A Rebel and a Hunter

❝  it takes 10 times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart .❞ ❝  why am i not dead ? i should be dead .❞ ❝ having an eye for beauty isn’t the same thing has having a weakness .❞ ❝  i wish i could freeze this moment , right here , right now , & live in it forever .❞ ❝  no one really needs me .❞ ❝ remember , we’re madly in love , so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it .❞ ❝  i am not pretty . i am not beautiful . i am as radiant as the sun .❞ ❝  you love me . real or not real ? ❞ ❝  ally . friend . lover . victor . enemy . fiancee . target . mutt . neighbor . hunter . ally. i’ll add it to the list of words i use to try to figure you out.  ❞ ❝  here it’s safe , here it’s warm .❞ ❝  i’m not like the rest of you . there’s no one left i love .❞ ❝  i’m very hard to catch , & if they can’t catch me , they can’t kill me .❞ ❝  stupid people are dangerous .❞ ❝  you don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope .❞ ❝  you’ve got about as much charm as a dead slug .❞ ❝  my nightmares are usually about losing you .❞ ❝  for there to be betrayal , there would have to have been trust first .❞ ❝  destroying things is much easier than making them .❞ ❝  here’s some advice . stay alive .❞ ❝  they’ll either want to kill you , kiss you , or be you .❞ ❝  you’re not leaving me here alone .❞ ❝  well , i don’t have much competition here .❞ ❝  you here to finish me off , sweetheart ? ❞ ❝  i stand by what i said . do you want me to lie about it ? ❞ ❝  because i’m selfish . i’m a coward . ❞ ❝  you & me , we’re even . no more owed . you understand ? ❞ ❝  if we burn , you burn with us .❞ ❝  what ? do you find this distracting ? ❞ ❝  i can still rip your throat out .❞ ❝  where’s loverboy ? ❞ ❝  i’m the kind of girl who , when she might actually be of use , would run to stay alive and leave those who couldn’t follow to suffer and die .❞ ❝  the kisses have the opposite effect , of make my need greater . i thought i was something of an expert on hunger , but this is an entirely new kind . ❞ ❝  hope . hope is the only thing stronger than fear .❞ ❝  a spark could be enough to set them ablaze . ❞ ❝  kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there .❞ ❝  whatever breaks you .❞ ❝  i am in pain . that’s the only way i get your attention . ❞ ❝  i’m not going anywhere . i’m going to stay here and cause all kinds of trouble .❞ ❝  imagine thousands of your people , dead . your loved ones , gone . ❞ ❝  i hate being so alone .❞ ❝  don’t make me sorry i restarted your heart .❞ ❝  they will kill us .❞ ❝  you know , you could live a thousand lifetimes and not deserve him .❞ ❝  please feel free to take this personally . ❞ ❝  at some point , you have to stop running & turn around and face whoever wants you dead .❞ ❝  aim higher in case you fall short .❞ ❝  some walks you have to take alone .❞ ❝  whatever breaks you .❞ ❝  well , you’re a piece of work , aren’t you ? ❞ ❝  isn’t it strange that i know you’d risk your life to save mine , but i don’t even know what your favorite color is ? ❞ ❝  you are my life .❞ ❝  i’m here to help you make an impression .❞ ❝  you have no idea . the effect you can have .❞ ❝  if desperate times call for desperate measures , then i am free to act as desperately as i wish .❞ ❝  so when did I become so special ? ❞ ❝  you’re not afraid i’ll kill you tonight ? ❞ ❝  technically , i am unarmed . but no one should underestimate the harm fingernails can do .❞ ❝  i doubt they’ll figure out our plan , since we can barely understand it ourselves .❞ ❝  mess with us & we’ll do something worse than kill you . we’ll kill your children .❞ ❝  you’re kind of squeamish for such a lethal person .❞ ❝  you’re not going to die . i forbid it . all right ? ❞ ❝  i thought we had an agreement not to lie to each other. ❞ ❝  closing my eyes doesn’t help . fire burns brighter in the darkness . ❞ ❝  jealousy is certainly involved . ❞ ❝  what is the worst pain ? to me , it’s always the pain that is present . ❞ ❝  i’ve been down by the stream collecting berries . would you care for some ? ❞ ❝  may the odds be ever in your favor .❞ ❝  what i need is the dandelion in the spring . the bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction . the promise that life can go on , no matter how bad our losses .❞ ❝  ____ ? maybe some pants ? ❞ ❝  i can’t tell what’s real anymore , & what’s made up . ❞ ❝  i knew you’d kiss me . ❞

glass light forest

Iphigenia, from A Memory of Wind by Rachel Swirsky.  (via civismundisum)

He turned and rose, finding himself face to face with an elf, presumably the camper from which he’d just been caught stealing.

“I don’t know what you too but you’re goin’ to want to hand it over, I don’t want to have to use these,” her hands slowly slid over the hilts, ready to draw them.

He edged closer to her, pressing his legs against hers, desperate to be close to her. He kissed her gently, but kept his lips lingering on hers. When he pulled away, he cupped her cheek with his hand, stroking his thumb across her soft skin, “Now… is there anything else I can get you?”

“I’m okay.” She hummed a little, smiling into his kiss. She reached up and squeezed his hand. “I think it’s time to sleep.” She kissed him again and rolled back over, taking care to bring his arm around her torso and nestling in so that the curve of their bodies were close. In a few moments, she was dozing.

He yawned a little, stretching, hoping that his movements didn’t disturb Elspeth.

Rowena lowered her bow, “Sorry, it’s not usual for me to have guests at my fire… Would you care to join me? I’ve just put some stew on.”

Rowena lowered her bow, “Sorry, it’s not usual for me to have guests at my fire… Would you care to join me? I’ve just put some stew on.”