#joelpulse

He leaned into the rough stone wall behind him, poking slightly at his shoulder. He closed his eyes, blowing out another cloud of smoke. 

He peeked an eye open at the sharp sound of a door slamming open. Though he shouldn’t, Impulse turned his head in the direction of the door, seeing a crowd spilling out. The last of the patrons, likely. 

The screaming was loud but mixed into each other, so he could do nothing but keep an eye on them. Among the crowd, he saw a head of brown, peaking his interest enough to straighten his shoulders. 

That was Joel, the new singer of the casino; loud and proud, and by the looks of it, a magnet of problems and fights. 

Subtly, he inched closer until he could make out their screaming. 

Something about unpaid tabs and beating them to the ground. He couldn’t help the laugh under his breath, almost amused by the way Joel didn’t care about the various versus himself. Still, he flinched when Joel invaded the head guy’s space, pointing accusingly. 

“You want to go?!” 

The head guy tensed, looking at his group, and getting his decision when they cheered. He pushed Joel back, stepping back when Joel barely moved. 

Then the punches flew, one right under the guy’s chin. Chaos broke through quickly when the guy was knocked aside, the crowd throwing themselves at Joel but—

Well, Joel was holding his own, throwing punches indiscriminately. 

Still, Impulse pushed through them, pulling them off Joel. The crowd jumped back, gasping and fearful, the alleyway halted when he pulled Joel from the head guy again. He spared a glance, not hiding the chuckle from the mess Joel had caused. 

“Oi! I’m not done!” Joel squirmed, trying to free himself and try to finish the fight. Impulse held him tight, then resulted in throwing him over his shoulder, Joel huffing and going limp.

“Clear up,” Impulse ordered, firm and loud. 

Impulse didn’t stay long, taking off to the staff parking lot. Joel was limp for a second, then pushed himself on his shoulder, twisting a little to face him and sit on his arm. Joel wrapped his arms around his neck, resting his head on top of his. He tensed a little, but held steady as he walked. 

“I had it,” Joel pouted. 

“And kill a patron in front of the establishment?”

“Orange would look good on me.” Joel laughed, running his fingers through his hair. And playfully, he poked around his eyebrow piercing, pinching his skin slightly too. “You know what else would look good on me?”

Impulse chuckled, picking up that flirty tone they all mastered for the patrons. He lowered him a little, enough that Joel now perched on his shoulder, unbothered where he sat. 

“You!” Joel giggled.

And that was when Impulse realized, “You’re drunk.”

“A little,” he laughed, resting on his shoulder.

_____

why am i struggling with romance today 😭😭😭 i cant get joelpulse right. and and and I DELETED THE REQ BY ACCIDENT BEFORE

Still, he stands his place when the ground shakes. Rubble and dust rains from the high ceiling, rolling down the stony walls, bumping into stalagmites on their way down. And from the shadows, a cloud of sick purple and gold spreads in huffs, not quite fiery nor cold. Claws rake the dirt and stone, echoing within the walls right back to the knight. 

A shape hides in the shadows, grand and much bigger than the cave itself. The knight follows where the wisps of magic reside, finding rich purples with a golden glow for eyes. 

Leisurely, proudly, the beast walks into the light, lowering its head to level with the knight. Sharp teeth that flash from the flames around. 

“I’m not scared of you,” the knight proclaims, lowering his sword slightly as he walks closer. The metal clanks, sharp unlike the claws on stone. 

“You should be,” the beast breathes with a wicked smile filled with shadows. 

The dragon whips its tail, shattering a stalagmite into crumbs but the knight jumps over it, rolling onto his knees. Agile, despite the clunky armor. He kneels then gets up, never once breaking eye contact. His helmet hides him, but there is something about him that not even masks could hide. 

Thrill. 

It breathes out purple flames with golden sparks, glittering magic, right at the knight. He, again, dodges it, rolling away as the flames follow him. He races behind a pillar, hiding for a moment as the flames concentrate on it, exploding to reveal the knight hidden behind his shield. 

Lightly scratched, the symbol shows itself to the dragon. 

It blows another round of flames, hoping to burn it off but the shield remains strong. It steams and glitters, barely touched. So there has to be magic on the knight’s side, some blessing perhaps. 

The knight dashes to another pillar, merely a blink before emerging with the tip of an arrow pointed at it. The arrow flies quickly, followed by another and another, a couple piercing the dragon’s tough skin. It roars with growing anger, clawing into the light to shatter all the coverings as it slashes the arrows away. 

The dragon gives chase, cornering the knight against the wall, huffing and puffing. The damage is minimal, but the knight is proving himself persistent, stubborn with a strong sense of duty. 

The worst qualities of humans. 

When it lowers, the arrow tips explode, smoke covering it and its vision. It lets out a ground-shaking scream when a too-sharp blade cuts at its arm, tail whipping blindly. But as if floating, the knight evades its attack. 

Another slash to its tail, and finally, it makes contact. 

The metal screeches, impacting the wall. It slashes the smoke away, in time to see the knight fall to the ground, arrows and shield sliding off his back though his sword remains stubborn on his hand. He wastes no time on the ground, pushing himself onto steady feet, ready to strike again. 

In its ire, the dragon claws at the ceiling, stalactites and broken chunks of the ceiling break off. The knight tries to run, but he is too slow. 

Its chest rises and falls, smoke spilling out from its nostrils. It watches the pile of rubble where the knight is buried, distracted by the dust flying up and re-settling in the peace. 

Silence returns. And like that, the battle is over. 

___

When Joel wakes up, not opening his eyes, the space around him is bright and whatever is under him is soft. He groans when his head pounds, rolling onto his side to hide himself from the light. Childishly, he buries his face into the soft fabric, curling onto himself. 

A chuckle makes him jump up, everything hitting him all at once. 

He pats himself down, panicking when he touches bouncy muscle instead of cold, firm metal. His joints bend and stretch freely, and he instantly dreads lacking his sword. In a panic, he looks around, trying to locate the voice. 

“Finally awake, huh?” 

Joel blinks, staring at the being standing a couple of steps from the foot of the makeshift bed he is sitting on. A human-like being, mostly male human body but the other traits draw his eyes too much. 

The horns that curved backwards, sharp ears with blackened tips. Claws where hands should be, also blackened and melting into pale, human skin at the mid-arm. Behind him, neatly folded wings and under them, a slow swaying spiked tail. When he looks back at its face, the unnatural eyes and the stretched line of its mouth make him hold his breath. 

Very much like the dragon he fought earlier. 

“Aw, don’t be shy. Where is your spirit?” 

Joel exhales, then instantly sucks another breath in. The dragon-hybrid tilts its head, smiling wickedly. His heart beats hard on his chest when it walks over, getting much too close for comfort. But Joel lets him, until it stands on the side of the makeshift bed, playfully reaching a hand.

Again, Joel lets him get close. The clawed, cold hand touches his cheek. Then it tips his head up by his chin, looking straight at his eyes. Those rich purples with gold sparkles, plenty alluring. 

It smiles, revealing sharp teeth, “What’s wrong? Something troubling your pretty head?”

Joel lets his lips part when it tugs at his bottom lip, purple eyes flicking between them and his eyes, a too familiar amused look in it. 

“Something troubling you,” Joel whispers, knocking it from its highground. 

Quickly, he grabs its wrist, swallowing the hiss from the cold as he pulls it down, jumping out of the way. Before it touches the bed, he jumps on top of it, his knees pressing down on its back shoulders, trapping its wings under him. He pulls its arm back, holding tighter when he hears it groan. 

“Shift,” he challenges, twisting its arm closer to the back of its neck. He holds the back of his head with his other hand, feeling them sinking a little in the bed. From there, he can see soft sheets the color of the ocean. 

It laughs, darkly, “You have a death wish.”

“This whole thing is a suicide wish,” he bites back, pushing down further. 

He knows he is not even close to matching the dragon’s weight, so he is not entirely sure what he is doing or hoping to accomplish. Without a weapon and without any physical advantage, he really is at the mercy of who knows. 

The moment comes when the tail wraps around his ankle, yanking him off like nothing. He slides on the ground, biting back the moans of pain that revitalize through his body. As best as he can, he fills his lungs with air, turning to see the dragon push itself up. 

Its wings stretch wide, black and purple, golden veins and sparkles. Its tail flicks, whipping the side of the bed when it turns around. 

“You are…” It starts, walking towards him slowly, like a predator playing with its prey. Joel stays on the spot, holding its gaze, not even daring to look for a weapon even though he should. “Different,” it finishes, delighted. 

Joel presses his lips shut, feeling the tingling where he had been touched.

“Tell me, what’s your name?”

_____

hah, fun fact, this was going to be a joelpulse req, but i forgot the main thing they asked (romance) so... well, tomorrow is another day