#prompt29

CW: Mild talk of sex 

Finishing up the Einar stories today. Takes place shortly after the events of Pupa. CW: Violence from a parental figure

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The young viera’s hand’s tighten as the next wave of mounting confidence began to crest against the wall of anxiety that had them firmly hidden in the foliage outside the village. Confrontation was inevitable with what she had done, and as certain as she was that she was right to have done it, that same certainty did not extend to the understanding of the others. She’s nearly half way out of her mire of doubt and then drops back down again, buying another few minutes of oppressive worry drowning out the rest of the world. Her world had shrunk down to that hiding spot once again, racing laps around the inside of her skull.

The soft change in the plants went entirely outside of her notice, and with one hard crash of the butt of a spear to the back of her head, her world went black.

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The first stirrings of her mind putting itself back together are immediately followed by a hiss of pain, suddenly aware of the shards of molten glass that felt like they’d been scattered all throughout when the scrambling hit came from behind. When she finally does work her eyes open to take stock of things, the familiar trappings of the healer’s home surrounded her. Tempting as it was to try and use aether to relieve the pressure in her head, she knows she’s too drenched in things still to do anything other than try and down one of the prepared herbal treatments laid out and waiting for her. That it meant her mentor knew exactly what injury she had hadn’t crept properly into her thoughts yet when the woman made her way back into the hut.

The unrestrained fury burning in the elder viera’s eyes made her student physically recoil away from her, arms brought up like useless shields against the withering glare. “Einar, what have you done?! What were you thinking? That one I can answer, you weren’t!” Even as enraged as she was, when she came striding over ready to strike the youth she relents from battering herinjured head further, and instead rains a few slaps down upon her arms. “Your aether is all wrong, how have you done this? What happened to you?” Each question comes with another hard slap against her already stinging arms, tears streaming their way down her face already.

“Kennari please! Please stop!” She went retreating back step by step with the battering, eventually ending back down curled upon the bedding she’d woke up on only a few moments before. Eventually there’s enough of a halt for her to raise her head up from behind her sure-to-be-bruised arms, leveling a bleary gaze up at her mentor. “I fixed it.. I fixed me! I don’t have to go away now! I can stay.. I can learn!” Though the words were meant to come surging forth as proclamations, she can only truly summon them up as pleas, hoping to placate the elder’s rage. “I found a place.. strong with aether, there was so much flow! With.. with the Gift I was able to change myself.” Her legs curl in towards her chest, wrapped up in a ball beneath the still oppressive heat of the other viera’s wrath. “I did it.. I put myself the way I was supposed to be! Just like you taught me!”

That last sentiment immediately lead to a sharp snap of the elder’s foot, driving it right into the altered woman’s chest. The wind rushes out of the nearly collapsed teen, giving way immediately into a fit of alternating gasps and ugly coughs. “How DARE you say that I taught you this! I showed you how to mend the broken, not to mold life how you see fit!” Another powerful kick follows, going for an unprotected stretch of ribs along the battered woman’s side. “This.. perversion is of your creation, not mine! Not only do you try and break tradition, to run from your responsibility as a male, but you twist the Gift into a tool for you own sickness!” The third strike comes squarely into his stomach, nearly working with the aether sickness to finish dragging the contents up. Instead a blood-tinted wad of spit flies out in another fit of hacking. “They do not make curses strong enough to fit what you have done, Einar!”

Something other than a rib finally snaps in the young woman trying to curl deeper into a ball to protect herself, and what scraps of breath she had left rip out of her in a scream. A wave of aether comes surging out of her and slams it’s way into the elder’s chest, sending her physically reeling back several fulms. Instead of washing over or past however, it sinks into her like hooks as the younger healer rips into the flow within. A tear and saliva soaked mask of primal anger stares down the shocked, breathless elder as her student’s non-physical grip works it’s way to the viera’s heart. Twisting and squeezing down on that internal life stream, she forces the body to repeatedly heal and bulk the mass of the veins and arteries coming in and out of that pumping organ, closing them off one by one until it’s over full and driving at closed off passages. “I knew some would not understand.. that there would be anger, hate.” The words drag their way out on raspy breaths as panic sets in for the other healer. “But I thought.. ‘Not my Kennari. She would understand... she has the Gift, how could she not?’”

“If you don’t start getting ready you’re never going to convince them of anything.”

A dismissive hand waves up from the researcher’s work, the other still making adjustments to his instrumentation. “Extrapolation Node, take new variables and run probability calculations again.” His gaze shot out to the woman holding his dress regalia, eyes narrowed in expectation. “If I don’t confirm my findings then there’s no point in going to the approvals hearing.” The response gets a roll of the woman’s eyes, but she leans herself against the wall near the entry to his lab.

“Calculations complete. 97 per cent chance of successful fragmentation. 67 per cent chance of successful long term containment of fragments. Sentience rating of fragments negligible.”

A lengthy sigh falls from the man’s lips as the Node reads out it’s data. “Those numbers aren’t where I want them, but it’s at least it’s a presentable start.” As he finishes the words his finest outfit is dumped onto the workstation next to him, with a set of narrowed eyes turned down his way.

“No more tinkering, no more tweaking, no more experiments. This is where you put on your big boy pants and go charm the appropriations board. It’s as much about looks and behavior and confidence as it is your data. You’re going to do great! And with funding, you’ll get your numbers where you want them. Without it and all this isn’t work anything.”

The researcher rubs the bridge of his nose. “Fine, fine you’re right.” As he picks up the fine looking outfit he gives a small smile to the woman pushing him, and then looks on to the node floating placidly nearby. “Extrapolation Node, copy all data on the Ceaseless Soldier project into tomestones.”

@linariouswrites @thethistlegirlwrites @doubi-ixi​

Cute dragon under the cut

I think I need a doctor

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Kiera frowned at her husband who was sitting on the end of her bed, reading a book. “I don’t believe this,” she grumbled for the third time, trying to get his attention. Rin finally sighed and put his book down. 

“Kiera, I swear, you have to be in bed, I don’t care if you down believe it,” he said, eyes flashing, dangerously close to losing his temper. 

Kiera folded her arms and looked away, a little guilt pooling in her chest for making him angry. She didn’t want to be stuck in bed being watched constantly. She had been hit by a potion the day before, and it hadn't shown any effects, so Rin was putting her under close watch and she wasn’t allowed to move around much. She hated this. She liked sitting on her bed and drawing or reading or scrolling through her phone, but not when it was forced on her. She had issues with being told what to do. 

Kiera laid back and stared at the ceiling with a glare. She examined the paint and the designs she saw there. She wanted so badly to paint things on the blank expanse. But she wasn’t allowed to do anything but sit there. She couldn’t even cuddle with Rin in case the potion was affected by that. 

Kiera felt something seize in her chest. Startled, she jerked in the blankets. Her back suddenly hurt like it had been herniated again in that moment. She made a choking pained sound and hissed as more pain lit over her body. Bruises formed all over her body as Rin was at her side instantly. 

Kiera screamed. She screamed! Wounds long closed opened again all over her body. Her self inflicted wounds on her arms, wounds she hadn’t caused in so long, opened again. The bed was soaked with blood. Kiera was soaked with blood. Rin was working in deadly silence. He poured potions over the wounds to keep them from bleeding out too much. He helped her drink a blood potion, a potion to help her replace blood faster. He began staunching wounds. Wounds everywhere. And he recognized many of them. 

“It’s okay, love,” Rin whispered as he worked to keep bleeding at bay and keep her from dying. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. I got you.”

Kiera could barely hear him through the pain. Wounds and injuries opened and they just added to the pain. She was on fire. She was dying.

Then it stopped. Rin somehow reversed the potion effect. Kiera twitched and shivered from the memories of the pain. Her muscles spasmed as her body tried to understand what just happened. 

Rin pulled her into his embrace and rocked her back and forth in bloody arms as she cried into his shoulder. He smoothed down her hair and kissed her ears.

“I know that was scary, pup,” he murmured. “You’re okay, though. You’re okay.”

Kiera could only nod and let him rub his hands over her uninjured skin to remind her that she was okay.

Laurance rubbed his jaw. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like this feeling.

“I’m never going back,” Laurance snarled, careful about the way he moved his lips.

“You’re just being a baby, Laurance,” Rin said, putting an arm over the Semni’s shoulders. “Even kids can do that without this much fuss.”

“Well, I don’t really see why I really needed to do that,” Laurance snarled.

“You’re just mad that they numbed your cheeks. Would you rather they drilled into your teeth without any pain killers?” Kiera asked, raising an eyebrow.

Laurance lowered into the distance. “I hate dentists. I didn’t even need to go.”

‘Laurance, you had three cavities. Deal with it or I’m not paying for your french fries,” Rin said, punching his friend in the shoulder.

Laurance shivered, though he could feel nothing anymore. He was too cold. His hands were the first to lose feeling, being tied behind his back as well as being extremely cold. Laurance curled tighter to himself, bound legs drawn up so tight so as to almost touch his chin where his teeth chattered through a gag. He closed his eyes against the cold, miserable.

What was even worse was that the cold was being caused by Kiera’s powers. She didn’t know that he was there. She thought that the villain was having her keep a room of potions cold, threatening Anisha’s life if the werewolf didn’t do it. The problem was, Laurance was going to die if this went on much longer. He was kind of glad Kiera didn’t realize what she was doing. It was possible he would survive. After all, he had survived quite a bit, including death itself.