NOW AT @ADPTATIONS

                DESIRE    RUMBLES    IN    A    CHEST    CONSTRICTING.                 heart    beats       :       healthy       &       brisk.    is    that    nerves       ?       they    taste    like    salt.    all    bitter.                 𝙰𝙻𝙻    𝙵𝚄𝙲𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶    𝙰𝙼𝙱𝙸𝙶𝚄𝙾𝚄𝚂.                 hero.hero.hero.            you are lost.                words    /    inspirational    speeches       :       once    your    amenity.    but    that’s    no    longer    true    ,    NOT    WHEN    HE’S    AROUND    HER.    a    soul    so    complex.    a    soul    so    beautiful.    a    soul    so    covet.

kissme.kissme.kissme.                 so    thick    ,    so    alluring.                 like    a    prayer    lingering    in    the    balance.                 calloused    digits    move    along    her    wrists    ,    along    skin    so    soft.    exploring    the    feel    of    her    beneath    him    as    something    other    than    a    sparring    partner. gaze    shifts       :       LIPS    TO    EYES.    LIPS    TO    EYES.    EYES    TO    LIPS.    they’re    wet    with    her    saliva.    they’re    plump    with    need.    he    aches    until    he    doesn’t    anymore.                 𝐇𝐄    𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒    𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋    𝐇𝐄'𝐒    𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆    𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐌.                 her    lips    are    soft.    they    taste    of    lingering    algae    ,    but    most    of    all    they    taste    like    echo.                 exactly    what    he    is    craving. THIS    ISN’T    REAL.    THIS    ISN’T    REAL.    this    isn’t    happening.    but    it    is       &       he    doesn’t    want    it    to    stop.

i’m  never  going  to  live  this  down,  the  thought  rung  through  their  mind  far  louder  than  what  they  would  have  liked  as  soon  as  the  words  had  exited  past  her  lips.   echo  had  no  doubt  that  it  was  what  he  wanted,  the  hunger  was  written  plainly  in  his  expression  &  his  gaze,  in  the  position  that  he  had  taken  above  her,  in  the  way  that  he  stares  at  the  fullness  of  her  lips,  slightly  parted  in  anticipation.   there  was  no  reason  that  he  should  want  her,  no  reason  to  want  anything  other  than  his  hands  around  her  neck  again.   but  despite  the  ample  opportunity,  now  &  before,  that  doesn’t  happen.

except  one  his  lips  were  on  her,  the  thought  about  what  he  should  have  wanted  to  do  is  drowned  out  by  what  he  was  doing  now.   there  was  a  little  bit  of  roughness  there,  but  it  doesn’t  surprise  her  nor  decrease  any  interest  that  they  had.   skai  people  were  usually  a  little  softer,  but  he  wasn’t.   that  appealed  to  them.   their  own  hands  are  rough,  calloused,  covered  in  blood.

echo  moaned  against  his  lips,  starved  for  touch  too  long.   a  slender  leg  snaked  around  his  hip  &  thigh,  foot  slipping  between  his  knees,  pulling  his  weight  down  against  her.   she  should  stop.   they  should  stop.   the  last  thing  either  one  of  them needed  was  to  fuck  things  up  again  when  they  were  finally,  actually  getting  along.

          ˜”*°•.     A  furtive glance  behind  the other  –  a futile  attempt  to see  something,  anything // for  he was  not  just walking  away,  accepting this  ludicrous  situation, letting  it  ride –.  And  the fact,  she  wouldn’t let  him  pass ? It  appalled  him.  ❝ I  have every  right  to  be  there.  You know  that. ❞  Words spoken  abruptly,  vehement. Only  to  change into  a  tone almost  beseeching.  ❝ I need  to  go  to  her. ❞  

their blades collided and a shrill SCREAM released. she pushed forward, testing the strength of her opponent. the other was just as determined and unmoving as she, as lexa could only nudge so far forward. this would not be an easy fight, but she was prepared to do what she must in order to keep the knight from harming anyone else. the warrior changed her grip, her blade drawing back before sweeping up in the other direction at her adversary. “ not enough, it seems - “ the retort was grunted out between blocks and strikes, the sounds of saber impact bouncing off the building walls around them. she hoped she was buying the engineer enough time to flee, though she feared her efforts might be in vein. there could be a reason echo confronted her alone. “ tell me, “ she started up when there was a slight break between the two. “ what is like risking life and limb for someone who wouldn’t think twice if you perished or thrived? all that work for no recognition…“ 

         she likes it      here  ,  likes the people and the village and the surrounding land  .  nothing will ever replace eden  ,  or the home and family she built there with madi  .  every night is filled with dreams of their little home and their simple lives  .  madi’s still little  ,  still needs her  .  back when her newly found daughter would crawl into bed with her  ,  tuck herself into her side just to be held  .  but eden is gone  ,  and so is that bond they’d so carefully built  .  maybe they’re quirky  ,  maybe they’re keeping some secrets  ,  but the people of sanctum have fed and clothed and housed them  .  in her state  ,  there’s nothing left in clarke to care about anything further than that  .  they keep her in paint and canvases  ,  what could be better than that  ?  the only downside is the pestering doctor insisting on keeping tabs on her dying body  .  

“  baking a cake  ,  ”  the laugh that surrounds the words is a little rough and causes a cough to tickle at the back of her throat  .  azure hues flick over to echo’s face and she chooses to ignore the look she finds there  .  with a small sigh she turns back to her canvas and returns to shading in the tree line  .  “  i’m painting  ,  what does it look like i’m doing  .  ”

patience  was  not  something  that  echo  had  ever  been  known  for.   during  the  time  that  they  had  spent  in  the  ring,  they  had  gone  through  many  changes  &  a  lot  of  mellowing  out  that  they  likely  would  have  never  experienced  if  they  had  stayed  on  the  ground. i  t  was  all  a  good  thing,  of  course.   but  the  sarcastic  little  snip  was  all  it  took  for  that  impatience  to  raise  its  head  &  flare  up  once  more,  her  lips  pressed  together  in  a  thin,  annoyed  line  as  her  head  canted  to  the  side  slightly  to  stare  back  at  clarke.   she’s  up  to  something.   what?   they  didn’t  have  the  slightest  clue  ––  no  one  seemed  to  know  exactly  what  was  going  on  with  her.   they  were  supposed  to  be  the  best  at  reading  people,  but even  echo  was  coming  up  short.   being  direct  seemed  to  be  the  only  way  that  they  would  get  any  answers.

he flinches at the mention of a village burning ,   a fresh surge of guilt twisting inside of him .  had that been an accident too ?  he wonders .  were people like him always destined to destroy everything ?  did it matter either way ?   swallowing ,  he keeps his gaze on hers ,  hands still held out in front of him .   “ i do not know those people ,  but i am sorry for the pain they have caused . ”  just like he’s sorry for the pain he’s caused ,  but he knows that apologies don’t matter much .  they can’t undo what has already been done ,  no matter how he may want for them to .   “ i’m … ”  his name feels wrong ,  like it doesn’t belong to him anymore .  maybe it doesn’t .  maybe that boy died with the others within the flames .   taking the next idea that comes to mind ,  he continues .  “ kylo .   kylo ren .  and i promise you that i do not mean any harm . ”

“okay, let’s not hit the machines that might save our lives.” though perhaps it was a stupid question to ask echo, considering they weren’t around the mechanics that they had. but then, it was rhetorical question, not one that she was expecting her to answer. but here they were, with a conversation that really wasn’t meant to be a conversation at all. she understood the words that left her lips, even if it did come across a bit snappy in raven’s opinion, and she didn’t mean to irk her. “no it isn’t, not for you anyway.” she points out to her now, twirling a little in her seat while she let out a sigh. “and i’m sorry that this is your life right now, really i am. but it’s to make sure you’re not dead, that you get to live.” she points out to her softly. “so maybe tell me what you’re good at ,and i can find you something to do around here.”

echo wasn’t wrong…many storms had beat their way through the valley in the last six years and in the beginning more than now…structures had been damaged. she hoped by now they had managed to secure them well enough to withstand the storms…but the weather seemed to be getting worse lately. luna pulled herself up to move to the window in the room and she closed the wooden shudders over it to keep glass from breaking through should anything strike the window from the outside. 

storms on the sea had been intense, she remembers, far worse than this, cyclones in the sky that ripped the sea up into giant swells…but that had been so long ago. “maybe…but we can’t move anywhere else.” she breathes out. “i have candles…and matches.” she states, bringing light to the space might make them feel better. 

the  sound  of  the  storm  doesn’t  bother  them,  the  shaking  of  the  walls  around  the  pair  threatening  to  crack  at  any  given  moment.   all  of  the  structures  that  they  had  built  together  had  a  considerable  amount  of  effort  put  into  maintaining  its  sturdiness.   still,  they  worry  that  not  everything  would  hold. getting  drenched  doesn’t  bother  her,  but  she  worried  about  lightning.  they  had  seen  devastating  fires,  found  theirself  frozen  in  fear  at  the  sight.   they  didn’t  want  to  confront  that  again.   not  now,  not  ever.

It wasn’t until the descent back down to earth when rapunzel realized how comfortable she was up in space; it was the home she’d always known, though earth had begun to feel more like it. but there were aspects to the planet she didn’t quite know, wasn’t too familiar with. and though learning was something she always wanted to do - especially when it came to learning about the planet itself - she was intimidated. permanently living on earth meant having to know how to properly hunt, fish, how to properly make a home there. but she trusted echo would teach her, would teach all of them. “how can you know what to expect from the lakes, if anything at all? certainly someone with experience must be able to tell beforehand, right?”

.

aliana was doubtful that the other would respond to her inquiry and she was understanding if that were the case. they had no reason to trust a random stranger who approaches them with pestering questions. although she did not see herself as threatening — from their demeanor, it was evident that they were on edge. 

“ azgeda—must’ve been around the mountains… ” she determined quickly, arms remained crossed behind her back as she surveyed the atmosphere of their conversation. something had shifted in it. “ i meant to ask — how did your people find this planet? you had a ship i assume…but it takes time, that i heard anyway, to arrive. it must move very fast… ” she did not plan to make this turn hostile. it was only for the sake of wonder in her mind. she was curious.

mountains  had  been  a  landmark  in  most  of  the  clans,  but  echo  was  in  no  mood  to  correct  or  offer  any  further  details  than  what  they  had  already.   it  was  a  careful  line  to  walk:  offering  enough  information  that  it  might  placate  further  curiosity,  but  still  keeping  details  close  to  themselves.   just  because  this  one  wasn’t  acting  hostile  didn’t  mean  she  wasn’t  one.   no  one  here  could  be  trusted.