed your hands in his and stepped out of the pod. He supported most of your weight with barely a tremble as you took a few shaky steps. His hands enveloped yours, though that was partially because of their strange shape. Unlike human hands, his were six-fingered and bilaterally symmetrical, with four ‘fingers’ and two ‘thumbs, both of which were positioned closer toward the wrist and pointed further backward than human thumbs. Despite their alien shape, holding his hands felt remarkably similar to just holding a human hand. It was a comfort.
Just as you were completing your second circuit of the room, your legs trembling like a baby deer’s, the door opened. Your centaur glanced up and his ears lowered instantly. The centaur that walked in was the first officer, the female that you’d seen when you’d first awoken.
“Officer,” your centaur said. The machine that translated everything was apparently quite accurate with tone, so you could tell that he was being both polite and annoyed. “Good to see you.” He was not happy about seeing her. “I am in the middle of something, so if this is not a pressing issue, perhaps we could continue this at a later date?” Please, please fuck off.
The veneer of politeness he was using didn’t let her be outright annoyed, but the machine’s tone when it spoke for her suggested she wasn’t very happy either. “It concerns our guest,” she said, turning her gaze to you. “And it is somewhat pressing.”
Your centaur shuffled his back legs and swung his tail. “Very well. Let’s get you back to the pod.” He ignored her, focusing his gaze on you as he assisted you back to the pod. You let out a sigh of relief as soon as you were in it. Your centaur rotated the pod back into the horizontal position and started to fill it with the thick fluid that let you float comfortably.
The first officer approached, claws clicking softly against the floor as she did so. “The human will want to be awake for this,” she said. “It’s important.”
Your centaur huffed a bit, but he didn’t move to put the sleeping drugs back in your system and just folded his arms up to his chest, in a way reminiscent of a praying mantis, and waited for her to speak.
She cleared her throat and turned her gaze to you. “We’re coming across one of our stations. You will be placed on a shuttle to the station, and then sent on another ship back to Tenso-bara.”
You blinked. What was Tenso-bara?
“In my opinion, that’s not a good idea,” your centaur said. His ears were still flattened, his lips curling back from his teeth just a little. “The hibernation causes weakness and sickness, so it may not be a good idea for travel at this point in the-”
“We are not going to come across another station for several-” The translation stuttered here, blocking the word out. “And we are not in compliance with the endangered species accords. We’re required to send endangered species to occupied worlds that hold to the accords for proper categorization and preservation.”
“Those accords aren’t for fellow intelligent species!” your centaur huffed.
“They were initially designed for non-sapient life, yes, but they do not exclude sapient species. Given what we know, we may be sheparding the last member of the human species.”
“There might be others!” you said. The first officer paused, her gaze going piercing-sharp. “The Ship was designed to separate damaged segments to protect the undamaged parts. The part of the ship I was on was only a small portion of the full thing! There are probably others!”
The first officer paused. “How many others?”
“Um. I think there were around two hundred and fifty thousand. Maybe as many as three hundred thousand? I’m not sure- they were trying to add additional pods at the end, but I was put to sleep before that happened.”
“But there is no guarantee that these other people did survive. Nor do you have any idea where the ship is now.” The first officer’s voice wasn’t cold or cruel, but it wasn’t gentle, either. You drooped a little.
“No. There might be information on the computer about where we were when the impact happened, but if it’s not there, then I don’t know where the ship could be.”
“Then I apologize, but unless we have other living members of the species or some confirmation that the others are alive, then you are under the accords and cannot stay on this ship. It is required for you to be returned to a planet.” She stamped her two front feet in a motion you assumed was like a shrug. “There is nothing I can do.”
“If that’s the case, then I want to make a request,” your centaur said. He stepped forward, practically shielding you from the first officer. “I would like to request a transfer.”
The first officer swung her tail back and forth across the floor, making a soft schff, schff, schff sound. “You wish to go with the human.”
Your centaur’s ears twitched and he rubbed his wrists together. Maybe he was embarrassed at having been so obvious. “Ah, well. Yes. I think it would be a good idea to stay, since I’m already aware of the medical conditions and-”
The first officer stomped one of her feet firmly against the ground. “I will submit the request. But I cannot guarantee it will be approved.” She turned back to you, expression neutral. That you could tell, anyway. Their faces didn’t seem as expressive as a human’s. Or maybe you just couldn’t understand their expressions as well. “You will be transferred in two days.”
Without another word, she left the room. Your centaur made a noise somewhere between a relieved sigh and an irritated huff. Then he turned back toward you. “I apologize about her.”
“What was she talking about?” you asked. He picked up an IV line of sleeping meds and for a moment you thought that he was going to knock you out so he wouldn’t have to answer your questions. But he just fiddled with it for a moment before speaking.
“There are many species in the known universe, and the gradual colonization of these planets has left many of these species in critical danger, which led to environmental accords. Severely endangered species have laws regarding their transport in space and species in critical danger need to be taken to preserves in order to breed them back to proper levels. Or just keep them until their species naturally goes extinct. Whichever.”
“I’m going to be put on a nature preserve?” you said, trying to sit up. Your centaur immediately tried to usher you to lie back down.
“Probably not for long. I’m sure they’ll work to give you freedom and self-determination and all that. We’re just… required to follow regulations.” He rubbed his wrists together again. “I do want to advocate for you, though, hence why I elected to come with you. And to give you medical care.” He made a series of thumping noises in rapid succession, which the robot apparently interpreted as laughing. “I didn’t get my xenobiologist degree just to hand a medically delicate specimen over to some idiot government worker.” His voice got softer as he continued. “You’re going to be okay.”
It was comforting to hear that reassurance. He slipped the line into the shunt in your arm and you closed your eyes, feeling an unusually peaceful sleep drift over you.
Part 2 here.
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1,2,7,8 with a warrior orc who is battle-ready and about to set off to war, leaving behind his pregnant human wife
https://itstheendofthegoddamnworld.tumblr.com/post/663839364948918272/monstobermonster-sentence-starters-nsfwsfw - Monster sentence starters
1) I’m worried you won’t come back to me.
2) I’m not afraid.
7) Please don’t leave me.
8) I want to keep you safe here.
“It is set in stone by the Chief. I cannot ignore his call.”
“You can’t possibly think of leaving so soon,” your pleas fell on silent ears, for the burly stoic orc was more stubborn to hear the sound of bloodshed than your words. “You will leave us now? Please, if not for me, but for our child. Please don’t leave me.”
The warrior was a foot taller than you, eyes calm with little to know what he was thinking. His demeanour changed when he held a battle axe in his hand. “It is my destiny to fight. A hundred battles is never the same as seeing you once more.” His touch was gentle, careful as he caressed your cheek.
You leant into his warm touch, his calloused hands were the reminder to you of the love you shared, and of the love you were growing. Your belly had swelled until you could barely see your feet, and you grew sluggish with the days passing, knowing the babe would come one day.
It was not the birth you feared, but of the one you had married for love, not duty. It was no surprise to you when you told him your worries, that you realised what you feared the most.
“I’m worried you won’t come back to me.
Your orc husband had softened at your words when he kissed you, as reassuring as the hand atop your belly.
“I’m not afraid,” he spoke, kissing your forehead. “For the Gods would not be able to keep me away from you, nor our babe. I fear no death, and you shan’t fear for me.”
“But—”
“I want to keep you safe here,” he was kissing your belly with the growing child inside, and your heart leapt from his words. “and I will continue to do so when I return.”
#exophilia#male monster#monster writing prompts#monstober 2023#orc husband#male monster x reader#monster lover#monster exophilia#monster writing#orc x human#monster writing prompts 2023#monster boyfriend
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