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utterlyotterlyx · 2 months

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A Fate Inked In Starlight

Eris x Fem!Reader x Azriel

Summary - After crashing into the Autumn Court with no idea who you are, where you are or how you got there, Eris takes it upon himself to hide you and care for you with the help of the Night Court. That is until souls from other walks of life infiltrate Prythian searching for you.

Warnings - mentions of blood, Eris being gentle 🥺, memory loss, kinda arsehole Rhys?x

Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

Leaves of red and orange peered down at you inquisitively, and the earth was hard and slightly damp beneath you.

You hissed as you moved, a metallic sting coating the inside of your mouth. The world tilted, a dull thumping in your mind swelled behind your eyes and you pinched the bridge of your nose in attempt to centre yourself.

It hadn’t worked.

Looking about, you drank in where you had awoken, soil and an array of foliage welcomed your sight, dark bark held onto browning leaves, some of which floated around where you sat. Light birdsong and the faint chirp of crickets flittered around you with the occasional crunch of dry twigs that snapped under the weight of the mammals that trotted by, not heading much mind to you.

You were clad in some kind of black armour, a second skin that fit you perfectly as it curved around your breasts and hips, the material splitting open in the shape of lightening across your chest where yellow gems and light hummed. Jewelled metal talons were fitted to your fingertips, coated with dry blood that had worked itself into each crevasse it could. You were sure that whatever you looked like was not a pretty sight.

Something had kept you glued to your spot, swaying slightly from the brute force that had clearly been wrecked upon you. From what you had no idea.

From the distance, you heard the beating of hooves against the hard ground, growing louder with each passing moment before a brilliant white stag exploded into the clearing where you were. It was beautiful, those pools of emerald bore into you, there was terror laced behind them, and the stag readied his attack as he lowered his antlers toward you.

“I’m not going to harm you,” you told the creature with an extended hand, an extension of your surrender, “I promise.”

The stag surveyed you, noting the wild hair that had fallen from a once tightly strung braid, the blood that coated your neck and fingers, the bewilderment in your eyes. No, you certainly weren’t a threat.

“I’m not sure how I came to be here. I don’t know where I am,” you continued, as if the stag would be able to answer any of your questions.

The creature relaxed, taking a tentative step forward to sniff the outstretched talons fixed to your fingertips. He huffed and shook his head, one of his hooves tapping against the ground as another sound entered your earshot.

“Dogs,” you said softly, sadness laced in your rough voice that scratched at your throat. “Go. I’ll distract them,” you turned your hand, exposing your palm to him, he rested his snout in it gently, and only for a moment before he bounded away. Leaping over molehills whilst leaving you alone once more.

The barking drew closer and your breath caught in your throat at the obvious number of hounds that approached your position, perhaps mistaking your blood for that of the stags.

They hurtled into the clearing, the hedges and flowers parting for them as they surged through the air and landed in front of you, mouths pulled back and snarling teeth ready to tear you apart. You shuffled back as they circled you, snapping, slobber dripping from their canines causing your heart rate to beat in your ears. Hitting the trunk of a tree, you sighed, realising there were no weapons attached to the leather holsters at your thighs made your current predicament a lot more complicated.

You wouldn’t dream of harming an animal, at least, you thought so.

A flutter of your heart gave way to gentle excitement when you had seen the stag, and even the dogs despite them wanting to turn you into a meal.

A sharp whistle tore their attention from you, pulling them back to the source as he too entered the clearing. His head was tilted to the side and he examined you with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, assessing if you were a threat or not. Red hair and amber eyes found you, and he approached, splitting his gaze between you and your laboured breathing to the scene around you both.

“Who are you?” His voice was rough but held a stoic calm, the deepness of his words made your hairs stand on edge.

A simple question. Your name. You opened your mouth but nothing came out, you stuttered, eyes wide as nothing came to mind, “I, I don’t know.”

You were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Wide doe eyes staring at him in bewilderment, he knew your skin would be soft despite the mud and blood coating your surface. The sharp jaw and hallowed cheeks, full pouted lips and an elegantly pointed nose. Too beautiful for a human or fae.

The confusion etched into every inch of your features made the man relax a little, he knelt before you, his dogs happy with wagging tails brushing against his side, “Do you know where you came from?” By the looks of your armour, the blood coated talons, and the cuts dug into the side of your neck, it was clear to him that you weren’t from Prythian. You looked too advanced for his world.

You shook your head, muttering a faint and weak answer to him.

He hummed, reaching to tuck a strand of your dirty matted hair behind your pointed ear. Fae, he noted. Smiling when you didn’t flinch under his touch, he offered a hand to you, it was calloused and rough, but his pressure was gentle and guiding as he helped you from the ground.

“I’m Eris Vanserra, and you’re in the Autumn Court,” he looked down at you through thick lashes and offered a warm smile.

“Eris,” his name fell from your lips and he nodded in encouragement as you familiarised yourself with the sound of it. Yes, you definitely weren’t from his world, if you were, you’d surely cower from his name and the mention of where you were.

A pressure consumed your feet, and you found one of his hounds sat on them, staring up at you with its panting tongue flopping against the side of its jaw, its tail rustling the leaves beneath it as it wagged happily, “That’s enough, Duke,” Eris scolded the hound, rubbing between his ears in a bid to get him to move, “I’m sorry about him.”

“Don’t be. I don’t mind,” you smiled, and he noticed the warmth in your eyes, the molten gold and ocean blue that could have him entranced if he wasn’t careful. “I’m sorry about this,” you motioned the air, the current situation you found yourselves in, “I wish I knew what to say.”

“It’s fine,” he frowned slightly as he peered at the still open flesh on your neck that leaked with every heartbeat, “Let me help you with that.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

Eris smirked, “You’re not asking,” he shrugged as he heading back in the direction from whence he came, adjusting his brown jacket which lay over a cream open collared shirt. You weren’t sure how you didn’t notice it before, the well fit pants and shirt, the adornment of fine rings across his digits. Eris Vanserra was clearly someone of high standing, and you felt stupid for not knowing. The disappointment felt foreign to you.

The male looked back at you expectantly, his well kept fiery red hair tousling over his forehead, freckles visible as the sunlight hit his face. “Thank you,” you followed his steps, Duke trotting alongside you like a personal guard.

Once you had made it back to Fir Manor, Eris’ private residence that was home to him and his hounds alone, he insisted that you bathe, that it would be easier for the healer to assess the damage if she could tell what was or wasn’t your own blood.

You didn’t need telling twice, you thanked Eris for the spare clothes, a sheer deep red dress, before you slipped into the bathroom and peeled off your second skin, paying no mind to the marks that littered your forearms and torso, the marks that covered every inch of your body.

It seemed silly. To be so trusting of someone you’d just met. But something told you that Eris wasn’t a threat to you. Something had allowed you to feel safe with him.

You sighed as the hot water worked to relax your muscles, the rest of the world fading away into blissful nothingness.

Rhys was happy.

Finally happy.

A mate and a babe. A family. No danger for the first time in what felt like a millennia.

Rhys watched them, watched his Nyx swaddled into Feyre’s chest as she painted, humming some lullaby to the dozing babe. Light poured into the room from the domed glass and he let a content sigh pass through his lips from where he leaned against the doorframe. Relishing in the sight for a moment longer before retreating back to his office and closing the door with a soft click.

He wasn’t sure where the rest of them were, Mor would be returning from the human lands soon, Cassian and Azriel were surely training, Nesta was probably nose deep in another book in the library with Amren at her side, and Elain was tucked away with Lucien somewhere revelling in their newly accepted mating bond.

Everything was as it should be.

The papers on his desk were too chaotic for anyone else to understand but him, he knew where each treaty lay in the stack, where each letter from a concerned citizen sat, when Az’s countless reports waited for his eye.

Though, one thing caught his eye that definitely hadn’t been there before he’d gone to check on his mate and child. A folded up rip of parchment, singed at the edges with an aroma of wet grass gripping to it.

It reeked of Autumn, of Eris.

Rhys wasn’t worried that the heir had contacted him. They were planning for a better Autumn once Beron handed over his title, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to hear from the eldest Vanserra at all. Scanning the parchment, Rhys felt his interest grow in the words, the vague message that beckoned him to Fir Manor, telling him that someone had dropped into the forest who Rhys may be interested in meeting.

So, the High Lord of the Night Court stalked through the halls, parchment in hand as the clash of swords and jostling laughter flooded his senses. Then he saw them, his two brothers in their training leathers, wide smiles and bruises that would fade within the hour as they jabbed another with playful words.

“Ah, did you call on Rhys to come and save you, Az? How desperate,” Cassian glimmered, his wings rustling and body keeping guard against Azriel’s oncoming attack.

Rhys stepped between them, holding the parchment in the air between his fingers with a smirk on his lips as Azriel to it from him, scanning the words, “With no memory of where she came from?” Azriel questioned, his shadows curling over his shoulders as though they wished to see what held their masters attention whilst he handed the written words to Cassian who pouted about being left out.

“Do you remember the visitor we had not too long ago?”

Azriel smirked at the memory of the redhead scouring through the caves of Prythian, “Bryce?”

“Yes, Bryce.” Rhys sent a glare to Cassian, no doubt still unhappy at his mates willingness to aid the girl, “She too fell into our world out of nowhere, didn’t she?”

Cassian stopped the thought before it could be shared, “Yes, but Bryce knew who she was and why she came here. It seems this woman doesn’t share that similarity,” he turned the paper over in his hand, like some newfound information was going to be inscribed elsewhere.

From the brief information that Eris had sent to Rhys, the woman who had fell into the Autumn had no idea who she was or where she was let alone how she found herself bleeding in a different world from her own.

“Regardless,” Rhys’ eyes glowed at the hidden message Cassian had tried to convey, that maybe this woman had nothing to do with Bryce and whatever war she was fighting on her shores. Though Cassian did have to admit that it was a coincidence that another soul had floated through into their world. “It needs to be investigated. Azriel, you’ll come with me. Cassian, you’ll stay here.”

The pair knew better than to convince Rhys otherwise, Azriel especially knew better than to refuse and potentially put his home and people in danger.

Another invader had dove into his world, his home, and he’d be damned by the Mother if he let another one trick him again.

Authors Note

Hi my loves!

It’s been a while. I know I’m usually a Bridgerton girly but I’m kinda obsessed with everything SJM right now.

So, here we are. My first Maasverse fic 🤷‍♀️

I am wanting to write a series on this so let me know what you think! I’ve been out of the game for a bit 🤍

#azriel #rhysand #cassian #eris vanserra #eris acotar #eris x reader #acotar #acotar fanfiction #azriel x reader #azriel x you #feysand #acotar imagine #maasverse #mor acotar #amren acotar #crescent city #crescent city imagine #bryce quinlan

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mystra-midnight · 5 months

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Dark Paradise

summary: geralt was all-consuming, invading every one of your senses; somehow, he'd snaked his way beneath your skin and between your ribs before burrowing into your heart. he lived there now, and you couldn't breathe without him.

warnings: 18+ only. breeding kink. overstimulation. mentions of multiple orgasm. name calling; slut. dom!geralt.

words: 1k.

notes: no one will ever convince me that geralt is a soft man. he is all strength, and arrogance, and hard muscles. and he will dominate his woman. admittedly this is shorter then i wanted it to be, and maybe not my best work, but i do hope you enjoy.

If ever there was something to be grateful for, it was this: being able to fuck his woman raw without the fear of an unwanted pregnancy. Having you naked beneath him was everything Geralt wanted—to watch your velvet walls stretch around his cock's girth, to feel your body tremble as he rocked his hips against your ass, to watch your cum mixed with his be forced from your tight hole with each brutal thrust.

You knew, completely and irrevocably, that there was no chance of falling pregnant with Geralt of Rivia. The trials had made him sterile, though you boiled fennel and drank it regularly to be certain. Your mother taught you from the eve of your first bleed to protect yourself against others, to trust no one but yourself, and that having a child with the wrong man could lead your life to ruin.

But tonight he had come to your cottage on the outskirts of the village in a foul and angry mood, with snarling tongue and gnashing fangs. He refused to tell you what had happened as he forced you down to your knees. All he'd wanted was your naked body beneath him.

"Geralt." Your voice quivered and rose to a crescendo when he speared through the satin clutch of your cunt and hit the sweet spot that sent your eyes spinning. Geralt of Rivia was not a small man—not in any sense of the word. He was tall and impossibly strong. His eyes were intense, and his hair was the colour of starlight. With broad shoulders and a myriad of scars along his body, he was every woman's fantasy.

And he refused to treat you with fragility. To him, you were not a damsel in distress. So he fucked like he fought, with teeth and tongue, and in every position. "I-I can't. S'too much."

Your thighs trembled under the lingering force of the three orgasms Geralt had pulled from the depths of your soul—on his fingers, tongue, and cock. Another one would surely kill you; you would float away from your body and away from him, never to return. But the idea of him filling you again was heavenly and impossible to deny—not when he dominated you so beautifully.

"You can," he grunted, his voice a rough growl. Geralt followed a bead of sweat that dripped down your spine with the tip of his tongue, leaving your sweat-slick skin goosepimpled. His hand followed the same path until he gripped the nape of your neck and pressed you into the mattress, keeping you cemented in place as he filled into you again. “You can, because I’m not stopping.”

Geralt knew that you wouldn't reply—at least not verbally. The impact of his hips against your ass was brutal, forcing the air from your mouth in pretty moans. The clutch of your cunt was more than enough of an answer. He smeared his lips along your shoulder as he shadowed over you like a terrible, haunting visage. The angle made it seem as though he was in your guts, rearranging your organs.

"That's a good girl," he cooed against your skin, his tone positively mocking. "Now, you stay right there while I fuck a baby into you. That's what my slut wants, isn't it? To be swollen with my child?"

He turned feral and ferocious in a flash, ruthlessly rutting into you. He drove you to the brink of yet another orgasm as you clawed at the sheets. Between whoreish moans, your walls tightened around him, leaving you gasping for air. A familiar warmth moved through your aching limbs and raced through your blood while a thunderstorm roared behind your ears.

"Geralt. Geralt, please, I can't. I can't—oh, fuck. There, r-right there." You babbled mindlessly. You felt lost in the sensation of his hands grabbing here, there, and everywhere. You felt lost in the sting of his teeth and tongue and how he tasted your skin. You felt lost in the pressure of his fingers and how he left bruise-shaped prints everywhere he touched.

"Right here?" He demanded. His fingers dug into the curve of your hips as he pulled you back to meet his pelvis, the sound of wet skin connecting echoing loudly in the small cottage. You squirmed and keened when he hit that sweet spot. "Is this what my slut needed—to feel me this deep?"

You didn’t hear him over the thunderstorm, which had grown into a deafening roar that blocked out the world. And as your vision went white, the pressure snapped, and a bolt of lightning sparked a wildfire in your blood. You felt like you were burning alive; the air in your lungs was superheated, and nothing could cool it. You came hard, screaming his name as he held you in place.

Geralt held you tightly, fingerprint bruises decorating your skin while galaxies burst to life inside your veins. The warmth of your cunt was divine, a heavenly caress as he rutted into you, chasing his own release as he threw his head back. "There you go," he grunted. He slapped your ass just hard enough to get your attention. "You're such a good slut. Does it feel good cumming for me while I breed you?"

You still couldn't answer him; each thrust knocked the air from your lungs, leaving your mouth open as you gasped, squealed, and wriggled in his grasp. Geralt didn't seem to mind. With a final thrust, he buried himself. His hand in your hair held you in place and tinged your scalp with a pleasurable sort of pain as the last of your orgasm ebbed away, leaving your clit throbbing in time with your heartbeats.

It was a welcomed feeling when his release painted your walls—a feeling that made your brain foggy. And despite the haze clouding your thoughts, you knew in that moment you would give yourself to this man. Not only your heart, but your body as well. You knew that if there was a way, you would give him what he wanted, and you would let him breed you.

#geralt of rivia #geralt of rivia smut #geralt of rivia fanfiction #geralt of rivia imagine #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt of rivia x you #geralt x you #the witcher #geralt x reader #geralt #geralt fanfiction #geralt smut

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subspaceskater · 2 months

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comm for @starlight-snarl ! :)

#myart #commission #furry

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sapphstuff · 4 months

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Chillin in the rain what will they do? Monochrome sketch reward for @starlight-snarl !! https://twitter.com/sapphys https://www.patreon.com/marbelle https://www.furaffinity.net/user/marbelle/

#sapphs shit #furry #anthro #anthro art #furry art #pokefur #pokemon #commission #vaporeon #pooltoy furry

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thelov3lybookworm · 5 months

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I was listening to hyunjin's Ice Cream and this idea came to me loll. Idk if you do these kinda requests but can you do a fic inspired by the ice cream lyrics? 🥹🥹

Azriel with reader who's really cold but he's still hopelessly in love with her? (I love hopeless romantic az 🫶🫶) but not too much angst please I need fluff and happy endings, otherwise my heart wouldn't be able to take it 😔

Ice to cream

Summary: Azriel has a stoic exterior, and no soul has ever really seen what is underneath.

But then he met someone as cold as ice, and was ready to be her sweet cream.

•○●⛦●○•

A/n: okayyyyy i feel like sweet cream sounds weird but my brain thinks its cool so ignore it 😉

also, i looooove you anon, thank you for this ask ❣️

enjoy!

•○🌑○•

That day had been like any other.

Azriel had been walking down the winding streets of the city of starlight, whistling to himself.

It was rare that the shadowsinger whistled, but that day he had simply been feeling like it. It was also shocking to his own self how carefree he had felt that day and had decided to take a walk instead of locking himself up in his office and finishing up reports while wallowing in self pity since Rhys had banned him from visiting the third Archeron sister.

The day was beautiful, nothing to signal that the shadowsinger's life was about to be turned upside down.

Azriel had been walking past a bookstore, and there was nothing that could have prompted him to turn his head to look at it, but maybe some unseen forces were at work, because he glanced at the storefront, and then decided to step inside for a moment.

The inside was cosy, the light streaming in from the multiple windows not too harsh, dust motes dancing as if to an unheard song. The store was quiet except for the occasional turn of a page or the purring and meowing of a cat.

Azriel had no reason for going into that bookstore, but once there, he decided to see if he could find a small book to read when he felt like lazing about and not writing reports.

Walking through the multiple aisles, Azriel let his gaze wander.

It was some time later, when his fingers were absently caressing the spine of a book in the fantasy section and he was about to leave without a book because nothing caught his fancy, that a loud, irritated meow sounded nearby, and Azriel winced.

A blur of orange fur in his periphery caught his attention, and the moment he glanced to his left, a cat shot out from between the shelves, knocking over some books and racing towards him.

Azriel stood frozen, until another meow sounded, and a black cat and pretty female came into view. She had an annoyed look on her face as she chased the two cats, and, in his whole five hundred years of existence, Azriel had never thought he would experience at love at first sight.

He wasn't one to judge whether people deserved his time and love by their looks. He usually tried to know them personally before he did.

But here she was, chasing two cats as they knocked over books, and Azriel could not breathe.

Azriel's shadows whispered that if he caught hold of the cats, he might be able to talk to her.

The spymaster wasted no time, scooping up the orange cat as the female picked up the snarling black cat.

She panted heavily, holding tight to the wiggling cat. Azriel didn't have to struggle though, the orange cat simply stopped moving the moment Azriel's shadows swirled in front of its eyes.

The female sighed, muttering something about food in the black cat's ear, and that finally managed to get the animal to calm down.

She glanced up at Azriel, shaking her hair out of her face, her face emotionless.

She walked forward, grabbing the orange cat from him with a mumbled thank you, then walked away. Azriel raised his hand to call for her, but she had already left.

Disappointment hit him from all sides, from his own self as well as his shadows, and he was left to wonder why.

Azriel left the store without a book that day, and the pretty female had not even glanced at him as he left, and that gave Azriel a purpose.

He would have to return.

To get a book, of course.

•○🌑○•

Azriel feared she would beat him in his broody spymaster act if given the chance.

It had been a month since Azriel had first visited the bookstore, and so far, he had come nearly everyday to the store in hopes of getting her to talk to him. And, obviously, to find a book to read.

He had been unable to get any responses from her as of yet that were not one word answers, but Azriel pretended that he was making progress. That he was beginning to crack the hard shell around her.

Currently, she was arranging some books, balancing precariously on the ladder that lay against the tall shelf. Azriel watched, alert and tense in case she lost her balance and would need assistance.

It didn't take long, as she winced a moment later and started rubbing her eyes with one hand, his shadows whispering of how dust had gone into her eyes.

Azriel was next to her in a moment, his grip tight on the ladder as he smiled up at the female, and she glanced down, a frown on her face.

She put the books in her hand back into their place before she began descending the ladder. The moment she touched the ground, she scowled, turning to Azriel.

He blinked in confusion, though he still kept that smile on his face.

"Were you trying to look up my skirt?"

His smile faded, and his eyes went wide as his brain registered how inappropriate his actions might have seemed.

"I- no- I would never- I-" He sputtered, at a loss for words.

The female gave him an unimpressed look, turning away.

Azriel was frozen in place for a moment until his shadows whispered to him about how this was a good opportunity to talk to her. They screeched in his ears, and that finally got him moving as he followed behind the female, tripping over his own feet as he tried to get her attention.

"Hey! Hey wait!"

She paused behind a shelf, half turning to him.

"I was not trying to look up your-"

"Doesn't matter if you were. Happens often enough that it doesn't bother me."

Azriel froze, his brows scrunched. She made to continue walking, but his shadows shot out, the ones next to his ear letting out an exasperated sigh.

The female glanced down at her hand in confusion, to where the shadows were twisting around her wrist and weaving through her fingers.

The female's eyebrows rose, and she looked up at him.

He pulled them back hastily, heat rising in his neck and face. "Um. Forgive me. They sometimes don't want to be controlled and do whatever they want."

She turned to him with a sigh, and Azriel had to wonder if he was dreaming when he saw her lips twitch in the slightest.

Master is not dreaming. He is simply dumb. A shadow whispered as it bobbed away from Azriel's ear, swirling around itself as if in a dance.

Azriel squashed the urge to snarl at it.

"What do you want?" Azriel whipped his head to look at the female, finding her staring at him with a bored expression on her face.

He cleared his throat. "I would like to know your name."

"Why do you want my name? Are you going to put some enchantment on me?"

Azriel opened his mouth to deny any harmful intentions, but again he got distracted by his shadows' whispering.

We wish to engrave it on master's skin.

The heat Azriel's face increased.

"I-I just want to know. No reason..."

She studied him for a moment. "Y/n."

Oh it will look beautiful carved on master's chest.

It will look better on his face.

On his forehead. No one would then try to steal him away.

Or maybe on his hips-

Or butt-

To the outside world, it would simply look like his shadows were floating leisurely in the air, but Azriel could barely think straight through their unnecessary commentary.

"A-Azriel. I am Azriel."

She snorted, turning away. "I know."

He followed her as she stalked through the shelves, his mind having stopped working the moment she gave him her full attention.

"How do you know that?"

"You are not really subtle with who you are."

"Oh?"

"Everyone knows you are the spymaster of this mother forsaken court."

If anyone else had insulted or even thought something bad about his court, they would be chopped into pieces and thrown into the Sidra before they even took their next breath, but then again, Azriel's brain had stopped working, and all he could think about was the fact that she knew who he was.

"So you've heard about me?"

"Yes."

"So can I ask you out to eat with me?"

She froze in her tracks without warning, and Azriel, who was usually very good on his feet, rarely stumbled, even when drunk, slammed into her, taking both of them down.

She wiggled under him, trying to get him off of her, and he scrambled to follow her wish.

She glared at him as she straightened into a kneeling position, dusting off her clothes.

"What makes you think that?"

"Nothing." He mumbled, embarrassed that he was acting like a young boy who had only learned the concept of reproduction and how it happened.

She climbed to her feet, but Azriel's hand shot out to grip hers.

Master finally did something right without having us guide him.

We must celebrate.

Azriel decided he was going to kill his shadows, but that would have to wait for now.

"Please. I want to take you out."

Y/n studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then she sighed.

"Fine."

A sudden burst of excitement took over Azriel, and he jumped to his feet.

"Amazing. Can I pick you up at sunset today?"

She nodded, and before Azriel could even realize what he was about to do, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cheek. Then he simply turned away, and sprinted out of the shop, already thinking about what he would wear and wich restaurant to take her to.

As he left, he didn't watch as the female who had captured his attention with a few cold looks, who was as cold as ice, lifted her hands and ran her fingers over where his lips had been a moment ago, her eyes blown wide and lips parted.

She stood there, unmoving, for mother knew how long before she glanced around, hoping no one was near.

And then, she let herself smile.

A shy, unbelieving smile as her face flushed.

And there, in the dark shadows between the shelves, her ice exterior began to crumble.

Cracks appeared.

Cracks in which he would plant himself so deeply, so thoroughly, and begin to weaken the mighty walls around her heart.

•○🌑○•

Azriel Taglist: @darthdumbasss @foreverrandomwritings

General Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @harrystylesfan2686 @cassie6392

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tadpolesonalgae · 6 months

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Azriel x third-oldest-Archeron-sister: Can’t Bring Myself To Wake You

A/N: surprise! It’s relevant!

Warnings: spiders mentioned briefly, Alice in Wonderland vibes 🍄, the hobbit vibes, Tim Burton vibes (Would recommend listening to this Tim Burton vibes playlist for Halloween)

Word count: 4,912

-Part 8-

Visual Prompt here!

It’s obviously a dream—the world isn’t right upside down.

It takes seconds to realise the error, flipping the correct way up. Reorienting itself to become seamlessly correct.

Leaves wilt from trees, disconnecting from branches then fluttering away to visit flower patches, eager to gather honey. Waters babble and converse, complaining about the distance to open ocean, how far there’s yet to go.

Quiet footsteps pad alongside a creek, water sausages perking up at irregular intervals—distanced and without discernible pattern.

He’s still so far away, the three stars in the sky your only guide, glittering like tiny sequins woven upon a thick, inky fabric. The kind that would have kept out the cold on frosty winter nights. Toes curl but you press forward, sun rising on the horizon, soaring to the sky, well above the treetops.

The forest shifts, rendered now in caramel and whiskey, shades of autumnal gold gilding the leaves. They crackle and crunch beneath your feet, but you attempt to keep to the path—getting fainter and fainter the further you go. Just like the dimming starlight. You’ll have to hurry your pace—you need to find him before the starlight winks out, and you aren’t keen on meeting the creatures kept secret by night.

Peer at the gentle wolf to your right, blue-grey eyes gleaming with interest, taking in the colours of the world. “How much longer do you think?” You ask quietly, not wanting to disturb her too greatly. Definitely not wanting to irritate the silver eyed wolf below you, keeping you aloft upon her back ever since your feet became too tired to go on. Months ago.

“Another few hours?” She chimes back, raising her snout to the air, inhaling the no-doubt sweet smells. “It’s difficult to say.” You sigh heavily, settling down into the fur, resigning yourself to the travel.

It feels like years pass as you trudge along, boots too worn to protect against the biting cold of the mud. Keep out the nipping frost that comes with early autumn. In the distance you can make out how the forest thickens, becoming denser—darker. Where the fouler creatures lurk, beneath the shadows of thick branches and behind gnarled trunks. A shiver rolls down your spine at the thought of entering. It’s not a friendly place.

“Do we really have to pass through here?” You ask, peering up at the thick tree-line, too little space between each one to be natural. Growing in a dense cluster, all tightly knit and wound in a patterned tangle.

The silver eyed wolf snarls softly, shaking out her mane, shifting upon her great paws—claws clipped at their tips. You take the hint, reluctantly sliding off, ragged boots sinking into the mud. “You pass through on your own,” she growls, not taking another step forward. “This is your journey. Not ours.”

Brows furrow, and you glance to your right, eyes locking with blue-grey. Animal lips part in a wolfish smile, showcasing gleaming white canines. “She’s right,” the wolf says, as gently as possible, a steady gleam in her sharp eyes. “We’ve had our tasks, now you need to complete your own.”

Heart weighs in your chest, again peering up at the looming forest. “I can’t make it through there,” you reason, returning your gaze to the blue-grey eyed wolf. “I don’t have claws, or teeth, or anything like you do.”

Her smile doesn’t fade, just nods to the forest, grin and foreboding. Above you, clouds gather into dark puffs of raw cotton, welling with rivers, rallying their forces.

The forest stretches before you, long and endless. It will be difficult to make out the stars from beneath the stuffy canopies. You’ll have to find a way to peek through the shrubbery in order not to lose your way. What sort of fate would await you were you to become lost? Infinitely walking in lines that never come to an end. Trudging for days on end without ever knowing the correct direction.

But rewards aren’t granted to the idle, and your prize is greater than any. So the trial must fit the goal. Equivalent exchange.

“Don’t lose your head,” the silver-eyed wolf barks, startling you from thought. “Remember, keep the sun to your left. And pay attention to any moss you see.” Swallow, but nod your head, cataloguing the information. “And if you’re ever cornered, there’ll always be another way out,” the wolf to your right reminds. “We don’t make homes without a second exit.”

You nod, awaiting the third voice. Gentle and reassuring.

“What are you waiting for?” The silver-eyed one barks, startling you. “The quicker you start, the sooner it should end.” Nod again, attempting to calm your heart, even out your breathing. Lightly clasp the small pouch of gifts at your hip, the pendant already adorned, twin daggers at your waist.

Begin the trek toward the centre of the forest, having to pass through it’s stomach before reaching the other side.

“Don’t lose your way.”

Picture the way her jaws smile, razor-sharp canines gleaming.

Step forward, swallowed by the thick darkness.

————

You’d been anticipating the lack of light, so it wasn’t much of a bother. The scent was damp, but nothing putrid. It was the weight that had caught you off guard. The bizarre heaviness that pressed down upon your shoulders with every step forward, as if attempting to drive you off-course.

Hours have passed since you last saw the wolves, yet they feel worlds away. Separated by the barrier of consciousness, left entirely to yourself. Confined to solitude. Spend your time counting cocoa coloured conkers, though they’re few and far between.

There are all sorts of oddities to be found, and you occasionally find yourself moving to stray from the path in favour of inspecting something glinting in the near distance. Other times it’s odd noises: the crackling of branches, or the scuffle of paws through leaves. Most unnervingly of all, the hairs at the nape of your neck haven’t lowered since you stepped foot in here, a queer other kind of weight causing your skin to prickle.

It’s lonely and quiet, yet you dare not make excessive noise, some hereditary instinct warning you from sound. Day and night are hard to distinguish, circadian rhythm gradually decomposing under the heavy dampness contained within the forest.

Leaves rustle again, a cold breeze trilling down the pronounced knuckles of your spine, skin slightly hollow, stomach groaning with the bone-deep ache of constant hunger. Eyes dart frenetically about your surroundings, but it’s too dense to see further than the third line of tightly-tangled trees.

Sticks snap to your left, crunching menacingly, the noise swallowed by the forest swiftly. Something could be walking alongside you, but unless it made itself known, you would be none the wiser. All sorts of creatures could be stalking your steps. The sky’s the limit in here.

A twig splinters, and you flinch, jumping back. Peer at the broken branch beneath your foot, laying almost deliberately across the path. Something growls from your left: a low, hushed sound. Ragged and hungry sounding. Desperate for food as you are. Gaze flits about, heart scuttling around your ribcage, arteries tangling to a lethal web. Ears twitch with vigilance, skin pebbling with caution. Nerves droning with warning as they have incessantly for these past few weeks.

“Hello, little lamb.”

Head snaps to the side, stumbling back a few steps as your eyes lock with whiskey and caramel.

A large fox peers from between the trees, snow-soft paws prowling silently as he slowly stalks forward, tall as a horse. Sharp, beady eyes glint with cunning, razor-sharp canines pronounced from his upper lip, snout protruding elegantly from his features. Distinctly vulpine. Six wire-like whiskers stick from his nose, sleek and gracious.

“What are you?” You ask, hand settling over your heart, calming the rapid beat. Finger the pendant at your throat, feeling the cool weight of lead resting atop your collar bones.

The tall fox prowls closer, removing himself from the lining of the trees, circling forward to be positioned in your pathway. “What’s a creature like you doing in a place like this?” He croons. You don’t belong here, his eyes read. Silver flickers in the back of your mind, spine straightening as you pull yourself together. “Just passing through. I’d like to be on my way.”

A cackled rasp drags from the beast’s throat—something that could have been a laugh. “Just passing through,” he repeats back, shifting forward. “A creature like you doesn’t enter the woods unless she has to,” he muses, caramel and whiskey piercing upon your form. “What’s so important you’re risking these depths?”

“A creature like me doesn’t enter the woods unless she knows she can survive,” you counter, flexing your hands at your sides, fingertips sparking. Interest flickers in his gaze, marking the unnatural glow. Colours that belong to the sky, not on earth. He hums absently, now taking in the rest of you: raggedy boots, small pouch at your hip, partially concealed beneath a midnight blue cloak. The pendant at your throat, a reassuring weight.

Become aware of how close he’s gotten, looming before you—dip your hands to your hips, tucking beneath your cape. “I’d like to pass now,” you say firmly, fingers clasping the hilts of the short weapons. “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.” Make to move around him, but he steps into your way, jaws parting slightly in a gleaming grin.

“I don’t even know your name,” he reminds, “what can I call you?” Lips purse warily, his caramel and whiskey eyes gleaming with cunning. “Blue,” you answer.

“Blue?” He chuckles. “What a curious name.” Razor-sharp canines flash in a grin, snout curling as his lips pull back from his teeth. “You said you’re headed through the forest,” he states, eyes gleaming with predatory intent. “Allow me to join you.”

Brow narrows, fingers grazing the hilts of the short daggers. “I’m fine on my own,” you reply, reassured by the cool weight of the weapons. Animal lips quirk, amusement glittering in his irises. “It’s a dangerous place for a little thing like yourself,” he reminds, prowling from the path, circling around you. “Less than a mouthful for some of the creatures here.” He comes to a stop, peering down his elongated snout, “surely you aren’t naïve enough to turn down an alliance when it’s offered.”

“You’re offering protection?” You ask cautiously, gripping the pearly hilts tighter.

“How astute you are,” he croons.

Nose wrinkles with distain for the mocking tone. “What would you get out of it?” You ask, remembering the warnings you’ve been given. Teeth flash in a charming grin, “I find myself curious to what drives you through my home.” Eyes flick to your hands, no longer sparking with power. “What’s your secret?” He drawls, attention narrowing on your fingertips. “What magic do you possess that could possibly ward off the ancient creatures of the forest?”

“Why don’t you come and find out?”

Pupils narrow to slits at the challenge, instinct drawing him closer to battle, roaring for a hunt, aching for a brawl. “Daggers, and magic,” he muses, knuckles stiffening beneath your cloak—you thought they’d been concealed. “Close-quarters combat is rather gritty, don’t you find? I can’t imagine a creature like yourself enjoying picking flesh from beneath her nails.” Eyes helplessly flick to his sharp claws—seemingly clean. Swallow thickly. “What are you after?”

The smile turns vulpine, teeth flashing in the grey light. “It’s rare a new piece ascends the board. Natural to wish to inspect something so brand new.”

“I’m not a fool,” you reply calmly, fully gripping the daggers now. “Tell me what you’re really after. I’m not stupid enough to believe you’d offer protection in exchange for company, so what do you want?”

His grin doesn’t fade at the brazen accusation, instead appearing to sharpen. Prowls forward a step, stalking in on your territory. The daggers are free from your waist in an instant, pearly hilts gripped tight in your hands, the golden blades aimed for the great beast before you. “Stay there,” you demand, brandishing the weapons, fingertips sparking.

To your relief he stops in his tracks, hackles raising as they take in the gleam of your skin. “Now that piques my interest,” he drawls. “Your hands glow like the night lights. What else can they do?” He asks, thankfully remaining where he is. “Can they burn like star fire?”

Ease a breath into your lungs, understanding the exchange. “So you keep me protected, and learn about my magic?” His eyes sparkle with trickery, gleaming with guile. “For as long as you keep my interest,” he smiles, canines glittering under grey light. Pause for a while, considering. It’s unwise to enter into packs with these creatures, yet you stand little chance fighting off many of the ancient creatures.

Swallow thickly, then lower your blades. You could swear something passes through his eyes, but it’s gone before you can place it. “Fine. But you will truly protect me, and come to my aid should I need it,” you clarify, tacking on the extra details. He offers a charming smile. “Call my name, and I will come bounding,” he adds the fine particular.

Ease out a breath, then give your confirmation. Magic crackles in the air, stinging a circle around the base of the pointer finger on your left hand. A small band has appeared, inking its way in a tight loop. Peer at his own paws, spotting the darkened fur around the thumb of his right fist. The mark connecting you in a bargain.

Strangely, it doesn’t feel like he’s deceiving you. It’s not much to go off, not much to rely on. He’s probably had innumerable centuries to perfect this act, would be flawless at it by now. And yet…

And yet. It’s enough for you to believe him. Trust your gut, and it’s telling you he’s being sincere.

Strange indeed.

————

Cocoa coloured conkers hang high in the trees, peering down like giant eyeballs as you make the trek through the thick woodland.

The bizarre oddities became less and less frequent, no longer spotting strange, twinkling objects in the near distance, the sounds of other life dwindling, as if trapping you in a great glass bubble.

Days have passed, and each night he requests a show of your magic. The demonstrations are sparse, anxious not to allow him to look too closely. Whether you would like to admit it or not, he serves as perfect protection against the vast and vile malevolence that rests heavily in the dense air of the forest.

Sounds of muffled conversation float through the leaves, ears perking up. Feet ache from the long journey, a sign night should soon be coming to overlay the skies. Or at least, the time he’s picked for rest. The concept of daylight and sunrises are far off memories, kept for when the woodlands become particularly murky. Soon he’ll be requesting a new trick.

“What is that?” You ask into the silence, beginning to pick out the sounds from one another. The clinking of tea cups, the bubbling of stew, laughter tinkling like wind chimes—so alluring. Beckoning you towards the sounds. “Do you hear something?” He asks, keeping his gaze ahead. It’s mildly unsettling how a beast of his size can move with such stealth, hardly a swish of grass or a stray breeze brushing your ankles as he prowls onward.

“I find myself struggling to believe my hearing would be somehow superior to your own,” you reply, mouth quirking at its corners. His lips twitch above his canines, something you would have initially believed to be the opening movements to a snarl, yet have come understand as signs of amusement. “Tell me what you hear,” he responds instead, keeping his attention on the barely-there pathway.

Brow furrows, but you comply. “It sounds like laughter. From a few different people,” you begin slowly. “It sounds pleasant; jovial. Like they’re having fun.” Listen carefully, distinguishing the echo of metal on ceramic. “I think it’s a dinner party…” He huffs, mirth glittering in his eyes. Glance at him sidelong, scowling slightly, “do you not hear it?” Lips again twitch, some lights winking out in his gaze.

“I haven’t heard anything from this forest in centuries.”

Open your mouth to ask further, but he beats you to it. “We’ll be settling soon. Just a little further.”

“How do you know where good places to stay are?” You ask curiously, eyeing the woodland. “It all looks the same. You can’t possibly have it memorised.”

“What is memory in the face of immortality,” he muses lightly, continuing along the pathway. Feet ache with every step, as if bruises decorate your soles. Heels and toes blistering against the rough leather of the worn boots.

“There are signs, if you know where to look. Patterns of a sort,” he answers.

It takes a moment for you to remember the question, silence having settled in the meantime. Edge your way down the steep slope.

There isn’t much to do in the way of preparation, merely setting aside the small satchel you have, then selecting a root to curl against. His only rule for sleeping is you don’t light fires, so you make do with wrapping the midnight blue cloak tight around your body, and snuggling against the bark of a tree.

“What entertainment do you have planned for tonight?” He asks, settling on his stomach, paws the size of your old cooking instruments stretching before him, claws glittering beneath the stray strands of moonlight that have managed to weave their way through the wild tangle of branches. You shift in the dirt, nerves wriggling beneath the surface of your skin. The trick you’ve thought up is vague enough, but far closer to a raw demonstration than you’re truly comfortable with.

Swallowing, you move closer to him, holding your hands out before meeting his gaze. “This should really count for two nights, you know,” you grumble, palms facing toward one another, as though you were cupping a large vase. His sharp eyes twinkle with interest, snout resting atop a large paw. “Don’t disappoint me now,” he says, teeth flashing, “I might prowl off in the night.” You make a face, gradually having acclimatised to his strange menthols of communication.

Skin itches, fingertips burning faintly as they spark and glow, like frenzied embers of a fire. Soon enough, the green light evens out, no longer flickering. Ease in a deep breath, concentrating, blocking out the way your flesh tingles in response. Lines begin forming in the space between your palms, soft rays of blue-teal floating in the air. They wave gently, swaying languidly, a collection of three strains blowing in an invisible breeze.

Gradually, they increase in strength, growing taller, slimmer; becoming more refined. Compressing until they’re no thicker than leaves, glowing with the light of stars. You allow them to persist for moments longer before breaking the connection, something zapping beneath your fingertips in response, skin desiccated. “That’s all for tonight,” you say, calling his eyes to your own.

He’s silent, observing quietly as you tuck back into yourself, curling against the tree root.

“Come over here,” he calls, snagging your attention.

“What do you want?” You grumble, sighing as you get to your feet, stumbling over to him in the low light.

“Stay close tonight,” he says, eyes closed, resting his head over one of his paws. Your brows narrow, “I wasn’t planning on leaving.” Eyes pointedly flick to the dense forest, looking as unkind as ever.

A single eye cracks open, flicking up to you. Slides over to the tree, then back to you. Then he shifts, wrapping himself into a crescent shape, the kind animals do when they’re on their way to sleep. Snout nudges at your hip, pushing you into his side. Hesitantly, you follow, stepping over his hind legs, settling against the furry side of his stomach, wrapped between his front and back paws.

“This wood is riddled with magic,” he warns, tail wrapping round to meet his snout, sealing you in against his side. “It shows you what you want to see. Plays on your fears, and your hopes. Few things are real where this forest is concerned.”

“I know,” you hum, sinking into his warmth, feeling as familiar as wolf fur.

He huffs lightly, “no, you don’t.”

————

The night is thicker than usual when you wake, the clearing seeming smaller.

Shadows flick at your ankles, the darkness practically beckoning you deeper. They bring a sense of comfort, a home you yearn for, heart aching with desperation to have it.

Silently, as subtly as you can, you sneak from his form, stepping over his paw and tail, keeping your cloak wrapped tight. The cold is already seeping into your toes, but you stand fully, surveying the clearing.

Everything looks the same: the large tree with the gnarled roots, the fox-like creature that’s stilled curled in on himself, even down to the conkers high above.

Yet something’s not right. Plucking the strings of your mind, urging you to move.

Leaves rustle softly, as if disturbed by cat-soft paws, a creature slinking through the undergrowth. Thumb free the the twin daggers at your waist, gripping the pearl handles, gold gleaming dimly beneath the sparse shafts of moonlight. The air sucks at your skin, dry but heavy. Thick.

That strange feeling again washes over you, invisible hands urging you into the woods, to seek deeper. Jaws open to swallow you whole. Heartbeat increases as you step around the great beast, cloak swishing over the dirt, dragging reluctantly as you make your way to the edge of the clearing, peering deep into the forest.

A shadow shifts in the distance, slinking behind a sturdy trunk. Blood thrums in your ears, shadows gathering behind your legs, lulling you into compliance. Peer over your shoulder at the great creature, the band around your second finger itching. He’ll come for you should you encounter trouble. The bargain proves that much.

Inhale a deep breath, straying from the path.

Swallowed by darkness.

Blink warily, feet moving on their own as you step further and further in, digested within the all-consuming darkness. Vision fades in and out, things turning soft at the edges, feeling like you’re dying.

You push on, moving heavily through the forest, abandoning coveted safety for shadows in the night. Noises soothe your ears, reassuring you of your path.

Skin prickles with the weight of a pair of eyes, having you resurface from the haze. In a part you don’t recognise, moved almost unconsciously through the damp undergrowth. No conkers line the trees, and even your eyes struggle in the darkness. Insects crawl under foot, spiders scuttling between the cracks in tree bark, lurking in tiny, unreachable crevices.

Swallow thickly as you turn around, not recognising a thing.

Shadows skitter at your back, and your whirl on your feet, daggers out, their golden blades piercing the darkness.

Breath catches as a shadow emerges from the darkness, heavier than the rest. Begins to take shape, morphing into four, greatly powerful paws, midnight fur thick and silky. Leading up to create the tremendous torso of the beast, corded with muscle, fully grown and thrumming with lethal, sinister power. Leathery wings flare from its back, each peak tipped with a single talon, sharper than any blade you’ve seen. His head is smooth and elegant, distinctly feline, with piercing fangs pushing from his upper lip.

Hazel eyes stare back at you.

Seconds pass, lungs fluttering. Fingers tremble at the pearly hilts of his blades, shaking as you stare longer. Darkness lines his body, alive with tightly coiled tension, the epitome of virulent grace. Wreathed with devastating malignancy.

Vision blurs, weapons thudding dully as they fall from your hands. Take a shaky step forward, then another. Stumbling until you reach him.

Arms wrap up around his neck, tears spilling as you hear the steady beat of his heart. Feel it drumming out its rhythm onto your cheek as you press into his fur, crying heavily as his scent wraps around you. The crisp freshness of nightfall, followed by crystal clear clarity.

He’s here.

Before you.

Bury deeper into him, cloak almost blending you into his fur as his head lowers over your shoulder, soothing the quiet sobs that wrack your chest. Wings fold in tight, inhaling your scent, taking in the familiarity of it— “What is that?”

His question pulls you from your fall, stepping back to peer up into his eyes, so deep you could lose your mind trying to follow to their centre. “What?” You ask, hands resting where his front paws meet his torso, shoulders corded with muscle, unable to fully detach from him.

Nostrils flare, inhaling deeply, nosing at your throat, lowering down your front, lightly nudging at your stomach. Enough you have to yield a step, fingers cooling without his fur to warm you. “You smell of fox,” he says, tersely. Flush beneath his attention, unaccustomed to its piercing weight, looking elsewhere as dry fingers wring together.

“I met one,” you answer quietly, skimming the band on your pointer finger. “He’s kept me safe. So I could come find you.” Something flashes through his eyes as he stares down at you. Shift on your feet, anxiously. “He’s helped.”

The beast recoils slightly, taking a step back.

Attention snaps to him, locking with marginally widened eyes. Then they narrow, staring down at you. “This is your task,” he says, coldly, “you’re supposed to complete it on your own.” Peer up at him, taking a step forward, hands raising from your sides. He stiffens, but doesn’t move back. “I am,” you say desperately, “he’s just company. He’s not— I am doing this on my own.”

Shakes his head. “This is your journey,” he mutters, “not his.”

Vision tilts suddenly, a searing pain lacerating through your mind, as if someone’s taken a scalpel to your brain. Breathing becomes heavier as you press your fingers to your temples, colours blurring in and out, even as time passes in this state of unconscious.

“Foxes are dangerous,” he reminds gruffly. “They eat things like you. You mustn’t trust him.” Shake your head in denial, desiccated skin rasping as you wring your fingers together. “Not this one,” you try, peering up at him. “We have a deal. He can’t hurt me.” Hold up your left hand for him to see, ink clear despite the thick darkness that surrounds the two of you.

Hazel flecks with disgust, picking out the brand upon your index finger. “You bargained with that beast?” He hisses, backing up a step. Pain stings through your heart, guilt twisting in your gut. “No, you don’t understand. He offered me protection,” you manage, scared if you take another step forward, he’ll vanish out of repulsion. Leave you alone in the depths of the wood.

Alone and astray.

Lost.

Opens his mouth, but pain splits through your eyes, singeing flesh, charring skin. The forest presses in on you, crushing your mind beneath its cloying pressure. Time jerks forward, splitting you further from him, the small gap between you stretching to something painful.

You blindly stumble forward, hands outstretched as he’s pulled away, kept just out of reach of your desperate palms. Mud seeps into your boots, slippery cold freezing your toes, dirtying the midnight blue of your cloak. Tears spill as your heart spikes, unable to do anything but continue tripping over yourself in your haste to catch up to him.

The world flips, momentarily slipping out from under you as it switches with the sky, vision flickering in and out. The world grows fainter, like you’re being forcefully ripped away from something.

Pain stings deeper, striking at the soft, tender chambers of your heart.

Hazel eyes grow wide, pupils contracting as—

Lips part in a silent groan of pain, a metallic smell bursting across your conscious.

Green light flares, searing through the darkness, blazing from your hands as screams tear through the heavy blanket of night.

You stare down at your body, up from high in a tree, suspended from a branch above. The beasts lies still on the floor, skin steadily cooling. Silky black fur dampens upon the forest ground, breath rattling from his maw, wet rasping, gurgling in the night. Hands grasp and prod, fingers splaying in attempts to keep him together as he drains away in your lap.

The world flickers again, flashing in and out of sense until you’re slammed back into your body.

Skin feels sticky, hands cold and damp.

Images spark in and out of existence, surroundings dancing about you in a blurry taunt. A few stick out: a grassy slope, mist thick up the steep hill, the rocky face so sheer you’re forced to hands and knees to make the climb.

A clearing wreathed in web, moonlight spearing through the leaves, tiny blue spiders dripping from the canopy, fluttering along an invisible breeze.

A looming gate, constructed of bone, oozing malice, contained within the claws of something ancient and wicked.

Flashing over and over again: steep hill, swollen blue abdomen, brittle grey bone.

Lifeless hazel.

————

Sweat gleams, jerking from the night terror.

Lilac cotton slicked to sallow skin, soaked in cold dampness.

Silky hair cascades over shoulders, falling in rattails from terror.

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nights-legacy · 5 months

Text

Don't Mess with Our Girl - DabiHawks x Vigilante! Reader

Main Masterlist ~ MHA Masterlist ~ #2

@lil-writer-523

2190 words

Warnings: vague mentions of torture, fighting, language

+ Y/N is a vigilante that is secretly dating with the #2 hero and highly wanted villain. You've been seen helping both men at some point in time. While out on a patrol one night, you get caught by a rogue villain and tortured. Unfortunately for them, the two men are already on his case and are out for blood.

Y/N's POV

Walking through the city at night would turn most people off but not me. I loved the night. I loved to take night time strolls, go stargazing, and Moonlite picnics. It made sense since my quirk was starlight oriented. There is also a lot of trouble at night. Normally.

"Damn. Nothing tonight." I groaned and layed back on the roof. I checked the time and decided to call it a night. I rolled back into a handstand and set my feet on the ground before scaling down the side of the building.

I never really worried about someone attacking me. I was able to protect myself easily and most people don't mess with me anyway. I shouldn't have let the false sense of security delude me. Out of nowhere, I was grabbed from behind and a rag was placed over my mouth roughly.

"Should have been more vigilant, little girl." Someone growled in my ear. I tried to throw my quirk back but the person grabbed my wrist and wrenched it behind my back.

"Ah!" I yelped and my head started to feel dizzy. I realized the rag was drugged and before I could think of anything to do, I passed out.

When I woke up, I was laying on the ground with my arms bound behind my back. I tried to get the bonds off but they weren't budging. Looking around and I was in a dilapidated warehouse of some sort.

"Oh she's awake boss." A voice said nearby. I quickly sat up and found the person who spoke. They were sitting at a card table playing a card game of some sort.

"Who are you?" I demanded. The two men only laughed. One stood up and came into a better light. My eyes widened when I saw a jagged scar across his neck, disappearing down onto his left shoulder. I knew who this was.

There was a man that always butted heads with Dabi if they met out in the streets. Keigo had some encounters with him too. He was known as Slit and was known for his love for torment and torture.

"Slit. It's not a pleasure to finally meet you." I sneered. He smiled big and walked closer.

"Miss Starlight. It is finally nice to meet you." He spoke in a jagged voice as he squatted in front of me. He roughly grabbed my chin and held my face. "You really are a looker, aren't you?"

"Fuck off!" I snap. He only smiled and roughly let go of my jaw. I stretched my jaw as he moved away. "Why am I here?"

"For fun." He said.

"Who's?" I glared.

"Mostly mine. But..." He turned back towards me. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood in a wide stance. "But you are here for an actual reason."

"And what's the reason?" I asked. The man at the table got up before coming over to grab me. He pulled me off the floor and drug me towards another room. Slit followed behind and I struggled against the other man.

"Dabi pissed me off and Hawks arrested my right hand man."

"And? That's what they're good at. And what do I have to do with that?" I winced as I was shoved down on my knees in front of a water tank.

"You're going to be the one that pays." He snarled with an evil grin. A shiver went down my spine as the two men shared a sinister look.

*Time skip*

I gasped for air as they brought my head up out of the water. Coughing and sputtering as the henchman held a tight grip on my hair. I struggled against the bonds again. I was soaked to the bone and cold. My lungs were screaming from the torture.

"Had enough?" Slit asked, sickeningly sweet. I glared at him and he started cackling. Motioning with his hand, the hackman shoved my head underwater again. I barely got a breath before he held me under. I struggled and tried to kick the guy off but I was growing weaker as the minutes ticked by. He pulled me back up and dropped me to the ground.

"Fuck." I coughed and sputtered. Squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to calm my lungs down. Tears mixed with the water already on my face. A shadow came over me. Glancing out of the corner of my age and saw Slit standing over me.

"You have held up longer than I thought." He knelt next to me. "That just means I get to have more fun."

"Psycho!" I snapped through my panting. He glared at me before grabbing me by the next. Lifting me from the ground, he shoved me against the side of the water tank. "You're in for it."

"Screw you." I spit. He raised his hand to hit me when a voice called out from somewhere.

"Never took you for a coward, Slit." Slit looked around frantically and I immediately found Dabi leaning against a pillar in the shadows. Slit looked at me and followed my line of sight to Dabi.

"Dabi." Slit muttered. Dabi's eyes were nearly glowing in rage. He was leaning against his shoulder with his arms crossed over his chest. "How am I a coward?"

"Going after her when your fight is with me and Hawks. She had nothing to do with this and now you just dug your grave but bringing her into this." Dabi stepped forward.

"Oh, have I? I'd like to see you try. Plus, I'm surprised at you. I never pegged you for someone to care about some girl."

"Well you were wrong. As usual." Dabi lit a fire in his hand. “You don't mess with our girl.”

"Good to know." Slit smirked before reaching down, grabbing my leg and flipping me over into the water tank.

I had no time to get a breath before submerging into the water. I squandered in the water and tried to find my way to the surface. Being so disoriented and my hands still being bound wasn't helping matters. I couldn't help but take a breath and water filled my lungs.

I started to black out when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me from the water. I coughed and hacked up water as I was lifted out of the tank. My bonds were cut and I latched onto whoever was holding me.

"I got you. Birdy. I got you." I heard Keigo whisper into my ear. I whimpered and hid my face in his chest. Keigo flew away from the tank and landed. I felt his wings wrap around me as I started to shiver.

"Keigo..." I coughed a little.

"Sh. It's okay." He patted my back as I coughed up the water caught in my lungs. He pulled his wings back to look me over. In the background we can hear Dabi and Slit fighting.

"Hawks! Lookout!" We heard Dabi yell.

We turned to see Slit jumping at me with a knife. Keigo blocked with his wing and knocked Slit back. He took over the fight as Dabi ran over to me. He threw his coat over me and I could feel the heat radiating off it. Picking me up by my arms from the ground, he led me away from the fight.

Out of nowhere, the henchman jumped out. He was covered in bright red thorns. Dabi shoved me behind him. They charged at each other. Flames flew everywhere and I could see the henchman trying to slash Dabi with the thorns. I could see the moment Dabi had enough and there was a big burst of flames. The henchman screamed and ran of in flames towards the water tank.

"Dabi! Let's get out of here!" Keigo landed next to me, setting a hand on my back. Dabi nodded. I looked past Keigo and saw Slit on the ground but still conscious. Dabi stepped forward and threw a fireball at the rafters and beams, setting the building on fire. "Dabi! Hurry!"

"Coming!" Keigo pulled me out with Dabi right behind us. We ran from the building and down the street. Exhaustion caught up with me and I stumbled before my legs gave up on me.

"Shit, baby." Keigo caught me before I hit the ground. He picked me up. I clutched his jacket while holding onto Dabi's that was still on me.

I spaced out after that before passing out. When I woke up after that, I was in dry clothes and covered in a warm blanket. I could feel someone's chest moving agaisn't my back. I opened my eyes and looked at who it was. Dabi sat there, holding me against his chest while he rested his head against his hand. He looked like he was asleep.

"Fly so high but I need to come down for oxygen." Keigo was singing somewhere in the apartment. I smiled before a pop from a fire I only just now noticed spooked me. I turned to look at the fireplace while Dabi shifted against me.

"You're awake. You had us worried." Dabi muttered.

"Sorry." I set my head back on his chest.

"Don't be." He grunted before looking behind him. "Birdy! She's awake!"

"Oh great. Coming!" He yelled back. We could hear the tinks and clatters of dishes from the kitchen. After a minute, he hurried out with a tray. He was dressed in a plain tshirt, sweats, and fuzzy socks.

"Here, sit up." Dabi said before helping me sit up and pulled me back against his chest. Keigo grabbed a mug off the tray and gave it to me.

"Here, drink." He said before hopping on the couch and curled up with us, slithering under the blanket and pulling my legs over his lap.

"Thank you." I drank from the mug and sighed. The warmth of tea was nice. Keigo rubbed my legs and Dabi buried his face in my hair.

"We're glad you're alright sweetheart. You had us worried." Keigo said.

"More like you had birdbrain panicked." Dabi said with a smile. Keigo rolled his eyes and smacked his head. Dabi glared while I chuckled and took a sip of my tea.

"What happened?"

"It all happened so fast." I started. "I was out like normal and as I made my home, I was grabbed from behind. They drugged me so fast, I couldn't do anything."

"Damn fucker." Dabi muttered.

"How did you two know I was taken?" I look between the two of them.

"You had said that morning that you would be home by midnight that night so when you didn't show, I got worried and called Dabi. When he hadn't heard from you, we both knew you were in trouble."

"It took us over 18 hours to find you." Dabi added. He grabbed my chin and made me look at him. "Don't let it happen again."

"Dabi." Keigo chuckled. Both Keigo and I knew what Dabi meant and that he meant well. He always came across rough but a long time ago, Keigo and I learned how to speak "Dabi".

"I won't." I cuddled into Dabi's side. "I think I'm going to take a break from the vigilante stuff anyway."

"You sure?" Keigo looked at me surprised. He began to rub circles on my leg. Dabi leant his head against mine.

"Yeah." I sighed. "I'm gonna have to rest anyway but..."

"Obviously." Dabi interrupted by muttering. Rolling my eyes, I choose to ignore him.

"But I am just getting tired of the same thing right now. I just want some downtime. Is that alright?"

"Of course." Keigo kissed my head. "We want you to do what makes you happy. Right Dabi?"

"Hmm?" A sleepy reply came.

"Touya!" Keigo exclaimed before punching the opposite shoulder I was laying against.

"What?! Hey!" Dabi jumped before glaring at Keigo. "What is your deal?!"

"You're falling asleep while we're trying to have a conversation!" They began to bicker and I chuckled. I snuggled in between them and drank my tea. The normalcy of their bickering was comforting. Dabi pulled me closer and Keigo laid a wing over our laps. It was cute how attentive and protective they were even if it was absent minded.

"Old married imbeciles." I muttered against the rim of my teacup.

"Hey!" They both yelled at me. I giggled furiously. Keigo pouted and Dabi rolled his too.

"See if we save you again." Dabi snipped with no malice in his voice.

"You'll always come save me Hot Stuff." I teased.

"Shut up." He muttered, turning away with a blush. Keigo laughed and poked more fun at the other male. Ever though he was sulking, I could see a small smile behind Dabi's hand.

"He's smiling!" I said excitedly. Dabi glared at me. "I said what I said."

"I can't with you two." Dabi groaned and let his head drop back. Keigo and I burst out laughing. These two were the light of my life and I was theirs. You don't mess with me unless you want to get in deep shit with my boys.

Tag List: @iris-shihabi @cl0verbby @lilparcheesie @keigos-baby-bird @evilunicorns4minions

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batnoise · 7 months

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[🦇 / april 2023 ] patreon reward for @starlight-snarl ! 🧡💜💚 (ae/aer pronouns)

[ID: a digital drawing of an anthro meicoomon (orange catlike digimon), gracefully dancing with swords in aer hands, against a background of green and purple. ae have a beige mask on aer face with two diamonds in a vertical pattern, and ae wear a black short and simple dress with a diamond design, leggings, and a purple scarf. /end ID]

#batnoise art #furry #anthro #weirdfur #cleanfur #sketch #digimon #meicoomon #a:bel #2023

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utterlyotterlyx · 1 month

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These Hallowed Halls

Cassian x Fem!Reader

Based on this ask x

Summary - You had begged Cassian not to leave you again, you had begged him to stay, and you had fallen apart when he had left without saying goodbye.

Warnings - swearing, ANGST, depression, weight loss, fluff, Cassian being a raging prick, Azriel being a softie, mentions of blood

The Mother was certainly mocking you.

Rain smacked against the stone balcony beyond the glass doors which were rattling in the wild wind, harmonising with your own sadness as you stood in the centre of your room, finding little to no comfort in front of the fire you were usually curled in front of.

Grey skies loomed overhead. It was rare for such a storm to descend upon Velaris, so rare that most didn't know what to do when it arrived. Most opted to stay in doors and wait it out, wait until starlight flooded the streets in welcome and fae journeyed on in their lives.

Cassian stood before you, dishevelled and tired, deep sunken patches under his one shade darker than usual eyes, his lips curled into a snarl, body lax and weary. The Illyrian ran his hands over his face, grazing his fingertips over his growing beard, and he rolled his shoulders and his wings with them before he looked to you and sighed, "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Y/N."

You had been joined at the hip, had a relationship that no one could ever understand, not even Rhys or Az could figure it out. Cassian was your lighthouse in an ocean of fog, he had the ability to be your happiness or shatter your soul, and you clung to every piece of affection and attention that he gave to you. When he was gone, you felt as though you were on fire, like every single one of your nerve ends were being cauterised and there was no anaesthesia.

Brown waves fell from his loosely wrapped bun, drifting over his face which was illuminated by that golden glow emitting from the fireplace. Cassian had come to you right after he reported to Rhys like he always did, but instead of hugging you tightly and cracking open a bottle of wine to tell you his next enthralling tale, he stood before you to tell you he was leaving again with a cold and distant accent taking over his entire body.

"But, you've only just gotten back," you told him, fiddling with the cuffs of his jumper that you had stolen, just needing to be surrounded by him for one moment, it drowned your body since Cassian was a large framed male, and you adored his jumpers, they made you feel precious.

"I know that," he bit, his muscles tensing in a different order every few seconds.

He was exhausted, you knew that, it rolled off him in waves, no, tsunamis, and you wanted nothing more than to run your hand through his unbound hair and tell him it was okay. But you had missed him, too much.

The fire crackled at the head of your bedroom, a blanket lay strewn over the arm of the sofa from when you had flung it off of your body the moment his scent filled your lungs from down the hallway.

"Do you have to go? I've missed you Cass, it's been horrible without you," you pleaded, each one of your words made him feel heavy.

Cassian adored you, you were his shadow, clinging to him for comfort, he always found you in his clothes, he always found you waiting for him whenever he returned home to give him what he needed. Whether that be someone to laugh with or someone to hold until he fell asleep.

You were his person. In the most platonic way possible. Cassian couldn't say that about anyone else but you.

"Rhys had ordered it. So yes. I have to go," his words were harsh and laced with venom, a pure annoyance that radiated from him as he rolled his neck, unmoving from his place in front of you.

You were confused, he hadn't even smiled at you when he had entered your room, he hadn't hugged you or asked how you had been, he hadn't offered to tell you a story or let you know what he needed to feel better. The Cassian in front of you wasn't the Cassian you recognised.

It was the first time you felt small in front of him, the first time where his gaze made you cower and feel uneasy, "I can speak to him if you'd like? He might let you have some rest at least-"

"Fuck, Y/N. Will you just stop?!" Cassian shouted at you, the sound of his voice made you flinch backward as he took a step toward you, "I don't need you to do anything for me. I don't need you to stroke my hair or fight my corner, I don't need you to talk to Rhys for me like your words will make any difference in what my High Lord requires me to do. I don't need you suffocating me and wearing my fucking clothes. I don't need you, Y/N."

Water blurred your vision as his words sliced through you, deadly enough to make you feel as though you were dying, "I'm sorry, I was just trying-"

"Stop trying. Just stop. I am the General of the Night Court's armies, it is my duty to go where I am needed and I'm very sorry to say that it's not with you Y/N. Others need me more than you. Stop fucking clinging to me and find something else to obsess over."

Cassian was panting and breathless, fury blazed in his rich hazel orbs and you let out a pained sob, wrapping your arms around yourself and stepping backward again until your legs hit the back of the sofa, you rested your weight against it and let out a shaky breath.

You didn't dare look up when you heard Cassian shuffle, his feet scuffing against the floor breaking the silence that had consumed you. You had expected him to realise what he had said, you had expected him to rush to your side and apologise. But no. Cassian dragged his feet behind him and opened your bedroom door, allowing a gust a cold air to circle the once warm room before slamming it behind him, slamming it so hard that the canvases on your walls rattled at the force.

Sleep that night had not consumed you like it usually did, the ghost of Cassian's touch lingered on your skin and you cried until your throat was raw and head was pounding. You cried until the words he spat at your drowned you into the abyss.

The morning had come around quickly and you had groaned whilst getting out of bed, the little sleep you had gotten clear on your face and body, your tear stained cheeks were puffy and red, and your hair was a mess from your hands clawing through it, begging for some pressure to take your pain away.

You had to find him. You had to see him. You had to say goodbye.

But when you had entered his room without knocking, you gasped, his bed was askew, the scent of him lingered in the air, but he wasn't there. Cassian had left. His bedroom a haphazard sign that he had left in a hurry and as soon as he had woken up.

You hadn't realised that you had fallen to your knees sobbing until cedar and night-kissed mountains flooded you, Az's arms wrapped around you and he held you close, hushing you and whispered to you that everything was going to be fine. Rhys had appeared next, frowning at you with sad eyes before cradling you carefully to his chest, stroking your hair as he carried you back to your room and fitted your sheets over your frame. Rhys continued to hold you until your mind was weak enough to allow him in to put you to sleep.

They had tried everything to coax you out of bed the weeks following Cassian's abrupt exit, Amren had offered to take you to the library countless times, promising to buy you every book that you wanted. Mor had tried to get you to go to Rita's, to drink and dance the pain away. Azriel's shadows peppered kisses over your face and had done their best to curl around the edge of your sheet to pull them down, to which you had whimpered and pulled them back up to your neck. Rhys had even offered to take you dress shopping, he told you that if an expensive garment was going to make you smile then he would spend his entire fortune on it.

Nothing made you want to move.

Your soul felt empty, every fibre of your body felt dead and cold, like the crisp forest in the middle of a harsh winter. Nothing made you want to live your life. Cassian's words to you played over and over in your mind, maybe you were too much, maybe after all your years together in your family had made you too comfortable.

It took everything within you to not ask for one of his jumpers, he had made it clear that he didn't want you to be like that anymore. He didn't want you.

Your body felt heavy, the weight of your despair crushing your limbs into dust. You felt the weight dropping off of you, you felt your stomach cry for nourishment but didn't wish to satisfy it, you didn't want anything, anyone, but him.

"Please get up, Y/N. It's been three weeks, you've hardly eaten. We're worried about you," Azriel had settled into the space behind you and smothered you with his heat, he noticed how cold you were, how tired and lost your eyes were, how you wore an expression of pure heartbreak and loneliness on your beautiful face.

Azriel sighed at your weak grunt, pulling you back into his chest and doing his best to make you feel loved and cherished. He couldn't admit it but he had heard the words Cassian had so carelessly thrown at you that night, and it took everything within him to not burst through your door and pummel his brother into the ground, even his shadows wanted a piece of the General, how dare he say those things to you.

The Shadowsinger couldn't even put into words the relationship between you and Cassian. You had never been lovers, but you had never been just friends. Friends didn't peck each others temples or stroke each others hair. Friends didn't wait up for the other to return home and then scurry into one of their bedrooms to hold one another and talk. Friends didn't act like you and Cassian, two kindred spirits of chemically perfect harmonisation.

Azriel missed your smile, he missed the way that they all lit up when you laughed, or entered the room, or even looked at them. You made life feel lighter, you made life feel balanced. But now, now it felt disjointed, and they all felt it.

When you didn't move, or even tear your gaze away from the world beyond your window, he sighed and left the room with a soft click of the door. Cassian wasn't due to return for another couple of weeks, and Azriel feared so badly that the damage would be too severe for even Cassian to repair.

The days ticked on, days where you didn't eat or bathe, days where you only left your bed to use the bathroom before finding another nightgown to wear, days where your only sustenance were a few almonds and some water. Mor had gasped when she had seen your body through the crack in your door, the grey tinged sickly paled skin, the outline of your ribs, the deep hued sacks under your eyes; it was too much for her to witness, and she had to take herself into her own room and cry for you.

Azriel had knelt in front of you two weeks later, tears in his eyes, and you felt his sadness rippling off of him as his face entered your weak vision, it was the first time you had really looked at any of them since that day. He had taken your limp hand in his own, he had allowed his shadows to slither up your limb and coax you gently into smiling softly at him, "Please get up, Y/N. Please. I'll do anything you want. I can't watch you kill yourself anymore. We love you, we love you so much. Please."

You had squeezed his hand as hard as you could, which to him was nothing, and shifted in your bed, wincing as you pushed your legs over the side of the mattress. Azriel was beside you in a second, crouching in front of you and helping you to your feet, "I want to feel the sun," you voice was hoarse, Azriel was surprised that you still knew how to talk, "Take me to summer."

Cassian had sped home as fast as he could once his job was finished. The feeling of leaving you had broken him more each time he had thought about it, that pained look on your face had haunted his dreams. He never should have said those things to you, he never should have left you, he should have told Rhys to go and fuck himself instead of what he really did.

You had cowered like a wounded animal in front of him whilst every word cut you like a knife, if it were a knife you'd surely be dead.

He had to get back to you.

Cassian had landed on the lawn of the River House and he felt the atmosphere shift, what was once light and warm was now cold and ominous. The house held no joy, your laugh did not stalk the halls, it just felt lonely, abandoned. Just like you.

The door had flown open and Mor had stalked from the hearth, eyes blazing with hatred, pale and tired, and she wasted no time in bounding right up to him and planting her fist right in the centre of his face. Cassian lurched to the side at the impact, cradling his busted nose in his hand, "You prick," she seethed, Amren and Rhys had flown out of the house after her but were to late to stop her from jabbing Cassian right in the nose, "Today was the first time she's even spoke after what you did," her finger was in his face, her eyes were wild and frantic, "How could you do that to her? She's your person, she's your best friend and you did that?"

Rhys grabbed her wrist before she could land another blow, Amren had swooped in and guided Mor back into the house, not before growling at the male in front of her, leaving Cassian and Rhys out on the lawn, the latter of which was glowering at his brother.

"Count yourself lucky that she got to you first," Rhys was dead behind the eyes, Cassian had never seen a void like it, he looked to the house, hoping that the foundations would peel apart so that he could see you, Rhys scoffed, "Azriel has taken her to Summer. She needed the sun, she hasn't been out in it for four weeks."

"Four weeks?" Rhys hummed, his power throbbing around him, "Rhys I fucked up, I need to see her."

"I'm sure you can wait, like she waited for you. I hope you're proud of yourself brother, I really do."

Rhys turned on his heels and disappeared into the depths of the home, leaving Cassian stood in the grass cursing himself for ever taking his anger out on you.

Rhys had called to Azriel, had told him that Cassian was at the River House and that he should take you to the House of Wind instead. Azriel had obliged without question, not wanting to put himself in the situation where he would harm a member of his family.

You had figured it out, the reason why your residence had been moved so abruptly, and it shattered you. Your afternoon in the sun had been lovely, you felt the sun seeping into your pores, you felt the waves kissing your feet, you felt the sand between your toes, and you felt safe pacing beside Azriel who only spoke when you did.

Soon enough, you had found yourself in the deep tub of you House of Wind bedroom, you had always loved the view there, you could see the valley of gold at the foot of the mountains, you could hear the childish laughter drift upward from the streets, and you could see the starlight cascade across the sky.

Oils and warmth washed your grime and paleness away, the heat giving a new lease of life to your skin. You were sure that you still looked awful, that much was obvious from the longing stares your family had bestowed upon you over the past few weeks.

The tub rippled as you stood from it, you dried yourself off and pulled one of Azriel's jumpers over your figure as well as a pair of lax cotton pants that hung from your hips. Azriel had done his best to make your room feel cosy, he lit the fire with his own hands and refused to cower away, he wouldn't cower away from it for you, he had brought you tea and fluffed your pillows, but you still ached, you still yearned for something else.

Loud voices echoed from the hallway, the padding of feet drew closer and you frowned softly at the noises floating to your ears. The door of your bedroom flew open and you found Cassian stood before you, nose smeared with poorly wiped blood, he looked frantic and boiling with worry and fear, and his face contorted when he saw you.

Rhys had entered after him, he had surveyed you carefully, noticing the towel you must have been drying your hair with now a pile of cotton on the floor, "I'm sorry, Y/N. I can make him leave."

It was like your soul was burning with that aching fire, only this time it wasn't painful, your soul was singing a symphony of emotion, "No," you said weakly, your eyes moved to Rhys and you nodded, he told you he was only a shout away if you needed him and then left.

Cassian drank you in, the lifeless eyes and limp hair, the greyish hue to your skin, the dark bags under your eyes, he noted the way the clothes you wore hung from your frame and the way your cheeks sunk into the bone, and he broke, "Y/N, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I never should have said those things to you, I don't know what I was thinking," Tears streamed down his cheeks and it hurt you to see him that way, "You're not clingy or obsessed, I know you were trying to look out for me. You always look out for me."

"I love every single thing about you. I love the way my jumpers drown you and coat you in my scent, I love it when you wait for me to come home, I love the way fire spreads through me whenever you touch me. I love everything that you are. I'm so sorry that I've done this to you. You deserve the world and everything good in it, you deserve so much better than me," his words were floating between broken sobs, he tried to move to you and visibly winced when you took a step back, "You are my everything. You are the one who completes me, you are the one I search for whenever I enter a room, you are the only one who I feel safe with."

"My home is wherever you are, you are my home and I know I've fucked up and I understand if you never want to speak to me again. I just need you to know that I'm sorry. If I have to leave Velaris for you to feel safe then I will, I-"

"Why would you do that?" you voice called to him, you took a single step forward and examined him, he was distraught, "I went to find you that morning, to apologise for being so suffocating," you cringed at the word, at how it had made you feel when he had thrown it at you, "But you were gone."

Cassian took a step closer to you, "I knew what I'd done, I saw what I'd done to you and I couldn't see you look at me like that again. I wanted to protect you from me, I needed to get you away from me."

You wrapped your arms around your frame and found his eyes, his beautiful pools of rippling sadness screaming for you, "I don't need protecting from you, Cass. I just need you," you tucked a strand of your wet hair behind your ear and continued, "I don't know why I cling to you, it hurts to be away from you, I feel like my body is dying when you leave me. It feels like my soul is being ripped from my body and I can't breathe when you're gone. I'm nothing without you. I can't live without you."

Cassian had closed the gap between you, his hands finding a place on your hip and under your chin and he tilted your head upward, his eyes searched your face, delving into the deepest depths of your thrumming soul and his eyes widened, "Y/N," his voice was a whisper, his thumb glided across your cheek and you found yourself leaning into the touch, soaking up the affection like a sponge in the ocean.

Bottom lip wobbling, he took your face in his hands, "I think I know why you've been feeling like that."

Cassian's breath fanned across your face and you inhaled deeply, you felt your soul melting, all of the sadness now a painful memory, you felt hot white starlight and the shifting of those golden threads, webbing your essence together until it jolted into place. The snap. Cassian continued to hold you in his arms and your fingers brushed against his jaw, "We're mates," it was a fact, and he nodded.

"We're mates," a tear slid down his cheek, and you knew he felt all of your pain in that moment, "I promise that I will take care of that heart of gold for the rest of my days. I promise to love you endlessly until you tell me to stop," he rested his forehead against yours, "I knew it was you, I knew it was us."

"Meant to be," Cassian huffed out a gentle sigh and brushed his nose against your own before dipping his lips to meet yours.

It was better than you could have ever imagined, you felt your souls merging together into one, you felt the world grow lighter and your heart grow fuller, you felt your scent combining into something that could drown continents. You felt him.

And as long as you both lived, there would never be a day where either of you felt unloved.

Authors Note

Jeeeeez!

Love these requests, they make me so happy x

@jenniferpendragon @acourtof-wingspan

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psychedelic-ink · 8 months

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𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒.

DAY SEVEN OF HAUNTED HOEDOWN

prompt: cosmic horror au + western au + "you're a fucking nightmare. kiss me."

pairing: jack daniels x f!reader

genre: explicit smut, minors dni, soft enemies to lovers

summary: with celestial dancers ensnaring victims with entrancing performances that lead innocents away from their homes. Jack and you, cowboy sheriffs with a history of discord, leave town in search of the missing people.

word count: 3.5k

warnings: daddy kink, mirror sex (kinda there's a mist that imitates your desires and copies your movements so technically it's like a mirror but without a reflective surface), outdoor sex, piv, hint of horror imagery, dirty talk, size kink (jack is a big boy in every universe fight me)

a/n: sorry y'all this is unedited but hopefully i didn't make too many mistakes! enjoy xx

“I still don’t understand why we need to go together. I’m completely capable on my own.”

On cue, Starlight whinnies and shakes her head, her disagreement apparent. You frown at the horse, “You’re supposed to be on my side,” you quip, refusing to look at Jack whose laughter rings out.

The lanterns you have on each horse illuminate the road ahead but do little in actually illuminating your surroundings. Shadows linger in every corner. The sky, despite still having the sun up, is a dusty copper, dark clouds swirling and forming shape of all watching eyes. The world had become an odd place. Humans were mere ants now, easy to crush beneath the forces out of your control. Distance between towns had become wide, each town having deputies to protect the innocents within. Dangerous weapons had been forged to fight against the evil and given to every sherrif in town.

Lately people have been gone missing. In the dead of night celestial dancers would just stand at the edge of town, ensnaring victims with entrancing performances to take them far away from their homes. You didn’t ask what these dancers did to the ones they captured, you assumed it wasn’t anything pleasant.

You and Jack being the more talented sheriffs of the town had been picked to locate said missing people. The further you two traversed away from town, the more menacing and confusing the world around you became. The darkness moves. Creatures of all kinds snarling and drooling within the deep forests.

“I know you’re capable, sugar,” Jack remarks, he expertly guides his horse, bringing the two of you into closer proximity. The rhythmic sound of hooves fills the air as you draw near. “But you must admit, this is a dangerous job.”

You only shrug, “Beats being here with you.”

“You hate me that much that you’d be willin’ to die?” he says with a lazy grin. “That’s a bit extreme, even for you.”

“I doubt this is going to be that hard. You just like teasing me.”

“Hmmm maybe. . . but I blame you for that, sugar. You’re too fun to tease.”

A loud sigh parts your lips and you shake your head. Jack was and always will be insufferable. In all honesty, Jack wasn’t so bad. He just had a talent for getting under your skin. But you had to admit, your frustrations with him had been shifting into something else, something like desire, for a while now.

Your fingers tighten around the reins. You’ve been trying really hard to ignore the flutter in your stomach whenever he was around, you’d never hear the end of it if he figured it out.

“Shut up,” you grumble, lowering the front of your hat. “You’re incorrigible.” You glance over at Jack, who's trying to stifle his laughter but failing miserably. Your frown deepens.

“Incorrigible?” he snorts. “So sophisticated with your insults today, should I be flattered?”

“I’m just running out of words to insult you with.”

His smile falters slightly, annoyance creasing between his brows, “Funny.”

Jack’s annoyance brings a smile to your face. You’re about to say more, eager to get under his skin just like he does yours, but suddenly he lifts a hand and halts his horse. You do the same, tightening the reins until Starlight comes to a full stop.

He presses his forefinger slowly to his lips and points ahead with the other. Goosebumps raising across your skin, your gaze turns to the dirt road.

There’s nothing.

Until there’s something.

The first thing you notice is the eyes; they’re red dots, gleaming and staring into your soul.

Then you notice the antlers sprouting from behind the skull of the long figure. Two of them curling around its jaw. It's wearing a long cloak, the type similar to what you and Jack wear when the weather is turning cold. The light of your lanterns reflects on the figure,

Panic flaring in your gut, your eyes snap to Jack. He’s only staring. Calm and steady. “Look down,” he mouths without looking at you.

The silence is deafening. You look at the eerie figure again, its hand now stretched towards you both as if beckoning you to come closer. It’s a bony hand, a sickly grayish-green. You hold your breath and lower your gaze. Your lids flutter in surprise as you notice the sheep at the figure's feet. They have horns just like him, and have the same glowing red eyes. The animals stare at you, not a sound coming from them.

Shepard of the Voidborne, your mind whispers to you. You were told that he was once human and after being driven out of his mind, became one of the cosmic horrors that lurked all around. He had his sheep and that was pretty much it. He only came out during the night. The shepard was harmless for the most part but if you made a sound or attacked, your death was immediate.

The tricky part was that you had to sense him before he came. You had to catch the stillness of the wind, the sudden silence that befell, and the scent of the dead.

You didn’t notice any of that.

But Jack had.

The Shepard and his sheep stare at you long enough that it feels like forever. He never lowers his hand, the invite always there if you were stupid enough to take it.

You fight against letting out a breath of relief when he finally turns away, the sheep mimicking him. Fear coating your tongue, you close your eyes and focus on your heartbeat instead, willing it to become silent.

He doesn’t make a sound as he leaves and you only realize that when Jack gently touches your cheek, pulling you back to reality.

“He’s gone, darlin’,” he says surprisingly soft. “You’re safe.”

His fingers curl towards the back of your ear, palm cradling the side of your face, warmth spreads. Your breath hitches and you quickly avert your gaze, “I see that,” you say sharply. “Let’s go.”

“Lead the way, ma’am,” Jack muses as you do exactly that, his gaze glinting with mischief.

You try not to think about the lingering warmth left on your cheek.

The horses are tethered nearby, and the lanterns cast a warm glow around your small circle of safety. You set up a modest fire, its crackling flames pushing back the encroaching darkness.

Jack produces a bottle of whiskey from his saddlebag. He uncorks it and offers it to you with a grin. "Care for a drink, sugar? I figure we've earned."

You accept the offer, taking the bottle and taking a long, deep swig before passing it back. The warm burn of the whiskey helps chase away the lingering chill of fear from your encounter with the Shepard.

Jack settles down beside you, close enough that your shoulders brush. He gazes into the flames, lost in thought for a moment. Then, he turns his attention to you, his eyes softening with concern. "You okay, sugar?"

“I guess,” you mutter. “I didn’t notice him.”

“Who? The Shepard?”

You nod and he shrugs, “He’s a hard bastard to notice. It ain’t your fault.”

“That’s not an excuse. I should’ve sensed him. . . somehow.”

He chuckles softly, his fingers idly tracing patterns in the dirt. "Well, you know, I've got the devil's luck. Besides, I've got you to watch my back. When I’m with you I’m more alert, darlin’."

“So you really do think I’m incompetent?”

Sitting by the fire, you both share the bottle, taking turns. You can't help but notice how the flickering firelight plays across Jack's features, casting his rugged face in a warm, inviting glow. You feel slightly ashamed for how you’re acting. Deep down you know this has nothing to do with Jack thinking you’re not good enough, but with the growing knot in your stomach, you need to divert your emotions into something more violent.

“The only thing I know is that I wanna protect you more than I want to do myself.”

Your heart skips a beat, your breath suddenly coming in short and fast. You swallow around the knot quickly forming in your throat.

"Well, aren't you just a regular knight in shining armor?" you huff in mock annoyance, attempting to lighten the weight of his words.

But Jack doesn't take the bait this time. Instead, he surprises you with a genuine, soft smile. "You're strong, no doubt about it. But even the strongest folks deserve a bit of pampering now and then, don't they?"

You're momentarily taken aback by his sincerity, the hint of vulnerability. Jack reaches out and gently brushes a strand of hair from your face, his touch feather-light.

"Jack, you don't have to treat me like I'm made of glass," you murmur, your irritation fading as you meet his warm gaze.

He leans in a little closer, his voice barely above a whisper. Your eyes drop to his lips and move back to meet his gaze again."I know you're tough as nails, but that doesn't mean I can't be here for you. We all need someone to lean on, sugar."

You find yourself lost in his eyes, the flickering firelight dancing in them, and for a moment, you let your guard down.

"You're a fucking nightmare,” you smile, heart rapid in your chest. “Kiss me."

The chaos, the darkness, the shadows—all of it stands still. Jack closes the distance, soft lips covering yours, his tongue traces the seam of your lips. He’s not at all how you imagined. He’s not rushing you. Instead, he’s taking his sweet time memorizing the curve of your lips with the tip of his tongue.

Only when you moan does he slip his tongue between your swollen lips, licking himself further into your mouth. He cradles your face with both hands, thumbs moving down as if tracing tear streaks down your cheeks.

Neither of you notices the thick fog starting to accumulate around you. A sinister whisper crackling within the gray. It settles around you. Listening to your needy whimpers and Jack’s groans—it observes, takes in the desire reflected in your features, and shapes begin to form.

The fire goes out with a loud sizzle.

“Fuck—” Jack hisses, pulling away, hand moving to grab his gun. He pulls you close. You’re still tasting him on your lips, dazed and confused as to what’s happening. There’s a moment of silence between you two, your surroundings illuminated only by the lanterns.

The fog is unnaturally thick. You hear sounds; breathy and intoxicating. The voices grow louder, a tingle spreads over the back of your neck, and you notice that they’re oddly familiar—

Your cheeks burn when you notice they’re the sound of your moans. Both Jack’s and yours. The shapes are still forming, only mere silhouettes of two people perched on top of a log, their poses the same as yours.

“Eidolon Veil,” you mumble, drawing Jack’s attention to you. “I heard of it, never actually saw it before.”

“What is it?” he grunts a response, hand still on your waist. “And why the hell is it moanin’?”

“It’s harmless,” you answer. “It’s a reflective fog that takes the shape of those within its circle and mimics their desires as well.”

Jack snorts, lowering his gun, “So what, you’re tellin’ me this mist is gonna show us fuckin’ like rabbits soon?”

You turn to him, a hint of mischief in your eyes, “If that’s what you desire, then yes,” you grin. “Though the image becomes vivid only if the people actually go through with it. If not it’ll only show a preview and move on to its next target,” you raise an eyebrow at him. “You really don’t know what it is?”

“I don’t research the creepy crawlies as much as you do,” he croaks. “Are you sure it’s harmless? In this world nothin’ is.”

“I think it has to do with substance,” you say. “Desire keeps it from dissolving entirely. So it’s basically looking for food.”

An especially sharp moan echoes from the mist and you involuntarily press your thighs together, arousal growing between your legs. Jack also shudders at the sound. He palms himself through his pants, your eyes dropping to where his cock strains against the thick fabric.

“Let's give it something to choke on then.”

Throwing all caution into the wind, you two strip down eagerly, your mouths always a breath away. The figures within the fog become more tangible, you can see yourself clearly now, your face painted with want and arousal. You get on all fours and the mirage does the same, Jack is on his knees right behind you, hand slipping between your legs. He traces his fingers up and down soaked folds, circling your clit, you feel the heft of him over the curve of your ass.

Your breath hitches as he pushes two fingers into you, electricity crackles over your skin, a moan parting your lips further. The mirage mimics every sound and movement, and watching it turns you on in a way you didn’t think was possible.

“Fuck, look at you,” Jack coos. “Such a sight—and so darn wet.”

He fucks his fingers deeper into you and pulls them out slowly. Jack leans over to kiss the skin between your shoulder blades, the movement of his fingers slow as he works you open. Your head falls and you arch your back, wanting more. He doesn’t stop until you’re a sopping, trembling mess. Slick drips down his fingers and all the way down to his wrists.

When you look at the mirage, the Jack within the fog makes you taste yourself on his fingers.

Your Jack hums pleasantly, pulling out, he traces the plush of your lips with wet fingers before slipping them into your mouth. You suck eagerly, your cunt fluttering at the lewdness of it.

He cups your neck and pulls you up so that you’re flush against his chest, your pulse quickens as he presses his lips against your ear, “You think you can take me, darlin’?” he asks and kisses your cheek.

“Y–Yeah,” you whimper, the fog echoing your answer.

You haven’t gotten a good look at him yet but you do feel him. He’s thick and hard, dragging his cock up and down your slit. You shudder as the head catches against your clit, making you gasp. “You’re drippin’ sweetheart,” he says with a grin, breath tickling your neck. “And you’re shakin’, worried I’m too big?”

His voice drips with sarcasm and glee, he teases your entrance with the head, smearing precome over the sensitive skin. You gasp and feel your nipples tighten, without thinking you spread your legs further.

“Yes!” your mirage echoes your thoughts. You let out a deep exhale, blood rushing to your cheeks. “You’re so big, Jack—It won’t fit. . .”

“Is that right now?” he murmurs, dragging the curve of his nose down your neck. “You say it. I want to hear your voice.”

You clear your throat. Beads of sweat gather at your tailbone, “Y–You’re big,” you whimper and as a reward he cups both your breasts, playing with your nipples. “I don’t know if it’ll fit. It’s been a while.”

He takes a sharp inhale, “I’ll make it fit,” he growls, exhaling his breath simultaneously.

With that, Jack sinks into you.

He sucks on your neck and continues to gently pinch your nipples, waiting for your to adjust to his size. “That’s it,” he purrs, licking the salt from your skin. “You feel so good around me, sugar. Look at how fucked out you look already.”

He holds your jaw and tilts your head up, you clench as you see yourself. He was right. You look utterly fucked out; kiss-swollen lips parted, chest heaving and glistening with sweat.

“Jack,” you whimper. “Move, please.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” he soothes you, lips pressing against your neck before letting you go. Your palms fall to the ground. “You’re made for me, pretty girl, don’t you forget it.”

Before you can say anything, he pulls back his hips and slams into you with force. Your fingers dig into the soil, your body going rigid before becoming loose again. Jack fucks you thoroughly, slowing down while pulling out only to snap forward. He’s loud. Growls and grunts bouncing off of his clenched teeth, he holds on to your waist and the mirage echoes it.

With every thrust, he knocks the air from your lungs. Pleasure swirls in your stomach, shirt circuits your brain. Your lips part wide with a series of moans, your breasts tingling. Your senses narrow on the way his cock fills you, how deep he is inside, and how you just want to scream—not his name necessarily, but something you can address him as.

With both your and your mirage's moans getting louder and louder, your mind whirls. You’re gushing with every thrust, your orgasm rapidly building.

Daddy, your mind suddenly shouts. Your body tenses, your cunt squeezing around him in away that it forces the slows of his thrust. Jack groans at the overwhelming tightness, his cock pulsing. You watch the mirrored reflection, see the veins popping in his neck, see the debauched look of his face.

Daddy.

“F-Fuck—” you rasp when Jack resumes his thrust, faster and harder than before. He smacks your ass, pain blossoming over the skin.

Then suddenly you hear it.

It’s your voice but not your lips that moves.

“Again—Daddy—” the voice is strained, as if your replica is equally as embarrassed as you are.

He stops and you see his confusion in the fog. “W-What?” he murmurs. You shake your head, your frustration growing as you press your lips tight together. Jack smoothes his palm over your back. “What did you just call me, sugar?”

You clear your throat, “Technically it wasn’t me,” you say weakly. Jack smiles as he drags blunt nails down your skin, your body reacts and arches towards him. You sigh. “It was a mistake.”

“Not it wasn’t,” he quips. “You said so remember? The thing about the veil mimicking our desires?” he doesn’t wait for your answer as he bends over, covering your body with his. He whispers, “You can call me, daddy, if you want to. I don’t mind, darlin’. In fact, I like it.”

You nod and he slowly drags himself out, and equally slowly pushes back in, “Use your words.”

“Yes, d-daddy,” you gasp, the word hits your tongue just right.

Jack draws back again, satisfaction pooling in his eyes. He grins and a part of you can’t help but feel flustered. “That’s what I want to hear,” he kisses the back of your shoulder and continue to move inside of you.

The sensation of his thick cock sliding in and out of you sends shockwaves of pleasure through your entire body. You moan in pleasure as your orgasm builds with each thrust. He grips your hips, thrusting harder and faster as your orgasm nears its peak. You can barely keep your balance as the waves of pleasure wash over you in a glorious chorus of bliss.

“Oh—daddy—” you sigh, your tongue loose. The fog picks up your moan, echoing your words. You bite your lip as his hands move from your hips to your chest, massaging your breast with each thrust.

“Look at that face,” he says with a moan, forcing your gaze up. “Gonna come for me, pretty girl?” he teases. You nod helplessly, your body burning from the inside out. “Then ask for it, sugar.”

“P-Please, daddy, make me come,” you moan, you’re pleasantly helpless under him. “Pleasepleaseplease—”

With one final thrust, you tip over the edge; your orgasm rattles through your body accompanied by a series of groans and daddy’s. Adrenaline rushes through your system—your toes curl, your neck arches and your eyes roll back as pleasure washes through you.

The mirage echoes every sound as Jack pumps his cum into you. He lifts you by the shoulder, forcing your head towards him as he claims your lips in a heated kiss. He swallows your moans, your whimpers and sucks your tongue until you’re compeltly pliant against him.

Once he’s finished, the fog starts to dissipate until it’s only the two of you, lying in the dirt, panting, the fire alive once again. Jack kisses the top of your head before pulling out, and you look away, his spend drips from you, making a mess between your thighs, your face heats up.

He tenderly cradles the side of your. Jack smiles and you can’t help but smile as well, burying your face into his palm.

“That was—damn,” you manage to say. You blink and sit up, looking around you. There’s nothing but darkness and the sound of crickets.

“Seems like your daddy took care of you,” Jack purrs, pecking your lips before pulling you into an embrace. You glare at him as he nuzzles your neck.

“If you mention that to anyone else I’ll kill you.”

He laughs whole heatedly, “I don’t kiss and tell, sweetheart. Don’t you worry that pretty head of yours.”

“So the Eidolon Veil moved on,” you say, changing the subject. “I guess it was well fed.”

“It seems like it,” he responds, kissing your forehead. Your heart flutters. “C’mere, let’s get you dressed before you catch a cold. We still have a whole lot of investigatin’ to do tomorrow.”

“Can’t we just stay like this? A little longer?”

He kisses your temple this time, his warmth seeping into your back. “‘Course we can, darlin’.”

You lean into his embrace and he manages to pull one of the blankets from his pack, covering you. Your eyes trail the stars in the sky.

Little moments of peace like this are worth savoring just a bit longer.

#jack daniels x reader #jack daniels x you #jack daniels x female reader #agent whiskey x reader #agent whiskey x you #agent whiskey x female reader #kingsman the golden circle fic #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fic #hauntedhoedown

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