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torukmaktoskxawng · 11 months

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tsamsiyu ta’em - a new leaf part two

Masterlist - part five

Summary: Desertion must run in the family.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 9k+

Taglist (bold indicates “could not tag”): @mooniequeen @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @heart-an0n @amiets2 @slutforsmut4ever @yeosxxx @im-in-a-pansexual-panik

Warnings: canon-compliant, canon-typical violence, mature language, adult content, slow burn, polyamory, found family, cool aunt agenda, alien/human (technically avatar), jake sully sister agenda, time skips, I'm trying to hurry up and get to the good parts so bear with me, fluff, angst, adopted spider, tags to be added

A/N: Thank you so much for 300 followers! 🎉

Right from the start of the day, Jake knew something or someone was bothering his sister. She was quiet, she kept to herself, and she went stiff when anyone came near her. It was as though they were right back at the start when he first brought Kayla to High Camp. What was worse is that the kids had noticed and asked their father what was wrong with Auntie, and Jake couldn't afford to tell them that he didn't have all the answers and he had been wondering the same thing. A small part of him was scared that something had happened to her back at Bridgehead or maybe she was changing her mind about staying. Whatever was wrong, Toruk Makto needed to fix it, one way or another.

She had been particularly moody to him all day, but unfortunately, she had to be in close proximity to her brother when they were both given the task of tending to the ikran and their harnesses. She decided to be silent, cold, and distant as they worked. Jake decided not to push his luck and worked in silence alongside her, just trying to be a comforting presence despite not knowing what was wrong. He did, however, notice other presences around them, and they were paying particularly close attention to his sister.

It was a small group of young Na'vi warriors, likely around Kayla's age if not a little younger. They stood off to the side, openly staring at Kayla and whispering to each other. Jake couldn't tell if they were curious or making fools of themselves by mocking her, but Kayla didn't appear to even notice them at first. Then, some avatar scientists joined the group, also publicly gawking at Kayla when their fellow Na'vi friends whispered to them, too. They laughed quietly among themselves and one unfortunate bastard was cursed with a snorty laugh that drew Kayla's attention to the group, sharp eyes locking onto them before she could even blink. The whole group quickly turned away, all either embarrassed or ashamed.

Jake took this opportunity to laugh and lighten the mood, "You've got a growing group of admirers, it would seem."

Kayla paused, still watching the group of men and women now clearly avoiding her gaze before actively ignoring them, bringing her eyes back down to her hands as she worked on weaving together a spare banshee harness. Jake huffed with amusement, "What? Not your type?"

"Not my priority," she muttered, "Besides, I'm pretty sure they're not staring at me because they wanna get some."

"Does that mean you have someone?"

Her eyes shoot up to him like a bullet, narrowed and glaring into his soul as she spits out, "Would I have come to Pandora alone if I did? I'm not the one who abandons people when they need me."

The silence is thick and palpable, able to cut through with a knife. Both Sullys stare at one another, unblinking. One stared in shock while the other glared in rage, but it's not hard to tell which is which.

Jake swallowed back the emotions when his throat suddenly dried, ears lowering in shame, "I'm sorry."

"After all, 'Sullys stick together', right?" She mocked, and one look at her and Jake could tell why she was suddenly pissed off at him. The shame quickly eats him up and threatens to spit him out as her voice wavered, "Usually, I'd find it sweet that you taught your kids some of our family's old traditions... but when that tradition ended up becoming a lie--"

"I was going through it," he tried making up excuses as a desperate attempt of calming her, "I wasn't thinking."

"You were going through it?" She huffs out a laugh of disbelief, the smile that briefly graced her lips was vile and hysterical, "I get that you were twins, Jake. But Tom was my brother, too."

Jake lowered his eyes, unable to look at her any longer. It seems as though Kayla can't just settle on one emotion, all her thoughts that have been stewing for some time beginning to boil over like a volcano. Her voice shook, either in rage or distress, Jake didn't want to look up and find out. "And for a while there, I thought I lost both of you."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are. Doesn't excuse the fact that you left me all alone, found yourself a wife, and had a few kids all the while letting your sister believe you were dead!" She snapped, growing angrier by the minute when tears started to brew in her eyes. She didn't want to cry. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to punch him and scream but she was frustrated because she had clearly missed that opportunity when they first reunited, "I missed out on so much of your life, Jake. I missed out on their lives, and you didn't care."

"I did care. I still care--"

"You didn't. If I recall, the last thing you ever said to me was 'have a good life, kid' in that passive-aggressive tone of yours."

His eyes flick up to hers, "And your last words to me were even less than friendly."

"Sue me." Kayla snarled back, quick as lightning, "My brother abandoned me on a dying planet, all alone, and didn't bother to make sure I was taken care of."

The wording felt like heavy lead beginning to build in Jake's gut, tilting his head curiously at her, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just did exactly what you told me to do. I grew up." His ears pin to his skull as his mind prompted him to a distant memory of the last time he ever spoke to Kayla. The shame and humiliation were evident in his eyes when she glared back, "To make ends meet I became a marine. You didn't give me much of a choice."

His hand reaches out before his brain could order it to do so, "Kayla--"

She hissed ferociously for her first attempt, the sound coming low from her chest and throat, baring her sharps fangs at her brother, "Don't fucking touch me."

Jake pulls his arms back, afraid she'd bite, and raised them in surrender so she had a clear view of both of them. Defeated, Jake keeps himself back and willingly exposes himself to her verbal lashings, "Alright, let's hear it. I wasn't sure how long it would take us to talk about it. But there's no easy way around it. So come on. Let's talk."

Her eyes were still pooling, threatening to spill, as she shook her head when words failed, "Maybe we shouldn't."

"No, we should. I knew this was coming. Go ahead."

She took a moment to try and find the right words, but there weren't any that she hadn't already said. Instead, Kayla confessed what she had been feeling all this time after having bottled it up for so long, "Initially I was glad that you're still alive. Now that the initial shock and relief have worn off-- fuck you, Jake."

She picked up her work and turned a full one-eighty, walking away and keeping her head low so no one would think she was making a scene. She wasn't able to get far before Jake comes after her, being sure not to touch her, and instead making her stop in her tracks when he rushed around to cut off her escape, "Look, Kayla, wait-- hate me all you want. I know I deserve it. But don't take it out on anyone else but me."

The words were enough to confuse Kayla as her rushing thoughts pause, peering up at Jake in puzzlement, "What makes you think I would do that?"

"I can't afford not to," his whole posture displayed the stern form of an olo'eyktan, shoulders stiff with the weight of hundreds of lives relying on him, "Kayla, you and I, right now, are on opposite sides of a war. Alright?"

The firm reminder breaks the spell and Kayla quickly looks away, deciding to focus on a Na'vi child in the distance, running away from their mother as they laughed instead. Jake sidesteps until he's in her field of view again and she is forced to make eye contact. His expression stays serious, like a father talking down to their child, "Whatever punishment you think I deserve for what I did, I'll take it gladly. But don't do anything to punish anyone else, like telling Ardmore where we are. Don't feed my family to the wolves for my mistakes."

It hurt to think that after everything Kayla has seen in these last few months, Jake would believe she could possibly do something so monstrous. Her eyes widen at him, shattered as she voiced this in such a soft tone, "Do you honestly think I could do something like that?"

He doesn't relent even though he wants to. He wants to believe his sister loved his kids and would never throw them under the bus for crimes he committed, but he's seen too much. He knows what people like Ardmore are capable of, and has seen firsthand what they can do to get what they want. "It's like you said. Twenty years is a long time but it's enough for someone to change. And the side that you're fighting for, the Sky People... They have done nothing but hurt the Na'vi. They've killed animals, entire ecosystems, and even the People themselves. I watched them destroy Neytiri's home and there were many casualties. Men, women, and children. All for what? For the ore that lay underneath. I thought we had driven them away but now they're back, and they're more ruthless than before. That field outside Bridgehead. The Kill Zone? That used to be a forest. A beautiful, powerful, living forest. And now it's gone. Burnt down to the dry desert it now is."

Kayla's eyes dart away, her expression crumbling into a whole range of emotions that she tried to contain, conflict and sadness being only a couple of them. Jake doesn't relent, "Come on, Kayla, you know I'm right. You know what the Sky People are doing is wrong."

It was a weak attempt at defending herself and her species, but Kayla's sisterly instinct to argue with her brother was a lot stronger than common sense, "... They're my people. They're your people."

"No." He shut her down firmly, harshly, "I chose my people. I chose people who love life. 'People who love the ground they walk on and respect the animals they hunt. They believe that everything must return to the dirt so life can start all over again. When have you ever seen a human give back?" When he's met with silence, he takes a different approach, "You're a soldier, Kayla. Soldiers don't have the freedom to make their own choices. They're not allowed to feel or have their own opinions. I would know because I was a soldier, too. I was just like you. But now I'm a warrior."

She frowns, staring up through her eyebrows with doubt evident through her yellow orbs, "There's a difference?"

"Yes. Warriors are loyal and brave. They have honor. They're not mindless animals who only do what they're told regardless of whether or not what they're doing is wrong. Only a soldier does that. I refuse to be a soldier ever again."

The arguing side of her finally gives in, exhausted from spewing all her emotions out all at once in the heat of the moment. She just wants to sleep now, and at this point, she'll do whatever it takes to get back to her nivi, "What do you want from me?"

The opportunity presents itself and Jake finally admits the motivation behind bringing her here in the first place, "I'm asking you to stop being a soldier and start being a warrior. Join us. Join us and learn to love life again as you did before. Stay here. Be a part of our family. Fight for the survival of our family." Kayla looked as though she had expected him to say this, but still appeared unsure, scared of the danger of staying. Jake took a brave step forward and gently placed his hands on either of her shoulders, "My kids love you and they need you. Do you love them?"

She thought of Neteyam, so kind and brave and nurturing. Kiri, so full of hope and life and is just trying to know herself. Lo'ak, desperate for approval and to make himself seen, yet so reckless and funny. Sweet Little Tuk, so full of love for everyone around her and all-inclusive when showing her creativity and happiness. Kayla even thought about Spider, who smiles and laughs with her and tries to make her feel welcome, despite being an odd teenager who has yet to figure out how adult life works. Going beyond the kids, Kayla thought about Neytiri and Norm, people who have included her in everything and accepted her despite their differences, and who have grown to be her friends and family. Kayla's eyes briefly flick back to Jake and nodded, "Yes."

He smiled, "And the forest? The colors? The people?"

"Yes."

"All of that will go away if the Sky People continue to stay here. They'll dig up and burn every tree all the way down to the roots. They'll be an infestation to this world that you've grown to love. Please, Kayla. Stay here."

Determination and desperation intertwine on his face, and Kayla hated how she had to be the one to break such confidence in him. She partially wondered when did their roles reverse, where she had given up but he had hope. Maybe it had been when he first came to Pandora and saw his life through other people's eyes did he decide to change, and even though Kayla was proud of her brother for becoming a better man, she still felt the hurt of abandonment. Despite wishing she could hurt him as he hurt her, she didn't want it to be like this, "I can't, Jake."

His face had started to fall before she could quickly add, "Not when my real consciousness is in Bridgehead. As long as my body's there, I'll always have to go back."

He breathed a small sigh of relief through his nose, calm now that he knew she wanted to stay but just couldn't find the courage to do so, "Then wake up and run away."

"... How?"

"I have a plan."

~~~~~~~~~

The nights were a little cold high up in the cave systems of the floating mountains, but Kayla was ignoring the cold in exchange for looking into a cracked mirror hung up off to the side of the Longhouse, meant to be used for when the avatars needed to do their nightly routines. Kayla purposely waited until she was the last one to use the mirror for the night, the other avatars already lying in their hammocks, waiting for lights out to be called.

Her reflection was something she had only just begun to get used to. Big, yellow eyes, and cerulean skin with natural, flowing blue stripes perfectly shaping the angles of her face. Kayla pressed a finger to one of the many star-glittered freckles on her cheek that she had recently learned the Na'vi call tanhì. She followed the design for a while, losing count after twenty and then meeting her cat-like eyes in her reflection.

It was a face she was going to have to get used to if she was really going to go through with this. She once saw the avatar as a separate person entirely, but now she understood that they are one in the same both mind and soul. No matter what form she took, either blue or peach, she was still Kayla, and she had to remind herself of that every day in the mirror, no matter what reflection was looking at her. Although she was beginning to wonder just how much time she’ll be spending in her human body after tonight.

A plan had been set and now all she had to do was go to sleep and wake up in Bridgehead. Easier said than done, her nerves acting as a stimulant to keep her awake. Already, she was hearing snores coming from the biolab trailer. She heard quiet chatter in the distance, but other than that, the whole camp was asleep, marking just how late her rushing thoughts kept her up. Taking one last look at her avatar, she finally pulls away from the mirror and gets comfortable in her hammock, internally asking Eywa to wish her luck before closing her eyes.

She's awoken by the same blinding white lights and lab coats, asking a hundred questions a minute while routinely going through the motions of giving her nutrition and simultaneously taking blood samples through various needles and tubes in the crooks of her arms. Kayla blankly stared at her pale arms, a little thinner than normal. She hadn't had time to take care of her body in between links and decided that this should be one of the many reasons she needs to leave. Her stomach growled at the idea of freshly cooked teylu waiting for her back at High Camp and was extremely disappointed when a scientist handed her a granola bar instead. Finally, after they had bandaged her fresh wounds and were satisfied with her answers, Kayla stood from the ledge of the link bay and steadied herself,

"I need to talk to General Ardmore."

The general was summoned and brought to the biolab by the time Kayla was offered water and a full meal. The corporal even had time to pull her hair up into a more respectable bun before she would stand in attention for the general. Frances Ardmore walked in and Kayla salutes stiffly, keeping her eyes lowered until she had been given permission to speak.

"Report."

Kayla looked up with a stern look in her eye and a monotone voice, lying through her teeth gracefully, "There's a crash site near the location of what used to be the Na'vi's Hometree. A gunship with some bodies inside. It's not my brother, I know, but with your permission, General, I'd like to go out there and extract them."

"With your avatar?"

"Just myself, ma'am. I had to leave my avatar behind at the crash site." The general's eyes narrow and so Kayla quickly adds before she could be interrupted, "She's safely hidden, I assure you, but I left a tracker on her so I can find my way back. With your permission, I'd like to take a gunship out there and I'll retrieve the remains myself and bring them back so they can be properly identified and sent home to their families. There won't be any need for extra manpower or wasted supplies."

Ardmore didn't speak for a while, and Kayla had to use every muscle in her face to keep herself from smiling at the idea of Ardmore trying to remind herself that she needs to act sympathetic to the families of possibly deceased soldiers. Kayla was sure that Ardmore could care less about some bodies that were over a decade old, but courtesy forces her to be civil as she curtly nods to Kayla, "Permission granted. You get there, you extract the remains and come right back. That's it."

"Yes, ma'am."

The next morning, with a large satchel of "rations" at her hip, a mask over her face, and an AR rifle strapped to her back, Kayla is led to a gunship and then left alone. Remembering her previous training, Kayla strapped herself in and begin the process of starting up the engines while waiting for Control to clear her for take-off. Finally, she gets her orders and she barely contains her eagerness when responding cordially and taking off, floating up into the air before flying away. Silently repeating the rendevous coordinates Jake had provided her the day before, Kayla beelined in the direction of what used to be the Omatikaya's home.

In Sector Twelve, about ninety-three kilometers from the abandoned Hell's Gate facility, now sat a slowly healing memorial site of Hometree. Kayla had heard stories about this place, mostly from Mo'at, Neytiri, and even Neteyam, despite the fact the young Na'vi boy had never seen its former beauty before the RDA had decimated it. Despite never seeing it stand tall and mighty, Neteyam told stories that he had heard from the Na'vi around him who had seen it. He even proudly stated how his own bow, much like his mother's and maternal grandfather's, was made from the wood of Hometree. It is from Neteyam's stories that now let Kayla's imagination run wild as her gunship slowly circles around the site of the former home of the Omatikaya.

Most of it was still barren, Eywa's hold not yet fully restored over this land. Plants and signs of life were visibly, but not yet solidified. The great corpse of such a large, magnificent tree was still visibly, lying across the landscape like a fallen giant. Vegetation was growing all around its trunk, uproots, and branches, cementing it to the forest floor where it will one day fully return to the dirt to give back what it had taken from the Great Mother. Neytiri once told Kayla that the tree will likely not fully decay under her children's grandchildren are born, but by then, she hopes that more songs will be sung for them to remember it by.

Reaching her destination, Kayla slowly lowers her gunship to the forest floor but wisely chooses to stay inside the vessel, knowing that the world's immune system will not take her presence lightly-- not in this mundane form. She anxiously waits, breath somewhat shaking when she exhales, and purposely cuts the engine. She won't be needing to bring this gunship home, after all.

She's thankful that she doesn't have to wait for very long, hearing the familiar, echoing call of an ikran approaching. Sighting familiar blue and purple wings, Kayla grabs her things and climbs out of the gunship, double-checking that her mask was tightly secured before stepping out into Pandoran air. Tightly holding the strap of her bag, she makes the trek over to the ikran and its rider, who has landed a bit of distance away from the gunship out of paranoia.

Jake sucked in a sharp breath of air, his expression solemn and grave as he took in the human form of his sister, in the flesh, for the first time in over two decades. She was shorter than he remembered, with her dirty-colored hair cut to her shoulders and those familiar, Sully blue eyes staring back up at him through her mask. It was like staring at a ghost, haunted by several memories and none of which Jake was entirely proud of, given the latest argument with his sister. Kayla stared back at him with an all-knowing gaze, equally somber and grim as she stood off to the side of his ikran, patiently waiting. Bob had bristled underneath his rider, clearly uneasy about the human beside him, but through the bond, the banshee kept mostly to himself, aware that he was not allowed to eat this human. Jake broke off tsaheylu and dismounted, trudging over to Kayla and motioning her to lift her arms.

"You're a lot smaller than I remember." He stated slyly while inspecting her person for any trackers or listening devices, gently taking the bag from her shoulder and flipping it open.

"Last I checked, I was taller than you in your wheelchair, so watch yourself."

He glanced up from the bag and hissed playfully at her, causing a small smirk to form behind the glass of her mask. Jake hands her back her belongings and then rejoined his ikran, taking a few sticks of dynamite and a detonator out from the pockets of his saddle.

Kayla frowned at the sight of the explosives, glancing between them and the gunship, "Are you sure you don't want another gunship on your side? Two is better than one."

The Na'vi shook his head, "We can't risk it. For all we know, the RDA is tracking all their gear now."

Sighing in defeat, Kayla nods and stands off to the side while Jake rigs the gunship with explosives and calibrates the blasting cap with a timer. He walks back to his ikran, forming tsaheylu before hopping on and reaching down to Kayla with an offered hand. She takes it willingly and allows him to lift her up on the banshee while Bob grunts disapprovingly at the added weight. Jake places Kayla in front of him on the saddle and they take to the sky, high enough to be out of range when Jake finally hits the button setting off the detonator.

The gunship explodes in a blooming flower of fire and debris, the smoke rising into the air in the form of a small mushroom cloud. The loud noise disturbs the wildlife momentarily, with small forest ikran and stingbats taking to the sky. Jake doesn't give the explosion much thought as he grabs a tighter hold on Eywa te' Bob tan'sey mak'ta with one hand, but squeezes Kayla's shoulder with the other, "Now with any luck, they'll label you killed in action."

"Or missing." She muttered.

"Ardmore isn't gonna want that kind of paperwork. She would much rather label you as a traitor than start a manhunt looking for you lost in the woods. You said it yourself, she doesn't like wasting resources on just one individual."

"... So that's it? Just like that, we disappear?"

"Not what you were hoping for?" He peered down at her briefly before looking ahead, continuing to fly.

Kayla hesitates, glaring ahead at the skies while internally fighting with herself before finally confessing her inner thoughts, "A part of me thought it would've been easier for the both of us if I never found out you were still alive. We could've just-- lived out the rest of our lives living in our respective worlds."

Jake allows the wind to fill in the silence, noting how defeated she sounded even with her back to him and the air whipping past them, obscuring her voice. He shakes his head despite the fact she couldn't see him, "The 'what if' scenarios aren't a thing around here. We don't believe in that kind of thing. Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens because it is the will of Eywa. I hope, in time, you'll learn to call this world your own as I did, kiddo."

She drops the debate, for the moment, and scoffs distastefully, "Okay, new rule. No more 'kiddo' talk. I'm not a child."

He smirks, "No? Then why are you small like one?"

He earns himself a sharp, small elbow in his ribcage when she reached back at him and a threatening promise, "Just wait, Sully. Soon I'll have your kids pinned against ya with all the stories I have of you up my sleeve. You'll regret the day you decided to pull me into this world."

~~~~~~~~~

Her nerves returned when they flew back to High Camp and a horn was blown to announce their arrival. Bob lands and Jake helps Kayla down before letting the ikran fly away. Na'vi were beginning to gather, and Kayla, yet again, felt more exposed than usual, even more so now as she was given some obvious glares regarding her obvious sky demon body and military clothes. Jake places a hand on the back of her neck, yet again, and led her away, immediately finding his family huddled together in the back of the crowd, waiting for him. He and Kayla part through the Omatikaya that have gathered and now stood in front of the Sullys.

Kayla wasn't surprised to see them all slightly hesitant by her human presence, and even though she couldn't blame them, it still made her stomach clench uncomfortably. She couldn't meet any of their eyes due to the height difference, and to her horror, even Tuk was taller than her in this form. When Kayla's eyes met the youngest Sully child's, Tuk shied away behind her mother's leg, clearly curious but unsure of getting closer. Off to the side, Kayla noticed that Norm, Max, and Spider were also there to greet her, and, much to her disappointment, even they stood taller than her as her fellow humans. The traitors. Kayla has never felt so small in her whole life.

Jake pats Kayla's back in sympathy while addressing the family, "Alright, Sullys. Your Aunt Kayla is going to be a more permanent presence in our lives now, and she's going to need help to feel welcomed as both a human and a Na'vi. I'm counting on you to have her back, okay?"

And of course, Neteyam is dutifully the first to step up, offering his hand out to Kayla with a gentle smile, "It's wonderful to meet you, Auntie-- again."

She sees a small hint of humor behind his eyes and relaxes, taking his hand in both of hers and smiling up at her oldest nephew, "You, too, 'Teyam."

He steps aside when he felt the shadow of his little brother behind him. The ice is broken and Lo'ak is milking the height difference with good-natured laughs and Spider was egging him on, glad that he was no longer the shortest out of the group. Kayla felt a grin twitch on her lips without her consent and pinches Lo'ak's side to make up for it, laughing when he yelped in surprise. Kiri had walked up, holding Tuk's hand so she didn't feel alone and the sight of the girls reminds Kayla that she had come bearing gifts to try to ease the kids back into accepting her.

"Kiri--" she calls out while frantically fishing around in the bag she kept strapped at her hip. Pushing aside a few necessities she had taken with her, she pulled out a book and sighed in relief, smiling up at the girl while holding the gift out to her, "As promised."

Kiri's eyes widen and reached out, gingerly taking the gift as if it was something precious. She read the title and then the author's name before glancing back down to Kayla, eyes and smile warm, "Thank you, Auntie."

Finally, Tuk's shell cracks and she begins by poking and prodding at the human woman that now stood shorter than her, lifting Kayla's arms and inspecting her form in awe before her fingers find her aunt's hair and instantly start playing with it. The girl giggles while stating, "It's so soft! We gotta braid all this, Kiri."

"Tomorrow, sweetheart, okay?" Kayla shines a smile at her youngest niece, who nods eagerly and puts her whole weight into hugging her aunt, who is barely able to catch her before they could fall.

Jake smiles while watching the heartwarming interactions before tapping Human Norm on the shoulder, "You got a space for her, right?"

"Absolutely. The second half of the old shack is still functional and is currently being used as storage. She can have my old bunk if she wants."

Jake's nose scrunched up, a little put off by the suggestion, "I doubt she'd want it if I told her all the things you and Trudy got up to in that bunk. She can have Grace's old space."

Norm snorts while shamefully scratching the back of his head, "Sure thing. Probably a better idea." He breaks away to greet Kayla himself, putting on the widest grin as he stands next to her, comparing their height difference with his hand much like before, "It's nice to see that this transfers, no matter what form you take."

Kayla rolls her eyes and shoves him in the chest, causing Norm to bark out a surprised laugh. Through reacquaintance with her family and friends, Kayla had noticed Neytiri standing off to the side in her peripheral. The human woman took a moment to pointedly stare at the Na'vi woman, their eyes meeting and forming a standstill. Neytiri was stiff, both in posture and expression, a statue that didn't waver against Kayla's gaze. It unsettled the Sully woman but she tried not to show that in her eyes, instead she brought her fingers to her forehead, and lowered them in Neytiri's direction. The Na'vi woman blinked, and with the gesture, her posture began to relax. Neytiri smiled. It wasn't big or emotional, but it was small and sincere. She nodded back in response.

After dinner, Norm brought Human Kayla to her new room she would be sleeping in when out of her avatar body. It was a separate trailer from the biolab, standing on its own and older than some of the buildings the humans have taken from Hell's Gate. Norm explains that the trailer was a part of Site 26, a small mobile link meant for avatar scientists who went off-grid for research in the mountains. He tells the story of how he was part of a small science group who retreated there to work so people like Parker Selfridge and Colonel Miles Quaritch wouldn't be breathing down their necks back in the day. After he and Kayla go through the airlock pressure doors and step inside, Kayla takes off her mask and looks around, immediately noticing a few familiar sights.

The first was a wheelchair, abandoned, covered in dust, tossed off to the side. Clearly, the place needed some cleaning, but Kayla wasn't worried about the dust at the moment. She beelined for the wheelchair, bending down and helping it stand back up on its wheels. Norm stands in the doorway and watches the scene in front of him with a solemn reaction, explaining as she continued to look around, "This is it. This is where Jake and I made our last stand as avatars before the fight. The other half of this shack is where the link bays were, but the trailer was completely demolished back in the war and so we left it abandoned out in the woods."

She moved over to the desk and lifted a picture from its home there, blowing away the layer of dust and revealing the contents of the picture. It was clearly Jake at the front of the group photo, human, sitting in that very same wheelchair, smiling at the camera lens. Kayla's finger briefly traces her brother's old face, willing her mind to remember it after staring at his avatar form for so long. Standing on either side of him was Norm and a woman Kayla didn't recognize. Clearly of a military background, the woman -at least younger back then compared to Kayla now- grinned behind her sunglasses, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and spilling over one side of her shoulders. Behind Jake, with both hands firmly placed on his shoulders, stood an older woman with short, curly red hair and sparkling eyes as she smiled, proudly, at the camera.

Kayla hears Norm shuffling around behind her and gently places the picture down, turning back to him as the male scientist was moving around some old equipment and patting the mattress of a bottom bunk off to the side of the trailer, "This was Grace's bunk. It's yours now."

That night, as she sat alone in her new living quarters, Kayla got to work on making this place feel more like home. The first order of business was to clean away all the old pictures and put up the new ones-- well, not really new compared to the photo of Jake, Norm, and the two women. Kayla retrieved her envelope of pictures and placed one photo on the mini-fridge, inspecting it for a moment before she had to move on.

The picture was definitely older than the ones of Jake and the scientists. It was a picture that was taken roughly a month before Tommy was killed. The twins were sitting on the couch so Jake could feel a bit of normalcy, requesting that his wheelchair be kept out of the frame of the photo. The twins smiled at the camera, and Kayla stood behind the back of the couch, leaning over her brothers with a wide grin on her face. Present Kayla smiles to herself before moving on to the next big step of her life.

~~~~~~~~~

As promised, Kayla spends the next morning and afternoon with her nieces, in human form, so that she can watch and learn how to properly braid Na'vi hair. She learns this by letting the girls use her unconscious avatar as a demonstration. Kayla's avatar hovered in her sleeping hammock, unconscious to the world, while both Kiri and Tuk weave every little bit of her locks into various small, intricate braids, pulling them tight along her scalp and purposely braiding the hair behind her large ears so the locks were out of her face. Kayla watched from off to the side, trying to pay attention even as the braiding took hours to complete. Tuk eventually got bored and left her sister to finish the look before excitedly asking her aunt if she could braid her human hair instead, to which Kayla agreed but only if the braids were larger and didn't take as long.

As the girls worked on both human and Na'vi hair, they decided to share their parents' love story, much to Kayla's awe, amusement, and horror all in one. Of course, she was curious about how her brother and Neytiri met and why Jake decided to turn against his own kind for her, but Kayla wasn't hoping for any specific details. Unfortunately, the Na'vi do not shy away from such topics and even openly talk about it to their young, as Tuk liked to prove to her auntie as she refused to spare her any... scrutinous details.

"-- And then they mated before Eywa!"

Kiri's body and tail go rigid even as she frantically scrambles over hammocks to cover Kayla's ears while berating her loudmouth sister, "Tuk!"

Despite the uncomfortable conversation, Kayla found herself laughing to the point she was crying, holding her ribs as they ached and wheezing until she couldn't breathe. She didn't find the initial storytime hysterical, but Kiri's haste to spare Kayla's dignity, Tuk's innocent gaze, and Kiri's hands practically folded on either side of the human woman's face definitely acted as the cherry on top.

Days went by and Kayla was much more comfortable jumping in and out of her avatar form, even more so now that she wasn't waking up and being constantly poked and prodded. On one of her first days as a human in High Camp, Kayla wore a tank top and was bombarded with concerned questions when Max noticed all the needle scars on her arms. Although she tried not to think about how she was practically a guinea pig for the RDA, her family wasn't letting her forget it. Max must have told Jake because the olo'eyktan regarded his duties for the day to instead take some time to spend with his little sister. He grabbed a child's bow and brought her down to the forest floor to do some fishing, even keeping a spare mask strapped to his hip for her if she needed it. He never asked about the scars, but Kayla could feel his eyes on her arm when she pulled the string of her bow back and tightened her form per his instructions.

After firing and missing a few arrows, clearly distracted by his stares, she sighed heavily before turning to look up at him, "It'll never happen again, thanks to you."

~~~~~~~~~

In between lessons, Kayla was finally getting to know other humans who honorably live among the Omatikaya. One individual, Jocelyn, was one of Kayla's personal favorites, aside from Norm and Max. Jocelyn was a biolab tech and didn't own an avatar, so she goes about her day normally, as a human, with a breather mask always secured on her face. Her knowledge stemmed from fixing vital technology -to help the humans survive- all the way to medical training -to keep the avatars kicking-. Not only did she live among the Na'vi, she talks to them fluently, and they don't appear bothered by her tiny presence. Kayla often sees Jocelyn, short as she is, trailing after a couple of young Na'vi hunters. Two young men, to be precise, who always love showing their little sky demon friend things they've brought back from their travels outside High Camp. They always let Jocelyn take samples and further inspect whatever they bring home. Not only was she a technician and a healer, she was also a scientist and she was always hungry for more knowledge of the world she lived in.

But even though she's full of wonder and excitement, she is also pretty strict. The kids in particular exasperate Jocelyn and Kayla always gets a kick out of watching her trying to wrangle the Sully kids whenever Spider sneaks them around the biolab. Kayla has interacted with Jocelyn loads of times at this point and always found her intriguing, but this took the cake, especially when she noticed how Spider practically had the female biotech wrapped around his finger. To be fair, Spider has most of the human scientists and avatars wrapped around his finger. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the humans left behind on Pandora were no exception when it came to raising Spider.

However, despite this, Kayla couldn't help but wonder why Spider doesn't hang out with anyone else outside of the humans and the Sullys. He's an overall good kid and he's passionate about the Na'vi culture. If it weren't for the physical looks, Kayla would've definitely thought he was one of the Omatikaya when they first met.

She decides to ask him about this one day when Spider decided to sit down and teach her more of the language. Kayla was in her avatar form that day, now sporting tightly braided hair with beads that clicked when she walked. Kayla had to admit that she liked her new look even more knowing that her nieces had woven her a new identity. Spider appeared relaxed while teaching her certain words that are generally used in combat while her mind was still buzzing with her own questions.

"So do you just hang out with Kiri and Lo'ak or do you have other friends?"

Spider shrugged, "Some of the other scientists had kids while being stuck here, but I was older than all of them so I didn't play with them much."

Kayla nods, indicating she was listening. She had been told of Ardmore's initial threats to the humans who harbored Jake Sully and the Omatikaya when the Sky People first returned to Pandora. Some humans, especially the ones with families, stood down and surrendered in exchange for full pardons and safety for their children. That included Spider's foster family, the McCoskers. From what Kayla has heard, Spider's foster family was not the greatest of guardians, especially the foster father. He had betrayed Jake and the Na'vi to Ardmore, being responsible for the deaths of fellow humans who sympathized with the Omatikaya. Jake didn't go into depth with what happened to the McCoskers and the other humans who surrendered, but she assumed that for Spider's own sake, no one wanted to mention them now that they're gone.

Spider didn't appear to notice Kayla's inner turmoil as he continued, "Tuk is kinda in the same boat. I hung out with Neteyam for a while there. We're the closest in age... but he hasn't really been wanting to hang out anymore."

"Why not?"

The boy stares off in the distance, unable to keep his eyes on Kayla for long before he has to look away again as he muttered, "Probably because he's training to be the next olo'eykan. Which is fine. Good for him."

It sounded only partially genuine, and Kayla doesn't back down, "But Kiri can still hang out with you even as... uh... what's the word for tsahik in training?"

"Tsakarem."

"Right." Silence lingers until Kayla braves awkward silence, "It... it doesn't have to do with whatever Neytiri has against you, does it?"

A scowl immediately forms behind the breathing mask, "She hates me. Hates the fact her kids love me even more."

"From my experience, it doesn't take much to be on her bad side," she tried lightening up the mood, "I wouldn't sweat it too much, kid."

"You don't get it."

"Don't I? I know she's not overly fond of humans."

"It's more than that with me. To her... I remind her of the man who nearly took everything from her family. My father was Quaritch."

The name sounds bitter on Spider's tongue, clearly a bad taste for him. Kayla's comically big and yellow eyes widen even further, "You mean the colonel who ran security at the mine before the humans were sent back to Earth?"

He only nods and she hisses in sympathy, "Shit. Okay, I can see why you'd have a hard time getting on Neytiri's good side."

"Yeah. No kidding."

~~~~~~~~~

Unlike Spider, it didn't take Kayla a whole lot to get on Neytiri's good side, but it's not as though she had to try. Neytiri was already warming up to Kayla, both in and out of her avatar form. The Na'vi woman sometimes enjoyed Kayla's presence in her human body, despite not wanting to be around the other Sky People that live amongst her clan. In many ways, Neytiri felt as though she was with Grace or Sylwanin again. They would've loved Makayla Sully. She was more level-headed than Jake -or at least compared to when he was younger- and she was observant, someone who calculates before doing anything. She thought ahead and she always had something Neytiri remembered Grace calling 'common sense'.

Neytiri grew to appreciate Kayla and would fondly watch her interact with Jake. Neytiri was aware that her mate had at least one sibling in the past, but up until now, she could only imagine what kind of a brother he was. With Kayla around, Neytiri got to see a side of her husband he hadn't let anyone see before. With Kayla around, a bit of mischief returns to his eyes, always ready to tease his sister without a second thought, regardless of who was watching. Mo'at wanted to berate the olo'eyktan for such childish behavior, but Neytiri was quick to silence her mother, "They need time to be reacquainted as siblings."

And siblings they were. Neytiri often smiled when around the adult Sully siblings. Watching Jake and Kayla interact often reminded her of other sibling duos, such as Neteyam and Kiri, or even herself and Sylwanin. But it's not to say Jake and Kayla were the most perfect siblings. Kayla still had trouble forgiving Jake for past mistakes and would often remind him of said mistakes just to add dirt to the fresh, reopened wound. Neytiri understands why Kayla must hurt Jake the way she had been hurt, but Jake was still Neytiri's husband and she was protective -if not a little possessive- of him. So, to try and find peace between the brother and sister, Neytiri decides to take Kayla hunting without Jake present.

Kayla didn't refuse, slipping into her avatar form and excitedly following Neytiri to her ikran. The pair fly down to the forest floor and immediately pick up a trail that had to be yerik. While tracking the animal down, Neytiri found it the best time to breach the topic, "Jake tries his best to help you feel at home here. You try your best to push him away."

Blunt as ever, she takes Kayla off guard, the female avatar turning back to face her with wide eyes. They stood in silence, the hunt momentarily forgotten until Kayla's mind catches up to her and she shakes off the initial shock. She turns back to the task at hand, following the tracks Neytiri had instructed her to follow with a scowl on her face, "Jake was the one who told me that relying on others won't help when you're trying to survive. I'm just living up to his advice."

"He's not like that. Not Ma Jake."

"Then congratulations, Neytiri," she exclaimed sarcastically, "You got to experience the best side of him. I didn't. I lost a brother before him. I can do it again."

"Can you?"

She is met with silence again, staring at the back of Kayla's head. Neytiri took the moment to admire the braids her daughters have woven into their aunt's hair before bringing herself back to the present and gently adding, "I understand."

"Do you?"

"I lost my sister," Neytiri forced out, her tongue tasting bitter from the words. She never said such things out loud, and the shock that sinks into Kayla's face was one of the reasons why. Neytiri despised any pity people send her way after everything she's lost. She didn't want the pity, especially now when she has more family than she ever thought she'd have. "The Sky People murdered her right in front of me. I was only a little older than Neteyam when it happened."

Kayla's mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with something comforting to say but the only words that come out are her initial thoughts, "Oh, my God. I'm sorry."

Neytiri tightens her lips together and briefly smiles before letting it fall, having heard all those words before. She took point in the hunt, walking ahead while following the tracks so she wouldn't have to look at her sister-in-law, "Can I ask? What happened to Tomsully?"

"He was killed," Kayla explained automatedly, "Some... murderer with a gun shot him down in the streets and left him to die alone. It was cold and raining that day. They said he didn't suffer, but..." Kayla shook her head to refrain from thinking about it, "I wasn't there. Neither was Jake. I was job searching and Jake was out drinking his life away. He never mentioned?"

"He grieves as I do. I don't talk of my sister. My children don't know enough about her. Ma Jake says little about his old life."

Kayla swallowed thickly, eyes hard as she stared at the back of Neytiri's head, "Let me guess. He never mentioned me."

The Na'vi woman paused in her steps, hesitating before finally turning back to meet Kayla's eyes, "I did not know he had a sister until you came here."

That stung. It stung knowing that neither women were ever aware of each other until now but Kayla couldn't wrap her head around another mystery, "So-- how are you so calm about all of this? Why are you so accepting of me? I'm part of the same species that's responsible for your sister's death."

"So is Ma Jake."

"But you're not hostile toward me like you had been when you first met Jake, or so I'm told. Why?"

Neytiri smiles, opening her mouth and taking a breath before whispering, "... You are my husband's sister. He shares your blood... as do my children."

She steps closer to Kayla, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, much to Kayla's surprise as Neytiri proclaims, "You are Makayla te Suli tsmuke te Toruk Makto. You are my family now. Ma tsmuke."

Kayla's ears and tail twitch in attention to the sound of her name, using her newly gained knowledge of the language to finally understand what her sister-in-law said. Slowly, a smile formed on her lips, warm and quivering ever so slightly, nodding to Neytiri when she didn't have any other words to say.

She had always wanted a sister.

~~~~~~~~~

By the time the kids had gotten used to Kayla's human form, they were dying to show her their world through her eyes and not her avatars'. Without her night vision, everything glowed so beautifully at night and Spider suggested taking her to some fields to watch the fan lizards fly. Lo'ak was immediately all for the idea, dragging the rest of his siblings into it so they could all go. His parents were hesitant at first, but then Kayla reassured them that she'll keep a close eye on the children and so Jake and Neytiri relaxed before seeing them all off, wishing them to have fun.

The children didn't waste time once they were deep in the forest, hunting for kenten as eclipse rolled around. Before she could blink, Kayla was completely surrounded by floating lizards, glowing in many shapes and colors, flying above her head with helicopter-like wings. All the kids laughed at her reaction, the human gobsmacked by such wonder. Tuk tugged her along and the kids all began running around in the fields, disrupting more fan lizards and laughing as the animals took to the sky, igniting the world around them with their soft lights.

Kayla stood off to the side, watching the children and laughing with them. After a time, Spider had taken a break from the fun and collapsed on the ground at Kayla's feet, laughing in between catching his breath. Looking up, he noticed the adult's eyes on his and his smile immediately fell, quickly turning his eyes away to watch his friends play in the fields while trying his best to ignore Kayla's stares and shrink in on himself.

Kayla didn't take it to heart, only bluntly stating what she thought, "You prefer me in my avatar form, don't you?"

Spider's shoulders rise and fall but he still couldn't look at her, "... Sorry."

"No sweat. Can I ask why?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"I think I do. Can I guess?" Spider shrugs again and Kayla plops down in the spot beside him, resting her arms over her knees when she brought her legs up close to her chest, "Originally I only wanted to hang out with you and the other humans in my own skin so you didn't feel intimidated, but I think you're actually more intimidated by humans compared to Na'vi. You prefer my avatar because it's all you've ever known living here."

They sit in silence apart from the Sully kids laughing when one of the kenten decided to land on Lo'ak's face to rest. Spider huffed a small laugh at the scene but otherwise didn't say anything. Kayla grabs his attention again by elbowing him, "It's not a bad thing."

"It's not?"

"Why would it?"

He spares a glance at her, the reflection from both of their masks making it difficult to find her eyes right away, "You don't think it's bad that I prefer hanging out with a species other than my own?"

She flashed an amused, exasperated expression, "Kid, my brother permanently transferred his soul from one body to another of a completely different species. Do you think I'm one to judge you when you're the one teaching me the Na'vi ways and hanging out with my brother's kids?"

She laughed and Spider's ears heat up in shame, a little embarrassed for assuming the worst out of her. He looked away and mumbled under his breath, "My foster family didn't want me to forget where I came from."

"That's not bad either unless they forced you..." Initially, Kayla brushed off the silence until it began to linger too long, then she spared a glance back at Spider. He was stiff, unable to stare back while stubbornly keeping his eyes on the Sully kids. Kayla's eyebrows furrow, "Did they force you?"

"... What is Earth like?"

"Sure. You strike me as the kind of guy who would like music concerts. I'll start there."

Beating around the topic and finding a new one. Classic. It almost would have been easier if Spider had just said 'yes', but Kayla doesn't scold him. Instead, she hums, staring up at the stars as she thought back to her homeworld, "Nothing you would miss, kiddo."

"Can you tell me things I might've missed?"

A/N: Jocelyn is technically one of the many unnamed scientists we see in the Way of Water. She's the one who Tuk annoys with her toy in her first scene and further gets after the teens when they cut through the Avatar Longhouse. She technically doesn't have a name but I used her actress' real name to fill in the blanks.

Sorry if this felt a little rushed, but the next chapter is gonna be the start of the events that transpire during the Way of Water! Buckle up! We're getting close and I'm so excited to share with ya'll! Thank you so much for the support!

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kiwisbell · 7 months

Text

The Light of the Stars: Chapter 2 [din djarin]

Your celebration for Din’s name day goes horribly wrong. And a group of pirates sees the worst of your Mandalorian.

chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3

read part one here (not necessary, but encouraged!): told before and told again

series masterlist | my masterlist!

pairing: din djarin x f!reader

rating: 18+ (mdni)

tags and warnings: established relationship, unprotected piv (no following the leader), the helmet stays on, but the gloves come off, in more ways than one, hand kink???, animal handler!reader, grogu being a good kid, extremely protective din, kidnapping, BAMF din, din gets mad, dirty talk, fingering, blood and violence, creampie, rough sex, multiple orgasms, top din, soft din, din fucking the babysitter, extreme amounts of fluff, din is in love, mando'a pet names, porn with feelings, porn with plot (there actually is a plot this time), feral din, din is touch-starved, it's din's birthday!! (sort of), din djarin being so in love that it's disgusting

word count: ~ 5k

chapter 2: where the lonely wind abides

Happening upon an impromptu festival on Nevarro, you try to find your Mandalorian a name day gift. But someone is watching from the crowd.

Nobody knows when or how it happens. Time is an ever-reaching rope to the stars and it disappears into the unfathomable blackness between them. At some point in that blackness, the word gets out that the most infamous Mandalorian in the Outer Rim is travelling with not one, but two companions.

“You’re kidding.” The pirate lifts his brows at the holopad, managing a sideways glance at his partner. Her image is perfectly clear, as is the chain code beneath it.

“That look like a joke?” His companion tosses back his pint of spotchka and swipes the sleeve of his ratty jacket over his mouth. “This could be how we get our money back from that hunk of junk. She's a pretty picture, ain't she?”

“Sure, she's pretty. That mean she's worth a trip across the galaxy?”

His partner just grins. A couple golden teeth glimmer in the light of the bar. “Isn't a pretty face always worth it?”

He thinks about it. It isn’t like there’s a bounty to collect on the girl. In fact, it seems she has never pissed off a single being in the ‘verse—there’s so little information besides the chain code that the pirate wonders if this Mandalorian has intimidated some people into keeping her existence as discreet as possible. Certainly, she’s a captivating sight to behold. From his pocket, the pirate produces a credit. The small rectangle is all that remains of the botched deal, of his crew. That, and the man next to him.

In the cycle and some months since the incident, the pirate has turned the idea of revenge over and over in his head. It had seemed pointless at the time—the Mandalorian was able to overwhelm his forces for a reason. He is capable. He is a skilled warrior. The pirate’s forces are depleted; how could he have hoped to track down the Mandalorian and claim revenge for the massacre of his crew?

Now, he is presented with a new angle. Perhaps it will be worth it.

She is a lovely thing.

“Well.” The pirate slams down his own spotchka and beckons for another from the droid behind the counter. “I’d like a taste of the girl who’s won the favour of such a deadly warrior.”

High Magistrate Greef Karga is the first to greet you when the Razor Crest touches down. Your cloak weighs you down more than your typical clothes, the hood protecting you from the sun and from prying eyes, but Karga is beaming at you. Wrapped comfortably in a sling at your hip, Grogu makes grabbing motions at his human friend.

“It’s been a long time, my friends,” booms Karga, all widespread arms and dramatic displays. “What brings you to Nevarro?”

Behind you, Din is occupied with scolding a droid who seems to want to fiddle with the once-again-faulty control panel at the ramp. So, you smile apologetically at Greef Karga. “It’s his name day,” you inform him in a hushed voice. “Don’t mention it, though. It’ll make him grumpy. I want to find him a gift.”

“Well,” says Karga in a thoroughly amused tone, “there’s plenty here to find since we started rebuilding this town. Anything particular you have in mind?”

You ponder the question for a moment, bounding Grogu on your hip. “Something he can fight with,” you decide. “He’ll appreciate weapons the most.”

Greef Karga shakes his head good-naturedly. “Nevarro can only handle one Mandalorian. They would clean our blacksmiths out of house and home.”

“I still may.” You smile up at him, squinting a bit in the sunlight. “Could you point me in the right direction?”

“Well, your typical route might find some delays,” he tells you. Frowning, you try to peer behind him into town, but you’re too far away. “I decided to hold a festival to celebrate Nevarro’s newfound liberation from the Empire.”

Oh, no.

“Oh, Maker,” you mumble. “He… doesn’t like crowds.”

You don’t fancy the idea of spending Din’s name day surrounded by bodies, pressed in together like cattle. He will hate this. He will want to head back the way you came immediately. He will—

Greef Karga waves his hand dismissively. “Plenty of places to go outside the main strip. I’ll direct you to the blacksmith’s if you’d like.”

You shake your head. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“What surprise?”

You press your lips together as Din steps up beside you, apparently satisfied that the droid will no longer attempt to ruin his ship. “It’s good to see you again, Mando,” says Greef Karga, thankfully drawing attention away from your scheme.

Din clasps his friend’s arm. “You, too. Looks like you and Marshal Dune have done well with the place.”

He shrugs. You don’t remember Karga acting so humble. Perhaps life as a magistrate has changed him. The three of you, along with Grogu still attached to your hip, begin walking toward town. “I had plenty of help, as you have.” His eyes slide pointedly toward you, and you feel your cheeks flush. “She’s as lovely as ever. I could name a few flowers in the courtyard after her.”

You open your mouth to reply, thrilled at the prospect, but Din clears his throat and inquires after the state of the cantina. He wants to warm his hand on your lower back. He wants to lock you inside the ship and shuck your pretty, flowy dress up around your hips, getting a glimpse of the cum still dripping from your tight hole. He wants to be the one who warrants the wondrous smile now overtaking your face as you see the colourful streamers adorning the storefronts and homes just within the town border.

He will settle for the instinctive way you grasp his arm to get his attention when you see a beautiful dress inside a store or a vendor selling baked goods that make your mouth water. He will settle for knowing that he is the one you want to touch when you’re happy.

Greef Karga leads you both to the new-and-improved cantina, tended by a Sullustan and already bustling with patrons despite it being early in the day. A little too early, perhaps, for the amount of spotchka he sees. “Is there a party going on?” he asks dryly.

Karga claps his hands together. He looks positively gleeful. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I know you aren’t one for festivities, but the cantina’s got specials, if you’re interested.”

He is not. He can’t say the same for you and Grogu. Still, he’s hungry. “Thank you,” he says, a bit tightly, holding himself reserved as he ushers you toward a booth in the corner. Greef Karga winks at you, and again, Din’s hand flexes toward your back.

“Enjoy the new Nevarro,” announces the High Magistrate, “and happy name day, Mando.” Once again proudly sweeping his arms out wide, Karga stops on his way out to greet a couple locals. When he’s ostensibly out of earshot, Din’s helmet tips toward you.

“You told him.”

You smile sheepishly. “He’s your friend. He would want to know.”

“You seem to forget…” A hand finds your upper thigh beneath the table and squeezes. Your mouth is dry, but he’s acting as nonchalantly as ever, drumming his fingers on the table. “I don’t have a name day.”

“Of course you do. Everyone does.” Grogu coos his agreement next to you. “See? Even he has one.”

“We don’t know his, either.”

“Well, I’m very talented at making them up.” Grogu climbs onto the table as a Twi’lek server approaches. Din orders broth for all three of you, along with a cup of jogan fruit juice, because he knows it’s your favourite.

“Soon,” he says once the server disappears, “you’ll be responsible for giving name days to everyone in the galaxy.”

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m all right with that. I did it for a lot of animals.”

“Do you ever miss it?” he asks.

You watch him thoughtfully. He is assessing his surrounding without moving a single muscle, his eyes flitting back and forth behind that helmet of his, keeping his hand firm on your leg. It will be difficult to convince him to part ways. “I miss the animals,” you tell him, toying with his fingers. “I miss taking care of them. But I don’t miss the way some of them would come to us: battered and beaten. I don’t miss wrestling plasma rods out of owners’ hands as they proclaimed themselves caretakers.” You look down at your hand atop his. “I don’t miss my boss.”

His body stiffens. There’s a steely look in your eye, even if you won’t meet his. He remembers your first day together, when he arrived at the handler’s place and asked for a babysitter. He remembers you setting down your embroidery in the corner and greeting Grogu before you even lay eyes on Din. He liked that about you. He liked your eagerness to bond with the creature, even if he himself hadn’t figured out how at that point.

He remembers your boss grabbing you harshly by the ear and demanding that you show the Mandalorian at his door some respect. Din does not know what he would do now if he saw that happen to you. Then, he only gripped his blaster pistol a little tighter and asked to speak in private, away from your boss’s oppressive hold. Now, he thinks he would take out his pistol. He would train it between the coward’s eyes and demand, evenly, that he release you. He would wait until you stepped just behind him, and then he would fire anyway.

Perhaps it’s for the best that he didn’t know you then the way he does now.

“So,” he says, watching the server place your food down in front of you. Grogu chirps, happily sliding his broth toward him and spilling a little over the lip of the bowl in his zealousness. “How are we celebrating?”

You bite your lip, and for a moment, his focus breaks. He never thought himself to be a simple man, confined to somewhat primal instincts, until he watched you bite your lip for the first time. Until he saw you bend over, laugh, tease him for the first time. He’s embraced that side of him in private. But here, in a crowded cantina in a crowded city, he needs to stay vigilant.

You wince. You don’t want to tell him that you’re here to buy him a gift, but it may be your only option if you hope to give him some semblance of a good day.

Din’s vambrace chirps. Greef Karga appears between the two of you, looking significantly more distressed than a half-hour ago. “Mando,” he says urgently.

Just like that, his focus returns in one dizzying rush. “What?”

“Seems our festivities have drawn unwanted excitement,” says Karga, rubbing the back of his neck as if he hesitates to continue. “Some pirates are in the meatpacking district, harassing my locals.”

Since when has Nevarro had a meatpacking district? Din’s frown matches yours, but you cannot see that. “How many?”

“A good plenty. Fifteen?” Karga shakes his head. “I know you don’t fancy mercenary work, but I can’t stop them alone.”

You don’t fancy when people use him as a mercenary, either. “Where is Marshal Dune?”

“Off-world.” Greef Karga sounds more desperate now. His eyes flick away from Din briefly as if he's monitoring a screen just to the side. “Please, Mando. You’ll be paid for your services. And thanked, endlessly.”

You squeeze Din’s arm, the crook of his elbow where there is no armour to protect him. His helmet tilts your way for a second before he looks back to Karga. “Okay,” he says roughly. “Send me the coordinates.”

Karga visibly deflates. “Try not to take a long time. You know pirates.”

Din cuts the communication and sighs, his fingers curling into a fist on the table. “Dank farrik.” He’s standing up just as fast as he lets the frustration go. “Stay here.”

“Hey!” You grab his arm, forcing him to turn back around without making a scene. You keep your voice low. “Din, I don’t like this. Fifteen is a lot more than two.”

“I can handle pirates. It may not escalate.” Din watches the terror that briefly flashes in your wide eyes and feels pangs of guilt strike him. He may not care about his name day or his life nearly as much as you, but you care. It wasn’t fair of him to just bolt. He was used to making hairline decisions when he was alone. He’s learned—he’s trying—to be less reckless.

A gloved hand curls around your hand. Prying open your fingers, he places something small in your palm. “Use this,” he says. “If you can’t find me, use it.”

He’s given you a communicator. It’s a tiny, round, black thing, just big enough to fit comfortably inside your ear. He turns it on to demonstrate, and it blinks with a microscopic green light. “Din,” you whisper, your stomach roiling with slow-release anxiety.

“Just…” He takes the communicator and fixes it in your left ear. “Just in case.”

“Don't you dare get hurt.” You poke him in the chest. “This armour takes ages to get off, and I can’t help you when you do.”

He briefly brings his hand to the back of your neck, a sure weight. “Be safe for me, dangerous girl. Understand?”

You nod, and he goes. Like that, you're left alone in the dark corner of the cantina, watching Grogu grip his small bowl and drink down the soup with little ceremony. “Careful, cyare,” you tell him. “You’re going to get more of it on yourself than in your mouth.”

His ears flick, indicating he heard you, but he continues to guzzle the bone broth like it's a final meal. You wince when he finishes, slurping the pulp at the bottom and belching. “Well,” you say. “You and I have similar listening skills.”

He gurgles. You keep your chin in your palm as you eat, warmed from the inside with your own broth, even though you hardly need it in this cantina. It's hot as the blue part of a flame, and your hood does nothing to let any of that heat escape. Luckily, Grogu seems as starved for relief as you are: he’s reaching for your glass of jogan fruit juice. “Hey,” you chide gently. “Let’s take it easy. You know that gives you a bellyache.”

He coos, a bit grumpily, but you smooth over the wrinkle in his brow with your thumb. Your glass still half-full, you slide out of the booth and let the baby hobble over to you. “Hop in.”

His giant ears flick off some broth—how did he get it there?—and he waddles inside the sling. “Comfortable?” He blinks up at you. “Good. Let’s go find a present for your dad.”

He may murder Greef Karga.

These aren’t pirates. They’re speed bikers, and they aren’t causing a ruckus so much as packing themselves inside the cantina and drinking a bit too much. They certainly aren’t harassing the locals.

Slowly, very slowly, Din turns to face Greef Karga. He tries to look casually surprised, leaning against the doorway. “Looks like they’ve calmed down.”

“There was never a disturbance,” says Din roughly, “was there?”

“Well… I mean, that depends on how you define—”

“Was there?”

He does not have the time nor patience for this. He should be with you and the kid. Instead, he’s spent an hour navigating through the swell of the crowds enjoying the festival just to find that the meatpacking district is possibly the most peaceful area in Nevarro right now.

“Not in the traditional sense,” says Greef Karga, evasive as ever. “Listen, Mando, I’m sorry. Your girl wanted to get away for awhile, find a name day present for you. She wanted it to be a surprise.”

“It’s not my—” Din stops himself, curling and flexing his fingers, trying for a few deep breaths. He recognises that he has been fooled. He knows Karga was only trying to help you. He doesn't deserve the brunt of Din’s simmering anger. “It’s not my name day.”

“Try telling her to drop an idea once she gets it in her head,” huffs Karga. “I really am sorry.”

Din suspects he’s more sorry about spoiling the surprise, but he shakes it out. He lets it go. You wanted to do a good thing for him. “It’s all right. Just… Just tell me the quickest way back.”

Outside the cantina, he tries the communication link. “Can you hear me?” he asks.

A crackling response momentarily settles the tension in his bones. “Loud and clear. Are you all right?”

“There were no pirates.” He sends a pointed look Karga’s way. The High Magistrate just shrugs. “You and I are going to have a very long talk later.”

“He lied to you?”

“You didn’t know?”

You make an indignant noise. “Of course not!”

“Are you buying me a present?”

He can't help it. “I think,” you say, “I’m going to need to have a very long talk with Greef Karga.”

And while he does think that would be vastly entertaining, having seen glimpses of your fiery anger, your next words dim his senses to a dull roar. “Come back to me, Din.”

You're using the voice that makes it impossible to stay angry, or even frustrated. You sound like that whenever you've just detangled your bodies and you're trying to catch your breath. “I will,” he tells you. “I will.”

“Good.”

“See?” Greef Karga grins, like nothing’s happened. “All worked out well. She’s safe. There aren’t any pirates.”

Din just walks away. But not before turning his head and pointing in Karga’s direction. “I still want my payment.”

You’ve never known a blacksmith to be so friendly.

Not that you've met many. In fact, you may have met none. But the ageing man has told you about his five grandchildren and shown you pictures of them within five minutes of greeting him. Within ten minutes, he showed you his vast collection of custom-made knives. From curved blades to gemstones wedged in the hilts, you were overwhelmed with choice. But, like he could see the indecision in your face, the smith beckoned you to follow him around his desk. From a drawer, he produced the gift you now hide under your cloak: a simple, elegant blade the colour of asphalt.

He placed it on the pad of your index finger and both of you watched as it refused to list one way or the other. “Aside from impeccable balance,” he told you, an excited glimmer in his steel-grey eyes, “the hilt is reinforced with beskar, for deflecting attacks. If necessary.”

Your brows lifted. “Beskar is rare.”

“Not on Nevarro,” said the old man with a little melancholy in his tone. “At least, not for a while. Once all the Mandalorians were purged from the planet, old men like me found some use in the ingots they left behind.”

A part of you felt guilty for wielding such a powerful weapon, even if it was the mere length of your fingertips to the midpoint of your forearm. This could have belonged to a Mandalorian, once, in a different form. Now, you told yourself, it will belong to one.

The smith did not give you a discount, on account of tough times, but he did give you a leather sheath to holster the blade around a person’s waist. You paid him handsomely and left the smith feeling somewhat proud of yourself, silently thanking a group of pirates for deciding to occupy your warrior’s time—no matter how deeply you worried for him.

Then his voice crackled in your ear, revealing that the pirates were a ruse and that he knew about your present, and your shoulders deflated altogether. Tucked inside the sling at your hip, Grogu grabs hold of your finger and pulls gently.

“I know,” you say miserably, picking him up and holding him close to your side. “I didn't want him to find out, either. You think he’ll like it, right?” He coos. “I think so, too.”

A concerned gurgle makes you frown down at him. “He’s coming,” you tell him, trying to soothe his worries. He gets nervous when he’s away from Din for too long. “We just spoke. He’s all right, cyare.”

Grogu bats gently at the hood of your cloak, and a dreadful prickle of goosebumps erupts from your head to toes. His eyes are wide and afraid. “What is it? What do you feel?”

You dutifully back into an alley between the smith’s and the bakery next door, not stupid enough to ignore the telltale scrunch of your charge’s little nose. Soon enough, you begin to feel the twinge, too.

The crowd has turned onto this street, a parade of young and old, colourful and plain, some holding instruments and others clapping rhythmically to a song you do not recognise. They are all blissful, grateful, dancing down the main strip.

Minutes tick by. Din does not materialise from a magical part in the crowd. And there's something prickling at the back of your neck: insistence, danger. When you step out slightly to look for an easy exit, you catch a pair of eyes hidden beneath a weathered leather tricorn hat. They are unmistakable in their destination: you. You cannot stay here.

You follow the surge of the crowd down the main strip, keeping Grogu tucked in your arms instead of the sling. The knife at your waist is an unfamiliar weight, and you do not know how to use it. But the crowd is padding. You tap the link in your ear. “Din.”

Engulfed in the noise of the parade, you can barely hear yourself, let alone his voice. Looking up toward the sky, you squint against the sun. They are headed to the south, and the Crest is north. You quickly turn on your heel, shoving unceremoniously and unapologetically through the crowd, keeping one hand secure on Grogu’s head, shielding him from an accidental prod or blow as the wave of people surges.

You make a choice. Tearing at the brooch clasping your cloak together, you toss it onto the stones.

Din’s ear roars with the sound of cheers and music, but he’s too far away from the parade. It’s you. You, trying to reach him, caught up in the swell of celebrations. He won’t be able to heard you like this. He just hopes you’re enjoying the festivities more than he is.

Idly, hurrying through the residential district, Din wonders what you got him as a gift.

Once you reach the Razor Crest, you slide open Grogu’s compartment and slot him safely inside. You’re panting from the run and the heat, your cloak lost somewhere on the way. Your hair is loose and a little wild. You imagine your eyes must look as much, too.

“Cyare.” You kneel before him and he coos worriedly. “I'm going to close this door. Only Din and I know the code, which means you'll be safe. Even breaking the panel won't force it open.” He blinks, and you nod. “Now I need you to do something brave for me. Can you keep this door closed and stay quiet, no matter what you hear?”

He babbles, and you take it as a yes.

"Good," you say, reaching out your hand. He holds onto your index finger. "You'll be all right, little one."

The door slides closed at the press of a button, and you rise with Din’s new knife taut in your hand. You forget all the training. You forget everything but your primal, clawing desire to keep your ward safe.

A man, wearing a tricorn hat, boards the Crest with a henchman in tow. The lower half of his face is covered with a scarf, but his eyes are incisive. They take in every corner of the ship before they find you, and you get a distinct feeling that belittling action is intentional. “You are quite pretty.”

“More than pretty.” His partner lifts his brows. He isn't wearing a hat, and he is bald, his complexion darker. “I’ll gladly pay for your services, unless the Mandalorian has worn you out.”

You bristle at the presumption. "You'd do well to learn some manners," you return. "Get off this ship. Please."

"You've never killed a man," says the pirate, "have you?"

You sneer, hoping he cannot see how correct he is. "You know very little about your bounty."

"You aren't my bounty. You aren’t a bounty at all." He takes another step forward. "You handle that knife like you're afraid of it."

"And you have all those weapons on you because you're so confident in your natural abilities."

The man next to him closes more distance until you're mere feet away from the accosters. “Does he fuck you?”

“If you’re here to threaten him, you won’t get close enough to try. You won't find him unless he wants to find you. You're going to keep me alive no matter what." Your smile is vindictive. "You need me."

"You're very brave," the pirate says, "for someone who cannot fight."

"Just because I can't handle a knife doesn't mean I can't fight," you say evenly.

"What kind of life does a pretty thing like you have to live to get so cozy with a Mandalorian?"

You shrug. "Wrong place, wrong time. A couple bad decisions. Some good ones."

"For what it's worth"—the bandit gestures to his partner, who advances toward you—"he would have gotten you killed eventually, either way."

"Maybe." You grip the beskar hilt tighter and level it at your opponent. "But he has honour. Can't say the same thing about any of you."

The bandit clicks his tongue and the other man draws a knife. But before you can move, a hand snakes around your head from behind and presses a damp cloth to your face. Dimly, you realise you never checked to see exactly how many pirates had surrounded the ship. You jam the knife backward too late, and the squelch of blood is the last thing you hear before you slump into the bandit's arms.

"Aru-e," you manage: a spit, a curse.

Enemy.

Something is wrong.

Din does not feel it until he enters the city centre. If not for Grogu’s ineffable senses, he would not believe in mystical forces. But there is an invisible thread that connects you to him, and he can feel when you hurt. He can feel your joy and your pride and, inexplicably, your affection. He knows there is little to be worried about. Truly, there shouldn't be trouble on this planet. It has long since been wiped of Imps and bandits.

But now, he feels the familiar tug. His instincts lift the hairs at the nape of his neck. His visor whirs with its typical pitch, and detects no peculiar signatures. But he feels it. It's a barrage of ice-hot needles prickling each knob of his spine from top to bottom.

He says your name. When you do not reply, he picks up his pace, weaving through bodies and knocking some aside.

Now, he’s panting your name into the communicator, running as fast as he can and spinning frantically as his helmet scans every single face in the crowd for yours. “Answer me,” he bites out, pleading.

Silence. A throbbing, deafening silence. He can no longer hear the crescendo of happy cries from the crowd.

He tries again. “Do you hear me?”

Nothing.

This is wrong. This twists his stomach and makes him dizzy. You were with him. You were so close to him.

Din pitches forward, finally breaking free of the crowd, grasping blindly for the wall of a nearby building. It’s a blacksmith’s.

A glint catches his eye. He bends to one knee and his heart tumbles out of his chest, rolling to a stop on the filthy stone ground and beating slower and slower until it stops, dead. At his feet lies the brooch you wore on your cloak: the small, metal mudhorn he had made for you long ago. So long ago he can no longer count the days definitively.

I will know you forever.

His own voice, creeping up the back of his neck and latching two clawed hands into his skin. It’s not gonna happen. Not with me.

He does not remember his hand flying to his chest, but now he is clutching his heart, trying to hold on. He cannot breathe.

Your name rattles like an empty chamber in his head. Your smile is pasted to the ceiling of his brain.

Din slumps onto his haunches and stares at the small metal brooch. It’s beautiful, you gasped, tracing the hard edges with your fingertip.

It’s yours.

Din… Your eyes, wide and watering, met his. Time stretched between eons. He never wanted you to stop looking at him.

His hand closed over yours and he could feel the cold metal through his gloves.

"Kid?" Din calls, stumbling up the ramp to the Crest. A faint, muffled gurgling is his reply. Din unlocks his chamber and kneels down. "Hey, you okay? Where is she? Where'd she go?"

The Child blinks twice, rapidly, distressed. Something smacks into the back of Din’s head. "Ow," he hisses. "I told you not to throw things."

There's a knife he's never seen before, next to his foot. He picks it up and examines it: the hilt is beskar steel, the blade perfectly balanced, the point lethally sharp. New. This was your gift to him. His heart wants to warm at the knowledge, but there is no time.

There's blood on the blade. His helmet indicates it’s not yours, but that does nothing to assuage his terror.

"You threw a knife at me," he says.

Grogu babbles urgently.

Din’s head is dizzy with rage. “Someone came aboard,” he says darkly. "Someone took her.”

Grogu shuffles closer to him. His hand clenches the knife so tightly it would cut his hand if he weren't wearing gloves. “She hid you,” he mutters. “She kept you safe, huh, kid?”

Grogu watches him with watery eyes. Din nods vaguely. “Yeah, ‘course she did. You know where they took her?”

The kid looks down and mumbles sadly. "That's okay," says Din, rising to his feet. "You and I are gonna find her."

#kiwisbell's fics #pedro pascal #din djarin x female reader #din djarin #din djarin x you #din djarin smut #din djarin x reader #grogu #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fanfiction #mando x reader

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oxymorayuri · 3 months

Text

𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝟿

𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 »

𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑟 𝐷. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝐿𝑎𝑤 ✘ ♀ 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓: 序川_ on pixiv

Story: The princess of Tanata

(Long Fic)

➽ Click on this link to see all chapters.

Spoiler: none

Warnings: none

slowburn with plot

Wordcount: 2168

Text in italics emphasizes the reader’s thoughts

Bold and italic text emphasizes Law's thoughts *~*

Tagging: @slytherinambitious - @sassyyassi - @norasincubi

You're on this strange ship again.

The 'Yellow Wonder' as you thought the other day. You look around curiously, the deck is quite simple but it is quite exciting to be on a ship.

Once upon a time, it was common on Tanata for people to sail on ships. You have read all the history books and writings about your own past.

The past of Tanata.

No matter what the written records say, there is not a single trace of ships on the island. The people of Tanata have not sailed for centuries…

"Princess?" - You flinch slightly and turn to look into the troop leader's eyes.

"Hey, don't scare me like that Ambrosios!" You put your hand on your chest.

" Sorry not sorry… but I have to tell you that there might be a problem…" - "Ahh man…" Annoyed, you put your hands on your hips.

Ambrosios does the same, but instead of an annoyed expression, he grins cheekily at you. When you notice how he copies you, you snort.

That cheeky guy.

You two have known each other since you were kids, he's Anatol's son and was raised to be a warrior. You've always trained together.

Your eyes roam over his upper body.

He is definitely not badly built, his armor is designed in such a way, that you can still see his impressive muscles.

"You know, princess, you don't have to stare, you are allowed to touch." He comes closer to you but you laugh and push his face away from you, kicking him lightly in the side.

"Come on. Tell me about the problem." He's always been like this and he's like this with everyone, but you know that he doesn't get into bed with everyone. You've always wondered why he never had a serious relationship.

"Not only is the ship stuck, it's also stuck in mud. It's much harder to get it out and we could end up damaging the ship." - "Do you have any ideas, my princess?" He leans down slightly towards you, his blond hair falling slightly in his face. He's quite the pretty boy, you have to admit.

But you just don't like blonde. You like the opposite.

Without intention, you glance over at Law.

Ambrosios follows your glance. You quickly look back at him, luckily he can't hear what you're thinking.

"I think, I have an idea… Someone has assured me that he could be of great help."

A smile appears on your face that Ambrosios has never seen before. It's a sort of cunning one.

With Law as your target, you make your way over to him. He was with a few soldiers and had his back turned to you. When the soldiers saw you, they interrupted the conversation and stood up straight.

Law didn't miss this behavior and turned around.

"Princess-ya." - "Princess.ya?" Ambrosios asks a little bewildered… and a little pissed off, because it seems so intimate… but you don't realize that anyway.

"Hey Law, do you have any ideas what we can do? Your ship is stuck in the mud and we can't lift it out of the river." - "I can deal with it, but there's one thing that needs to be done first."

Curiously, you watch as the soldiers heave a tree trunk onto the huge wagon where the ship should be placed.

Law said it was necessary and you are looking forward to what comes next.

"Okay, everything should work now." Law says casually as he claps his hands.

With a firm stance, he raises an arm and his low voice echoes a 'Room!

You've heard that before…

First you recognize a small swirl forming in his palm, which becomes a growing dome.

The dome surrounded you, the ship and the wagon that was positioned right next to the ship. He paused briefly and you hear him say 'Shambles'.

Suddenly the ship disappears from your sight and in the next moment you hear the loud creaking sound of Law's ship, which appears on the cart.

With your mouth open, you look in amazement at the Jolly Roger's broad grin as the log falls into the river.

Your gaze goes over to Law, who takes one step backwards.

"That was awesome Law!" - Law smiles at you, a little drained. You immediately recognize his irregular breathing and slight dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you all right?" you approach him worriedly. He quickly collects himself and tries to adopt a composed posture.

"Swapping such large object takes a lot of energy." You look at him sympathetically as Ambrosios steps to his side and places a hand on his shoulder. He is slightly taller and broader than Law.

"That was pretty useful, we'll take it from here." And walks past him to the wagon, where the other soldiers are getting ready.

Although Ambrosio might not look like it, if you can win him over, especially with strength, you'll have his respect.

"Pretty cool, I must say." - "Thanks, you could say I control the room" - "Sounds familiar…".

For a moment you both just smile at each other and it feels like time stands still. You definitely won't be the first to look away. You're enjoying the sensation waaaay too much.

"Aheem." comes from the side and you both look to Ambrosios who comes slightly between you to talk to you.

"We're ready then."

After securing the ship at the city border, you say goodbye to the soldiers and make your way back to the palace.

Now it's just the two of you…

Even if you want to ask a thousand things, you remain silent. At first it was a bit awkward again, but as time went on you found it quite pleasant. You become very calm around Law.

"Hey Law, when we get back I could do something to make you feel good."

What on earth did this woman say?

A little surprised, he looks down at you and raises an eyebrow.

"A-Also, only if you want to, of course." - "What do you mean?" he looks down at you sceptically.

Only then you realize what you actually said and turn bright red!

"UHH I MEAN… of course I meant that I can heal you!" Ashamed, you bury your face in your hands.

Oh my God, why do you express yourself so incredibly silly, huh?

It is now impossible to look Law in the face and you go your way in silence. You are glad when you arrive at Hera's palace and a few pirates greet you.

"Captain!!!!!!" Bepo comes running towards you.

"How's the Polar Tang??" - "Fine, it's safe at the edge of town. I would say that you help the people with the repairs. After all, it's not a normal ship." The Mink saluted his captain and scurried off to gather a couple crew members.

Law looks down at you. You can feel his eyes on you and carefully look up at him.

"You said you could heal me?" you nod hastily at him.

"All right, I suggest we go to my room," he adds as he makes his way to the stairs.

Once in his room, you suddenly feel like a complete stranger. It's your home and yet you're still tense.

Law makes himself comfortable on the sofa and looks at you expectantly.

You stand a little lost in the room. The thought of what you're about to do suddenly makes you feel strange. You start to feel a little uneasy at the thought of healing Law.

You sit down next to Law with your upper body facing him.

"Ready?" you ask as you carefully reach for his hand. With your delicate hands, you hold Law's hand and bring it to your lips.

Your warm lips meet Law's cool skin. With your eyes closed, you try to concentrate on his exhaustion.

Even if Law doesn't show it, he is literally overwhelmed by the warm feeling running through him. It feels as if waves are flooding his body without him feeling drowned. He feels rather light and safe.

He has never felt so good. Now he understands why you said it like that.

He closes his eyes. It's not that he feels like he is intoxicated by the feeling… it's more that he feels calmer than ever before.

He opens his eyes slightly to look down at you. Your lips are still on his hand. His gaze wanders from your long eyelashes to your full lips.

Why did she have to kiss Luffy and me when it was just a simple touch with Penguin?

A little tired, you let go of Law's hand. You used quite a lot of power yesterday and although it was only a small effort, it's quite noticeable now.

Law, on the other hand, spreads his arms out on the backrest and leans his head back with closed eyes.

The way you're both sitting, with your upper body still facing him, it looks like he's putting an arm around you. Exhausted, you lean back against the sofa. You don't care that you're touching Law's arm, and Law doesn't seem to mind either as you enjoy a moment in silence.

"Princess-ya?" - "Mhmm?"

"When you healed Penguin on the ship, you only had to touch him but you kissed me and Luffy… why?" - "It depends on how bad the damage or injury is…." You take his hand in your small hands and let some of your power flow into him.

"Can you tell the difference?" - Law nods silently at you.

"I'm not sooo good at controlling people's time yet… or rather, I can't without skin contact. There were some devil fruit users who could do it without any contact but I guess I'm a bit too uncontrolled… as my grandfather always swears." You can't help grinning.

"I build a direct connection that way, otherwise I'd use up too much energy myself." - "Why don't you heal yourself?" - "I can't."

He lifts his head straight up to look at you. Tired, you look into his eyes.

"You can't?" - "Yep. I've tried but nothing happens when I touch myself. I know from the old writings and stories that there were devil fruit users who could do it, but I never learned." You say with a hint of bitterness.

Law studies your face. Your large e/c eyes gaze into his stormy gray.

"Do you want it?" - "Absolutely." your eyes sparkle with passion. "But grandfather won't let me. There was a terrible incident back then and I strained my powers so much that I unleashed a terrible force…" You hold on to your arms and gaze into the distance.

"Apparently I've released something that's never been seen before. A power so terrible that it almost killed me. Since then, my grandfather has forbidden me from using my powers like that…"

You can't control yourself and a tear flows down your cheek.

You don't know what happened back then. You only know that it must have been so terrible because you were in a coma for a year. When you woke up again, you realized that your grandfather had burned all the textbooks that could help you with your techniques. In general, there were some forbidden techniques, but none of the previous users had ever been able to do what you did.

With his thumb, Law wipes away your tear and smiles kindly at you. You return a weak smile and the black haired man leans back again. He looks up at the ceiling a little thoughtfully and closes his eyes.

"You know, I feel really good."

You're glad Law can't see your face. You notice his attempt to refer to your words from before and lean back with a grin. You close your eyes and wonder why you feel so good... Even though you've remembered so many bad things.

After all you've known Law for less than 48 hours, you have shed a tear in front of him. Even if it was just one…

Law's voice, calm manner and slight arrogance trigger feelings in you that you've only read about in books.

It feels strange… No, rather good.

After a while, you say your goodbyes to Law. You're quite sleepy and if you don't get up now, you'll fall asleep and that would create DRAMA.

You can imagine the headline on the newspaper 'HOLY PRINCESS WITH PIRATE!!!'

When you get to your room, you throw yourself into bed. Your face is buried in the pillow.

What exactly do you feel? Is it sheer curiosity? No.

With the question still unanswered, you fall deeply asleep.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

It's almost 2 in the morning. I'm off to bed now. Nightie Babes!

See you next time, kiss kiss ♡

➽ Next chapter

#trafalgar d water law #trafalgar one piece #one piece #law x reader #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar d water law x reader #trafalgar law x oc #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgardwaterlaw #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom #one piece fanfiction #one piece fandom #trafalgar law

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melissa-kenobi · 1 year

Text

THRONE

Bo-Katan Kryze x Reader

A/N: Sorry guys, I'm in a Bo-Katan phase... I just love her even tho she's an asshole and has done bad shit. Also, I know this is a bit late, but I had it in my drafts for a long time and totally forgot about it :(

Warnings: The Mandalorian S3 spoilers, smut, idek what else.

"Goodbye Din Djarin."

The monotone voice of your lover swept through the large hall as she watched Din walk away, twiddling her thumbs in annoyance. Walking past the Mandalorian, you gave him a small nod of best wishes before making his way to Mandalore with his green child.

Making your way over to the redhead, you held a glass of water, offering it to her. "Your majesty."

Bo-Katan simply rolled her eyes, taking a large gulp of the drink before placing it on the side, gesturing for you to come closer. "I thought you might have been parched after that long conversation, my lady. It seemed interesting. Did you not take up Djarin's offer?"

She doesn't answer. Simply stares out the glass windows with a lost look in her eyes. Your Bo-Katan is a tough woman, a woman with a purpose - to reclaim Mandalore, but without the Darksaber, she couldn't. Her forces are all gone but you. But there was only so much two women could do, she has you, but no matter how strong you were, she needed her people.

As much as she despised the planet now, deep down, she wanted it back. It's her home, your home - the only home you'd ever known until the Empire had ruined it.

Sighing deeply, you stood beside her, reaching over to touch her hand. "Bo-

"If you're going to give me advice about how I should be helping Din Djarin on his ridiculous mission, you'd better leave." Bo-Katan huffed as she slipped her hand from yours and swung her legs back onto the side of the chair. "I want nothing to do with that man."

Maker, she was still being stroppy about the Darksaber. Din had won it, fair and square, and to be fair, you're pretty sure he has zero clue about what to do with it or what it means. But Din is a worthy warrior to wield the saber, and that's what makes Bo-Katan pissed.

"I wasn't." You rolled your eyes as you pushed her legs down and sat down on her thighs, your legs placed on either side of them as you moved your hands to her waist, gently holding her hips. "I was going to suggest something else."

The woman turned her head towards your face, a smirk etched onto her face as she took in your position and where your hands were. "Oh? And what might that be?

Smirking back, you pushed her against the back of the chair before slowly removing her armour. "A massage."

"I'm not in the mood for a massage, sweetheart." Bo-Katan rolled her eyes but let you proceed to remove her armour, piece by piece as you placed it gently on the floor. "You don't have to be so careful with it."

"I know." You hummed. "But it's your armour, and I know how much it means to you."

Your words hit deep within the woman. Yes, it was her armour. But what use was it now? When she has no one to lead, no-one to follow her. Bo thought, perhaps she should hang up her armour and settle down on a nice planet with you. You'd follow her, right?

After stripping her of her armour, you removed her trousers, slipping them down her long legs before making your way back up, caressing her thighs as she moaned your name softly. Her hands were coming to hold your shoulders and keep you between her legs, but you were persistent, pushing back against her hold and seeping up to kiss her lips.

"Off now." You commanded, pointedly looking at her covered breasts. The redhead smirked as she slowly stripped off her layers, leaving you growling as she took her sweet time. "You want this massage or not, your Majesty?

"Is that how you talk to your Queen?" Bo gasped in mock horror, finally having taken off her top, leaving her breasts bare and ready for you. "I should have your mouth cleaned for that."

"I'll have you moaning my name in a few. Let's see how mouthy you'll be then." You muttered before shufifng closer on her lap and placing your lips on her buds. The action making Bo let out a loud moan as she gripped your hips, your tongue swirling around her buds, making her gasp every time.

"Fuck- cyar'ika-"

You moved your hand to the other, gently caressing it before squeezing the bud as it grew erect. Underneath your legs, you could feel Bo getting wet, the way her hips were unintentionally thrusting up against yours, the way her hands were gripping your hips ever so tight as she tried to get off.

"Ah ah no." You pulled off her bud, teeth leaving a small bite as you took her hands off your waist and placed them above her head, and with a small click they were locked in place against the chair. "No touching."

Bo growled but kept them in place, instead using her eyes to follow your movements as you slid down her body, becoming eye level with her pussy. Her hips unintentionally trusted upwards, trying to get closer to your mouth but your hands pushed them down roughly.

"Stop moving." You growled, looking back up at her with fire and lust in your eyes. Bo swore the sight of you between her legs would have made her cum right there if you hadn't placed your lips on her clit. The ginger let out a loud moan, hands wanting to move down to pull you closer but remained where they were. "Good girl."

Bo was in agony. Her moans only became louder as she watched your mouth tease her with soft kisses before you moved south, wrapping those luscious lips around her clit and sucked hard making her hips thrust upwards. Her hands immediately came down to your hair as she pulled on it, pressing your face closer to her cunt as she grinded on you.

"Fuck-" You moaned against her wet cunt not bothered about her ignoring your instructions. Using your free hand, you slid two fingers into her, pumping fast. "Use me baby- I want my face to be soake-"

You never got to finish your sentence as Bo let out a load moan of your name, hands tugging on your hair, as she came and gushed all over your face, leaving a wet trial. You watched from below as Bo's eyes rolled back in pleasure, her hands gently coming away from your hair as she reached for your waist and pulled your body up against her.

She smiled softly as she wiped a finger across your face, sticking it into your mouth before pulling out and reaching down between your bodies. "Fuck- you're soaked cyare."

"Let me return the favour." Bo grinned as she swiftly placed her lips on yours, cleaning the mess she had made on your face.

***

"That was one hell of a massage." Bo laughed, the smile gently returning to her face.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Pray, do tell my princess." Bo gasped as you pressed your body against hers once more, breasts touching hers.

"You're wondering if you should hang up the mantle."

Bo's eyes slipped to yours, sighing in sadness. You always knew what was on her mind. It was something that attracted you to her. "Maybe I should. It's - Mandalore will never be ours again."

"Stop." You pressed a finger to her lips, instantly shushing her. "You are Mandalore. You always have been."

"You're the only one who has ever worked so hard to gain her planet back. I know you've done bad things, but they were all in the name of Mandalore to save our planet. I know you're the only one who can save us. It has to be you. So yes, maybe you should join Din on his ridiculous mission. It would be a start. We could gather members of his covert and restar-"

"No." Bo stopped you. "I can't, its- it's too much. Every single time we try something, it's like we take 5 steps back, and we never end up anywhere. I can't have you doing that again, not with me."

"Bo-" You warned, already knowing where she was heading with this.

"Maybe you should leave too. Everyone else has. Perhaps you'd have a better life." Bo continued, wanting to slowly push you off her but not wanting to lose you either. If this was all she had left, then she would rather savour it for however long she had with you.

"Maybe I should."

In an instant, Bo's head snapped to yours, not expecting you to agree. The shock evident on her face, deep down she believed you would always stay with her, as those in the outer rim would say 'Till death do us part'. But it would seem not, you'd go your own ways and she'd be left alone, again.

Without you.

"But I won't." Grabbing her hands, you placed them on your beating heart. Bo's green eyes filled with salty tears as she tried her hardest not to break down, despite you saying you wouldn't leave her.

"I'd follow you to the end of the galaxy if it meant I could stay by your side, Bo." You spoke gently. The love laced within your words was what made her crack. The tears finally slipped out as she realised you weren't leaving her, the only person who ever believed in her, who stood by her side while she made plans to regain Mandalore. Who swore that she would always love Bo, no matter how much of an asshole she was.

You. Bo's sweet princess was staying.

"Thank you, cyare." Bo sniffed as she pulled you close, placing her forehead against yours as she silently accepted your love. Her hands gently came to hold your face in her palms as she softly spoke her next words. "I do love you, you know that, right? More than I can express."

"I know, Bo." You smiled gently, placing your hands over hers.

***

*beep beep*

"Your majesty." The droid slowly swept in, the skidding noises disrupting your soft moment with Bo. "An unscheduled visitor."

Your lover sighed, gently placing you on her throne as she got up to look out the window, only to spot Din Djarin's N1 flying through the atmosphere. With a determined face, she gave you a nod before announcing, "Let's get rid of him once and for all."

"Bo-

"Fine. We'll see what he wants." Bo rolled her eyes, watching you sat on the throne and made something twirl inside her. "You coming with?"

The loaded question Bo had asked has several answers, but yours? It would always be the same.

"Always."

***

#bo katan kryze #bo katan kryze x reader #bo katan x reader #bo katan #star wars #the mandalorian #melissa writes 💕

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jarenka · 22 days

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It was pretty hard for me to come up with Anakin's and Obi-Wan's attitudes for post-ROTJ AU.

(I doubt it shows in my comic strips, tbh, because they are just... very much comic )

I feel like Obi-Wan should act more like his CW self, especially for outsiders, but there is some bitterness in him. He returned from dead and joined the war once again, despite he has never wanted it. He is a good pilot who doesn't like to fly; he is an amazing warrior who prefer not to fight. You know. He likes to joke that he should run away and find himself a rich lover, but he understands that as long as Empire exists, he can't live freely, and there is no better way to hasten the end of Empire than to join Rebel Alliance. Also, Luke is there, and Obi-Wan need to teach him the ways of the Force. He can't live his life in a way he wants, but he accepted it. (Obi-Wan shows this side of him only to Anakin after many months they spend together as teammates, and only couple of weeks before they became lovers. Maybe later Obi-Wan will be able to open up to Leia, but I am not completely sure about it. For other people he is the same competent, witty (and sometimes snarky) Jedi, who is always seem to know what to do) .

With Anakin I didn't want to go neither in "he is 100% acts like Vader but with lesser murder" nor on "he is just old good Anakin Skywalker" direction. I feel like there should be a big shift in his attitude in year ot two after his return from the Dark Side. After being a Sith (and the part of Empire elite, where everyone is Like That) for so many years, that he sees all people around him as potential traitors and enemies. He is very uncomfortable around people, and always rufe with them. Ironically, everyone except Obi-Wan was sure that it's normal. Luke was 100% sure that Obi-Wan just trying to piss Anakin off when he says that he vividly remember that he taught Anakin manners and that Anakin shouldn't act like that. Actually, Obi-Wan just knows that naturally Anakin is not like that. It isn't normal to him to be a totally unlikable ass hissing at people like a loth-cat with rabies. When Anakin starts to feel better, his attitude becomes more and more nice and likable, because Anakin actually likes people and likes to be around them.

#star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #post-rotj au #obikin

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jedi-order-apologist · 1 year

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I somewhat wish that they'd never introduced the concept of Tarre Vizsla.

I don't hate the idea, on its own. A Mandalorian Jedi is an interesting concept. The darksaber being a unique dual-culture creation can also be something that can be explored in interesting ways, how Jedi bring their birth culture with them (especially interesting in that Mandalorians historically considered the Jedi to be their enemies). None of this is a bad idea.

However...none of this, as far as I can tell, informed the story initially. In TCW, there's absolutely no indication that the darksaber is Mandalorian in any way - we're introduced to it by Pre Vizsla bragging that his ancestors stole it from the Jedi. For all we know, its apparent unique design is merely an earlier model of lightsaber and they'd all looked like that in the past before the design was refined into the saber we all recognize. Regardless, it's introduced as a lightsaber, and being firmly Jedi.

And while there's nothing wrong with expanded on the history of something, how that's been done seems to have been in service of, well...making it less Jedi. Sure, we can look at the story we've been given and say that Tarre clearly left it with the Jedi, the Mandalorians still stole it and have rationalized that theft into a Mandalorian symbol - but that's not really how it's being used in the story. The text, outside of TCW, treats it as, primarily, a legitimate Mandalorian symbol.

By The Mandalorian, any association with the Jedi has been dropped entirely. While that can be justified in-universe with the Imperial suppression of information, the cynical part of me thinks this wasn't done for in-universe reasons. The cynical part of me says that people who really loved the glowy vroom vroom swords but didn't like all that pesky emotional regulation and monk stuff that got in the way of their power fantasy found a reason to give the power fantasy warrior culture a bigger claim to the glowy vroom vroom sword. Because initially, the Mandalorians didn't have any legitimate claim. Then they had an equally legitimate claim. Now, they have the only legitimate claim that's going to ever be acknowledged.

Maybe I'm wrong and season 3 of The Mandalorian will actually acknowledge the darksaber's origins. But I doubt it. At this point, it would seem out of nowhere to the (significant) part of the audience that has never seen TCW or Rebels, wouldn't it? That audience would be pretty pissed off if the thing that's been built up as an important Mandalorian symbol is something that actually properly belongs to the Jedi - even if that's technically already long been established, they'd feel cheated by the story and I wouldn't really blame them for it, either. If it's acknowledged at all, it'll be very throwaway and not take away from its use as a Mandalorian symbol.

So, yeah, I don't have anything against anyone engaging with it as primarily a Mandalorian thing, because textually it now is...I just am a bit grumpy about it being made that way in the first place.

#rambling

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youreacroftlara · 7 months

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I’m fairly new to the Warrior Nun family, but this announcement has really boiled my piss.

Last year I heard about season 2’s release and the Avatrice kiss and I was pretty intrigued to watch. But before I could, it was cancelled. After years of suffering through Supergirl and being queerbated left right and centre with Kara and Lena, I figured I didn’t wanna go through the pain of watching a story only for the ending to be cut short and never continued. So I never watched WN…up until I heard that it was saved.

Because I knew there was a possibility that this story would be continued, I decided to watch WN. And of course, I fell in deep - binge watching the series within two days. Safe to say, Avatrice and the other characters have all taken a special place in my heart. I, like many other members of the fandom, was looking forward to seeing what was in store.

So when the triology announcement came out, with no participation from Simon, Amy, Alba or KTY, I wasn’t phased. Before I’d sort of hoped maybe the likes of BBC or another UK studio such as Film 4 had taken the reigns (and not hollywood/amazon or other streaming platforms). The writer/actor strike seemed to be the cause, so I wasn’t worried. Plus, the thought of THREE movies featuring our girls? I was stoked.

Then we got the email a few days ago. At first, I was excited- the writers strike had just ended, so maybe Simon and co. were going to speak? I was at least hoping there’d be more detail on the plot etc. and then Simon posted that tweet. And it all snowballed with the other writers and my heart just sank.

Tried to stay positive, but it’s pretty hard to do when the show’s writers are all saying they know nothing about it. So I went to bed last night (I’m in the UK) praying we’d wake up to good news.

How fucking wrong was I.

This contest is just a huge slap in the face of not only us fans, but artists, writers and actors on the original show. The T&Cs basically state that whoever wins will get their art abused and exploited for the next FIVE YEARS in return for what? A sketch? Pfffft please. Have you learnt nothing from the writers/actors strike at all?!

The worrying thing is what this contest signifies…the producers of this movie clearly don’t have the rights to the Netflix show that we all love. Hence no Simon, hence no announcement on the actors and hence the shitty attempt to get fans to do the hard work for them and design a new Halo.

It really is a joke. If the new producers are reading this, please do better. Engage with the fandom….and for the love of god, get SIMON BARRY on your team.

I don’t know what else to say other than this is exhausting for us fans - and this is coming from someone who didn’t get a chance to get involved in the fight to save WN at the beginning of the year!

Let’s just hope I’m proved wrong and that the movies will be what we hoped.

(P.S. also, please fire Perfectly Productive Media from all your future web copy/media relations - as a copywriter I can say that the countdown pages they’ve produced are 💩)

#warrior nun #warrior nun saved #warrior nun trilogy #random rant #alba baptista #simon barry #dean english #kristina tonteri young

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amiharana · 1 year

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Ok here's my headcanon. I always thought Link's first love was archery, he seems to be a jack of all trades but I think the first weapon he picked up was a bow. I think (besides Nintendo giving botw so much emphasis on the bow) within Hyrule Kingdom Hateno has a strong archery culture with all the hunting and the horseback archery range. And Links early proficiency with a bow basically made a future in combat necessary for him so he practiced with a sword as well and learned spearmanship from Mipha (and he was remarkably quick to pick up on those) but after he pulled the Master Sword he spent most of his time with a sword..

But of course all the best archers in the world are in Rito village. And as a kid Link always wished to one day shoot with a Rito bow and he definitely knew all the names of the famous Rito archers and when news came of a young archer near his age that was quickly becoming one of the greatest of all time of course Link remembered that name too😌

Anyway it's funny to imagine if when Revali and Link first met Revali already held a grudge because of the sword while Link was completely starstruck, left speechless, didn't know whether to ask for an autograph.. well that was my headcanon. Can you revalink-ify it🙂

anon this ask is so cute thank you, i will revalinkify it to the best of my ability 🫡

i never actually thought about how much emphasis there is on bows in botw's hyrule and when you mentioned hateno having a strong archery culture, i was like What are you talking about... but then i remembered the abandoned equestrian course just in front of the village and ur so true about the horseback archery range. maybe link's mother was a horseback archer and ran the equestrian course back in the day, so link inherited that skill from her? thinking about teeny baby link feeding his mother's horse for the first time, the horse gently taking the apple from his hand, and link's eyes widening in awe at the tenderness of such a gentle beast. thinking about him riding a horse for the first time, learning to shoot with his mother and getting a bullseye on his first try. baby archer link 🥺

i can totally imagine link really wanting to go to rito village and live among the best archers of hyrule, knowing the names of all the legendary rito archers and begging his parents to take a trip there, or begging his father to work his magic as a knight of hyrule and somehow get him a swallow bow, or even a falcon bow!

a traveling merchant once came through hateno with a book on the history and legends of the rito, and link used his entire allowance to buy it... thinking about link memorizing every rito legend by heart, and infodumping to everyone he knows like his mom takes him and his sister to the market and the shopkeeper is like Hey link how are you doing? and link is just like Did you know the legendary Rito Warrior Dronoc, for which Dronoc's Pass is named after, was rumored to have the longest wingspan of any Rito who's ever lived? or going to school to cut off the teacher being like Actually Teacher, Kilsie of the Rito is regarded as one of the pioneers of the art of archery, and— 🤓 the teacher tells link to go sit outside, to which he just shrugs and takes his little book of rito legends with him to read for the rest of the class.

when link gets a hold of his first swallow bow, he cries. he almost refuses to shoot with it because it's so pretty and he doesn't want it to break. he eventually does use it, because his dad is like What was the point of me getting you a bow from literally across the country if you're not gonna use it. it's link's favorite bow and he maintains and polishes it very frequently, he's almost never seen without it.

just link being a little fanboy for rito legends 😭 i just know he was pissed as fuck when the master sword chose him and he had to use it all the time. the master sword comes out easy in his grip and while everyone else there is oohing and aahing and clapping, link is there like >:[ yelling ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!!! with it echoing in throughout the korok forest like yeah he's good at using literally any weapon, but bows really are his first love <3

now link being a fanboy for revali...... mmmm what a refreshing concept. it takes a whole different spin on the revali's flap memory

i think they would find out about each other around the same time, when they're both about 14-15. of course, revali would know about link, the person who pulled the legendary sword that seals the darkness at the tender age of 13, the person who's prophesied to save hyrule from the oncoming evil. revali scoffs and dismisses the news when it reaches rito village; he's a sword-wielder who probably knows nothing of archery and has no appreciation for it. and most importantly, he's one of those flightless, fleshy hylians. ugh. (spoiler alert revali, you fall in love with that flightless fleshy hylian) he goes back to his training and endless victories in archery competitions, and does his best to forget link even exists. he knows he can prove himself to be better than a stupid hylian prophecy.

meanwhile, link is now living in hyrule castle town with his father after he pulls the master sword and he's pretty miserable. he's far away from home with classist city kids in a strange place, and he misses the brisk air of his home, he misses his mother and sister and the horses and the archery range at home; he doesn't like it in castle town very much. at least there's an archery range here, both static and horseback, and he's brought his favorite swallow bow with him. it's actually easier to keep updated with news from rito village here though, since castle town is the center of the country and all news comes through here, especially when link hears about the seven-time winner of rito village's archery competitions, the rito child who's broken nearly all of the rito's legendary archery records.

link's interest is piqued and he grabs for every paper about it and talks to every journalist who's covered the story and every rito who visits the castle. alexa play OMG by new jeans because link just keeps on asking "who is he?" (he's the one that's living in your system, baby 😩🎶)

he finally finds out the name of this rito child prodigy after a week of endless searching and asking around. his name is revali, they tell him. he's just about your age. and link just stares with wide glimmering eyes. revali. it's a pretty cool name for a rising legend. he says it again, over and over to himself, liking the way forms in his mouth. (and if link blushes thinking about revali being the same age as him and wondering if the rito is as pretty as his name, he did not shut up aryll i didn't say that NO give me that article back)

some time passes. revali is now a 15-time winner of rito village's seasonal archery competitions and is now in the ranks of participating in the national competitions, where all races across hyrule can show off their skills and compete. it's the first time that link gets to see revali in action.

and whew, when link sees revali for the first time at the hyrule national archery competition, a sleek-feathered rito boy standing tall and proud, the sun reflecting off his gorgeous navy blue plumage, tossing his braids over his shoulder... he blushes so hard that aryll asks him if he's getting sunburned. "no!" link nearly yells, covering his face with his hands. his face really is burning, oh goddesses this is embarrassing.

aryll follows his line of sight then rolls her eyes. "of course it's the bird boy that's got you redder than batch of sunshrooms." link tells her to shut up, albeit still through his hands, and she rolls her eyes again and complies.

the competition starts with another division, but link can't bring himself to care, keeping his eyes only on revali, who's off to the side with the rest of the rito village team. he is as pretty as his name.

link is on the edge of his seat when it's revali's turn to shoot and he is not disappointed. revali hits over 30 bullseyes in the span of a few seconds, completely destroying the targets and even splintering through the arrows that had been previously shot, all without breaking a sweat. revali must have aimed an arrow of love at link through all of that somehow, because link is deeply, completely, absolutely in love in with the rito now ❤️ revali tosses his braids over his shoulders again to look up at the audience and link swears they made eye contact, his breath catching at the emeralds revali has for eyes glinting proudly in the sunlight.

at the end of the competition, link rushes down the stands, hoping for a chance to see the rito, get his autograph, talk to him even, but alas it's not meant to be. the rito gets swarmed by many others from the audience and the entire rito village team moves away from the field to retire to their rooms. it doesn't bring link's spirits down, though. he'll meet revali again, he knows it, he can feel it in his heart.

can you guess when the next they meet again is? :)

more time passes, and link is now a champion and zelda's personal knight and is going through his self-imposed silence era. his love for archery remains strong and alive, but he's forced to use the master sword more often these days and he hasn't had a chance to take his favorite swallow bow to the bower and have it maintained. he doesn't want to risk breaking it on the field, so he keeps it at home hung on the wall by his bed. he still thinks about revali, the rito boy who's completely captured his heart at every archery competition, with his dark glossy feathers and piercing green eyes. if link was like the other city girls, he'd be sighing and daydreaming about revali all day (he totally does and he gets whacked in the head during training for slacking off. aryll laughs her ass off at him for it). he wonders when they'll meet again, hopefully soon.

so when zelda mentions that they're going to rito village to check on the rito champion's progress with the divine beast and do diplomacy with the elder, link perks up. he still hasn't been able to visit the village he's desperately wanted to see as a child, the village where the legends of archery were born. maybe he can bring his swallow bow and have it fixed by a rito bower there! even though zelda fucking hates his guts, it can't bring his spirit down. link feels like a child again :) though, link wonders who the rito champion is. zelda didn't mention them by name, only by title, and they're the only champion link hasn't met yet. he wonders...

when they reach rito village, zelda sends him off so she can go talk with the elder and tells him that she doesn't need his protection because she'll be in the hands of the rito guards, so scram. he rolls his eyes when she turns away but does as she says and wanders. rito village is more beautiful than he imagined. the cold air and the breathtaking view of the hebra mountains in the background reminds him of home at hateno which was close to the ever-snowing mount lanayru. the rito people are kind and welcoming and greet him as champion, offering him all sorts of things. he denies, of course, because it's not necessary but indicates that he's very grateful for their hospitality. they smile and seem to have no problem with his silence. he likes it here a lot. he could see himself living here, after the calamity is defeated...

as he wanders, link ends up on a rather large platform with a rito insignia on it, but compared to the other symbols of the rito in the village, this one has wings on it. when he looks up to the sky, the grand divine beast vah medoh is soaring above him in all its ancient stone glory. of the divine beasts he's seen, link thinks this one is the most beautiful. maybe the insignia is representative of medoh?

but as he stands in the center of the platform, staring at the beast of sky, a strong gust of wind begins to swirl at his feet, stronger and stronger until a twister forms in front of him just off the lip of the platform where a dark blue figure shoots up and—

surprise! it's none other than his one and only years-long infatuation, the master archer revali of the rito. as revali lands on the railing of the platform, he crosses his arms and stares down at link with narrowed eyes. link thinks he's going to faint; the rito is so much more beautiful up close. he wills himself not to blush or pass out as revali begins to speak to him (oh god even his voice is nice—)

anyways revali goes through his whole spiel as he does in the revali's flap memory, and link just stares with wide eyes trying not to drool or blush or make a fool of himself because oh my god it's him it's revali he's the rito champion oh my god are we going to be working together ohhhh my god why didn't zelda tell me this i'm going to throw up (positive)

at some point in the memory, revali hops off the railing to circle link, goading him and basically being like I'm Better Than Just Being Your Sidekick Just Because You Have Some Special Little Sword and challenging link to settle the score or whatever, but here link is not paying attention to any of that and is just staring with stars in his eyes because revali is really close to him and he can see just how glossy and shiny revali's feathers are, he can count just how many of his cheek feathers are red—

"hey! are you even listening to a word i say?!" revali snaps and it breaks link's fanboyish haze. he stares at the rito who stands in front of him now, glaring at link with those piercing emerald eyes. he's so beautiful. "you're not even listening to me, are you? well, you—"

"can i get your autograph?" link blurts suddenly. oop. he was not supposed to break his silence. his face immediately flushes pink and his hands fly to cover his mouth, eyes wide.

revali blinks. "...what?" he says, caught off guard, his stance faltering.

"um. your autograph," link repeats, his voice considerably meeker. god this is so embarrassing he's embarrassing himself, revali probably thinks he's a freak. "um, uh i was... i've been a big fan. i watched you at your first hyrule national archery competition. you were amazing."

"you... you did?" revali says, still stunned. his eyes have widened, staring incredulously at link. "you thought i was...?"

"yeah," link whispers. he's practically hiding behind his hands now, feeling the hot flush of embarrassment through his skin. "yeah, of course you were! you completely destroyed the competition, you're basically a legend yourself! you hit more bullseyes in a few seconds then i've ever been able to do in few minutes..." link trails off, hands falling to his sides then hiding behind his back. he looks away shyly, still feeling the burn of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"i've always been more of a bow guy," link mumbles, "and read all about legendary rito archers as a kid. my dad even got me a swallow bow, um... being able to visit rito village was always something i wanted to do as a kid and after i saw you at the competition, i... um... well, i, err—"

"what about the sword?" revali interrupts. link looks up at him and revali's face has an imperceptible expression on it, one that link can't place. revali tilts his chin at the master sword on link's back. "i'd have thought you were more of a sword-wielder than an archer."

link looks away again and scratches the back of his head, sighing. "i mean, it's fine? i have some sort of prodigal skill with all kinds of weapons, and swords are probably one of my stronger suits. but i've loved archery since i was a kid, so..." link looks in a different direction; he can't bear to make eye contact with revali, he might melt. "i'm not gonna call myself a master of it in front of an actual master like yourself, but... i'm not too bad at it."

link kicks at the wooden floor of the landing. "this particular sword has too much responsibility weighing it down anyway," he mumbles.

when he does decide to look back at the rito, revali is staring at him, watching link's every movement and studying his face. "you mean to tell me that the hylian champion actually prefers bows and that you're a fan of mine?" he says. there's no bite or scorn in his voice; it's a genuine question.

link nods. "if it was up to me, there should be a master bow, or something. i'd rather wield that than a sword."

revali stares at him for a couple moments, before snorting and tilting his beak up, tossing his braids over his shoulder. "well," revali mutters, "if you were actually interested in such, i'm working on creating exactly that."

link's eyes widen and suddenly the embarrassment dissipates out of him. "really?" he says, breathlessly, excitedly.

revali glances at him and his prideful expression melts a little. "yes," he says carefully. "it's better than a swallow bow or a falcon bow, or both of them combined. it's going to be the strongest bow in the entirety of hyrule."

"can i see it?" link says excitedly. but then he remembers— revali doesn't seem to like him very much because of the master sword :( so his face falls and he takes a step back. "or— never mind, it's okay if you don't want to. i'm overstepping, you're the master revali, i should—"

"i didn't say no," revali says abruptly. he seems to regret speaking so harsh, and his voice softens a margin. "i didn't say no," revali repeats, more gently. "i wouldn't be averse to... showing you my precious craft. after all, it seems you have some semblance of intellect to appreciate the art of archery, after all." revali looks away, crossing his arms.

"really? you'll show me?" link whispers, eyes impossibly wider. revali looks back at him and they maintain each other's gaze for a moment before the rito gives one slight nod. link could cry from happiness right now. "oh. oh, thank you master revali, i'm really grateful—"

"just 'revali' is fine," the rito says, voice significantly softer than before. "we'll be working together as champions... it's better we establish some rapport and familiarity with each other now." somehow, revali's eyes seem to be less piercing as he keeps link's gaze. link can't pinpoint what it is, but he thinks he likes it a little more.

"okay," link says, quiet and breathless and still starstruck. "okay. thank you then, revali. i look forward to working with you, and getting to see your master bow."

revali hums and bows his head slightly in response. "and i you," he replies. and they're quiet, staring at each other for a couple more moments until revali speaks again.

"you said your archery skills were sufficient," the rito says. "i wish to see what such sufficiency looks like from the wielder of the master sword and someone who claims to have prodigal talent over every weapon."

link tilts his head to the side. "you... want to watch me shoot?"

revali nods once. "most rito train at the flight range, but that place isn't meant for your flightless kind. fortunately, we have plenty of space for grounded archery as well." revali looks away. "only if you wish to."

"i'd love to," link whispers, with stars in his eyes again. "when do we...?"

"now, if you'd like," revali replies. he pauses, looking like he wants to say something else. "i'll... take you there."

"okay," link says. "i'd like that. i'm fine with that."

"okay," revali responds and they're staring at each other again in silence. as much as he doesn't want to, link can feel the pink flush of shyness return to his cheeks, as much as he wills them away. something changes in revali's expression, something link can't name.

but he's met his idol, the master archer revali, who's also the champion of the rito who he'll be working alongside to save hyrule. they'll be around each other a lot, hopefully, and perhaps they could even become friends... or even closer... anyway, this is the best day of link's life!

i imagine they start spending a lot of time together and getting to know each other, revali asking questions about how link came to love archery and discussing rito vs hateno archery, what make up the best qualities for bows and arrows, talking about their favorite rito legends, revali recommending his favorite bower to mend link's swallow bow, revali giving link tips on his form and how to shoot more accurately... revali showing link the flight range even though he can't train there really and link wistfully wishing he could (and the idea of the paraglider is beginning to formulate in revali's mind teehee). when link has to leave to the next place with zelda, they don't really want to part ways but they do and both link and revali are somewhat low-spirited after they do.

link who starts writing letters to revali from wherever he is in hyrule and telling revali not to write back because he doesn't stay in the same place for too long, but that he hopes he can visit again soon. they still both have that odd one-sided rivals to friends tension happening, especially with revali who does a lot of analytical staring before he allows himself to relax and interact with link, and link, who now has to come to terms with his huge crush on revali and trying desperately trying to hide it. they're both fawking freak weirdos lawl but they're cute weirdos trying to get to know each other better and maybe be friends :) maybe be more :))

#revalink #loz #botw #loz botw #legend of zelda #amihan's revalinkverse #amihan's headcanons #ask #this shit is so long i will never learn how to not write less #i hope you like this and that i revalinkified it well anon!!!! i really liked this idea :>#i forgot to mention it but aryll is link's sister in this hc from one of my prev posts about link's family #link to revali: you find as he'll i won't u so bed ❤️#link has a parasocial relationship with revali #mipha and zelda do NOT like revali at first when they realize what's going on between link and revali #they're like pumba and timone but like evil #zelda: i can see what's happening :/ and they don't have a clue #mipha: they'll fall in love and here's the bottom line #zelda & mipha: revali will be the one link pursues >:[#after a while they're chill with it though and fall in love with each other instead hashtag zelpharights #ANYWAYS i actually do really like this idea and i might incorporate it into my botw link hcs if you're ok with it anon!#starstruck link is so cute #he reverts back to his previous personality pre-silence era when he talks to revali #i kinda wanna write a disney starstruck revalink au now....

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