Fandom Forbidden and Scarred Love { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel thanked Drake for his willingness to join him and dismissed him along with the rest to be with his family until midday as well. Once they were well and truly away from the rest Ezekiel nudged Alex as they walked. He smiled and concealed a laugh. “Well, that was certainly an adventure, wasn’t it? I hope you don’t mind my… amended version of events. If you are bothered, do not feel as though you must hide this from them. I would not be upset.”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex looked at Ezekiel as they were away from the others. He felt the nudge and chuckled softly. “It certainly was an adventure. And no I do not mind the uh amended version. It will be our little secret. I won’t tell anyone what really happened.” Alex told him. In fact, he’d been having some thoughts he shouldn’t so having another who shared a secret with him that would be something the elders would find bad, it made him trust Ezekiel more. Perhaps he found someone he could talk to. Maybe.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel’s smile widened at Alex’s promise. It was nice to have someone he could talk to about this. Not telling anyone about Kaiden the first day was hard enough. At least now if he was feeling plagued by it all again, then at least he could tell Alex. He wondered before if he was putting too much of a burden on the younger warrior, but now he realized that perhaps it was not a burden at all. “Can I- Can I be a little franker with you? Less serious and professional.” He was always trying to be that person. “I didn’t sleep at all last night. I dozed here and there. I might have slept for an hour. Maybe two at the most.” He frowned as he stared at the trees around them. “These last two days have done nothing but confuse me. I thought I knew who we were fighting, but- I- I don’t think that I do. As infuriating as they are,” the image of Kai was burned in his mind. Angry. Rude. “I still don’t think we were right.” He smiled a bit uneasily. “Which is… not something I feel I could tell anyone else.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex saw Ezekiel’s smile widen and he tilted his head a little. “Of course you can.” He said, smiling at Ezekiel. He listened with rapt attention to his friend, his brother. So it was not just Alex having odd thoughts about their ‘enemy’ which did not surprise him as it should. “Perhaps this war is not what we think it is. These wolves are people as are we. Yes they are.. rude and infuriating but some of our own can be that way as well. Have you met some of the older warriors?” He asked, thinking of some of them. “Maybe we’re not supposed to fight them but work with them to fight the demons together?” Alex asked, voicing an opinion that he felt he could trust Ezekiel with. Especially after today.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel chuckled at the mention of the older warriors. There were plenty that were both rude and infuriating. He was sure that Kai and Theo thought the same of him after yesterday. He was certainly not kind. “Do you think we should? Fight with them I mean? With them against the demons.” He thought on how they did not work so well together, though they seemed to have succeeded twice now. “Do you think we would survive that? And I don’t mean from our shared enemies.” He grinned at the thought of having to be around that man all the time. He would surely find himself with an aching head every night. If this was how infuriating one that was willing to work with them was, he could only imagine how awful the rest would be.
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex thought about yesterday, and nodded. “While it might be rough at first, I think that is what we should do. She tells us to preserve humanity, and the wolves have theirs. They might be rude and infuriating but.. they were raised to hate us. Perhaps if we work with them, we can overcome the prejudice from both sides. We were raised to hate them to as well after all.” Alex said, shrugging his shoulders. “The real question is how do we test this? We cannot walk into their territory just for Kaiden and Theo. Many of the wolves would kill us or send us to the apartments.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

“That I do not know.” This was the part of the conundrum that eluded him. There were no answers. Wishing to end the war was not unusual. Many wanted this. Wishing to work with the wolves was a different story, and he was not even sure that he wanted to. He was not sure he ever wanted to see them again. But the idea of not was not a pleasant one. He groaned a very human and imperfect kind of groan, dropping all pretense of whoever he was always trying to be. He was not even sure who that was. He was so angry, so righteous yesterday. He still felt justified in that anger. He wanted to stay in that anger. “We have much to think about you and I. We are all we’ve got. I don’t think there are many others we could voice these thoughts to, and I do not know how just two of us could change anything anyway.” He raised a hand to his head and sighed. “I just wish I could think of anything else for even an hour. I’ve kept you. Do you want to be with your family before we get back together?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex bit his lip as he thought for a moment. “It is a lot to think about. And maybe there are others but it is hard to find them. Most of us do not think like we do.” Alex commented as he stood there. He heard the sigh and then the question. “No. I uh I am fine. I’m with who I need to be with. How about we work on archery or you can teach me hand to hand. That might get your mind off Kaiden, Theo and the whole wolf problem.” Alex suggested, watching the other with a warm smile on his face.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

This answer was not what he expected. Ezekiel looked at him quizzically and then nodded. “Alright then. Teach me archery. You did not see me the day before last, but I was a pitiful excuse for a warrior. We are lucky that Kaiden could hold his own in battle long enough to find me a weapon.” He recalled the memory. “I believe it was a crowbar. Not my finest hour. Would you do me the honors of taking me on as your unworthy student?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex nodded and chuckled softly. “Sounds like I have to thank him. And yes, I shall take you on. Come along.” Alex said with a smile. He turned and led the way towards the training grounds. Empty until the next round of warriors reached eleven. He stopped at the starting line and the target was about a hundred yards straight ahead. He pulled off his bow and handed it to Ezekiel. “Show me how you shoot first. I need a baseline for how I can help you.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel followed his young teacher, mildly worried about showing how much he was not so good at the bow. He thought about those words. Thank him. Neither of them ever really thanked the other for saving each other’s lives. Was that something he should do? Did he want to? Did Kaiden deserve that? Maybe if Kaiden apologized first. He blinked a few times, bringing himself back into focus. He took Alex’s bow. “I warn you. It isn’t good.” he lifted it. His stance was good. Perhaps not great. His elbow was a bit high from overcompensating. He drew back and shot. It went maybe about 80 yards and veered to the right. He sighed. “Would you believe I did actually hit the demon the other day? I did miss once but I also hit.”

Theo knocked on the door. “Kai. Kai. Kaiiii. I can’t be in that room anymore. They’re crazy. They finally fell asleep, and I am so not going to listen to Brian lecture me forever. Please tell me your dad didn’t kill you or force you into that room with them. I neeeeeed you. Or I guess anywhere. I can’t sleep because I’m too keyed up and I promise I won’t coerce you into anything stupid or dangerous this time.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex chuckled as he watched Ezekiel take the bow. He watched him carefully, the stance was good but could be fixed, and his elbow was high. "I believe you. And right away I see that your stance could be much better. And your elbow is a bit too high." Alex said, taking the bow back gently. "Watch me, and mimic me as I shoot." Alex said, taking the proper stance and drew back the bow, elbow in the correct position. He took a deep breath in and out, then fired. He hit the center of the target and then handed the bow back. "Try again."

Kai had closed his eyes for a moment before he heard the knock on the door. A loud groan echoed from him as he moved off the bed and to the door. "I swear, you better not coerce me into anything." Kai grumbled as he unlocked the door and pulled it open, allowing Theo into the room. He shut and locked it behind his brother. "I almost did get killed by my dad, I want you to know." Kai muttered as he walked back to the bed and dropped onto it with a huff. "What do you want to talk about?"​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

As Alex took the bow, Ezekiel watched, hands still out like he held the weapon. He attempted to mimic Alex’s stance. He wasn’t sure he had to right, but he was probably closer. He pulled his arm down, but without a pair of eyes on the back of his head, he didn’t know how to tell. He smiled at Alex’s perfect shot. “Now that is unfair.” He took the bow and tried to hold it properly again. “Lowered elbow. Is that good? How is this stance? I believe you were doing something like this?”

Theo raised his hands as Kai opened the door. “I swear it on my grandmother’s grave. Which I’ve never been to but I’ve been told is beautiful.” He moved inside and groaned. “Noooo was it bad? I feel like it was bad. It can’t be that bad because you’re not like… I dunno handcuffed to him.” He flopped into a chair and stared at the ceiling. “And and and I don’t really have anything specific to talk about, you know. I just couldn’t be in the room with my parents being all like ‘my poor baby..’ like I died or something. And also like I’m an actual baby.” He threw up his hands and fell backwards. “I’m sorry it sucked for you.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex looked at Ezekiel when he heard him and blushed a little. He wasn’t use to praise. “I worked hard on it.” Alex admitted as he watched Ezekiel take his stance again. Alex stepped up beside him and placed a hand on his elbow. “Down just a bit. Good. Now widen your stance a little. Perfect! Now breathe in and out slow and fire.” Alex said taking a few steps back to watch again.

Kai sighed as he looked at Theo. “I almost was handcuffed to him, and if he wasn’t tired, I’m sure he probably would’ve.” Kaiden said with a huff and crossed arms. “If anything, it could’ve gone so much worse but he made sure to let me know I’d messed up and could’ve gotten one or both of us really hurt.” He added as he sighed. Kai flopped onto his back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. “I figured you’d wanna talk more about our friends actually.” Kaiden said, glancing over to Theo.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel followed the instructions paying close attention. He wanted to get this right. He breathed in and out slowly. Slow. And fired. He at least hit the target this time. It was far too low but at least it hit. He had training in this. He wasn’t new to it. He simply.. never put much stock into it honestly. For many years, he had Janna who was excellent with the bow. She was extremely reliable. Never sick. Never late. Ezekiel’s skills fell away as he became more reliant on her. That was the problem now. There was no more Janna. But there was Alex. “Hm. Well, that seems to be better.”

Theo felt tremendously bad that his stupid suggestion and his ridiculous insistence that they do something cause so much bad for Kai. He knew how his dad was, so it was unfair to assume that they would get away with things. “Do you think it’s be worse when he’s slept on it? Or do you think he’ll chill? I don’t know. He’s a bit scary. I’ve heard he was a lot scary when we were gone.” Theo sighed. “At least he cares enough to get worked up. I know my parents do care, but they didn’t even cause a fuss or anything.” He shrugged and then brought them back to the point. “But since you mentioned them, do you want to talk about our, um, friends?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex watched as he saw Ezekiel breathe and then shoot. “That was much better. Your arm wavered a little when you shot, might be why you hit a little lower. When you shoot this next time, imagine your arm straight like a tree. Unmovable. Try again.” Alex said, shifting his stance and watching Ezekiel again.

Kai looked at Theo and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure if it’ll be worse or better after he’s slept. But I feel I might not be allowed out when not on patrol for a while.” Kai said, letting out a deep sigh. “I think he just doesn’t want to lose anyone anymore.” He added softly. He looked back at the ceiling. “Yes and no. It’s so weird and confusing. First we save each other and then we work together but then we’re fighting in the street. I’m so confused and mixed up inside.” ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

“Unmovable like a tree.” Ezekiel pulled out another arrow. Breathed in. Straight arm. Breathed out. Unmovable. He willed those trainings from years ago to come back to him. The skills he had were buried somewhere inside of him. He pulled back the string. Straight arm, or so he hoped. Perhaps not quite unmovable. He let it go. The arrow flew forward and again hit the target. The arrow sat a foot below the middle. He shook his head. “This was why each of those demons took two and three shots from me.”

Theo wanted to talk about their new friends. Theo wanted to talk about how weird that was and the fact that Kai and Ezekiel totally lost their minds. He wanted to be like ‘Bro, something is happening here, and I am afraid of whatever that is.’ But he didn’t. So instead, while he sat there lounging, he tried a different approach. “I mean, he was pretty aggressive. I feel like they all are though? I don’t know for sure. And I think it was good of you not to kill him. He was really pushing all the buttons.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex bit his lip as he watched him shoot. “Okay. I want you to shoot again, but this time, try lifting your arm up a little. If you aim higher then the target, when it wavers, should hit straight. You can do it, and you’re getting better.” Alex commented as he waited and watched again. Ezekiel could do it, Alex believed in him.

Kai pushed out a breath of air as he rolled to the side and looked at Theo. “Sure he was aggressive but I wasn’t any better. I even snapped at you! Theo.. there’s just something weird about him, like I find myself not wanting to kill him. I don’t know. I’m finding it harder and harder to believe in our cause, believe in this war against the sc- Seraphites.” Kaiden admitted before he sighed heavily. “This is so wrong to think this way. And it’s weird and confusing to feel this way.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Okay. Shooting again. Ezekiel took in a very deep breath and held it as he tried to steady the sway of his aim. He raised the aim up a little, worried about the waver he could not quell, and when he felt that it was up high enough, he shot again. He puffed out a laugh. “I appear to have overcompensated.” This arrow was about half a foot above the middle. “Though, it is closer I guess. My previous teacher told met that not all people are meant to be proficient in all combat styles. I believe she was being kind to my inability to perfect this.”

These were all true. Kai did in fact snap at Theo, and that was not so pleasant. Theo was over it. He knew that was a heat of the moment thing that came from arguing with someone else. “I mean, I didn’t really want to kill them either. They came in and killed the infected that would definitely have killed us and then got us to the roof. There wasn’t a reason to kill the people trying to help us. Though I don’t know how much I want to be like best friends with them? But maybe… I dunno, maybe I kind of wish we knew their side, you know? Like we know our side but we don’t really know theirs is what I think I’m learning.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex watched and couldn’t help the small chuckle slipping out. “Okay. You’re doing really well though. And she’s right, which is why groups are a better idea than being alone. But keeping up with the skills that you have is good in case things happen.” Alex said as he leaned back on his heels for a moment. “Okay. Let’s take a break.” Alex told him, knowing that pushing might not help in this case.

Kai sat up and looked over at Theo. A puzzled expression on his face as he listened to his best friend. “Exactly, but even when we separated, and we should’ve killed them, we didn’t. I didn’t. You are right though, I’d like to know their side a little more. But I doubt we’ll see them again, and even if we did, we’d have our patrols with us. And I’m not about to be allowed out with just you for a while.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel handed the bow back to Alex. “I appreciate your patience and willingness to work with someone who has significantly more experience and therefore should be significantly better.” He walked to the target to retrieve the three arrows and bring them back to his friend. “Alright, tell me something about you. Really about yourself. I have far too many siblings for my parents’ own good, but they took their role as childbearing very seriously. The house is cramped, I sleep in a loft meant for storage, and I do so because I have refused to be partnered with someone for many, many years. That is something about me. So, tell me more about you.”

“You know why you didn’t?” Theo asked. “Because it was wrong. Simple as that. It’s like saying that we should kill someone who was instrumental in helping us in something just because they were FEDRA. If we were to do that, then we would have to kill our parents.” He frowned at the thought. “What if there’s more to the story? But you’re also right. You and I are not going to get to go on individual adventures. And your patrol has your family, so there’s no way they’re about to let you have a chat with some Seraphites or get lost for a while again.” Theo laughed at a thought. “Secret rendezvous with the enemy that you love to hate. Man, if it was that guy, you’d just argue the whole time. The only thing he seemed willing to be positive about was not murdering us. Everything else he seemed kinda against? Sometimes? But not Alex. Reasonable head on that one. I can tell. It’s because we’re kindred spirits.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex took the bow when Ezekiel handed it back to him. He nodded with a smile as he watched his friend retrieve the arrows. “Of course. We all have ways we can improve and if our friends or group can help us, I don’t see why awe shouldn’t.” Alex replied, and the he listened. Refused to be partnered? That was a thing? “Oh. Um. Let’s see, it’s just me and Juliet at home with our parents, my brother Devin has his own home with his wife and they have their first little one on the way. But.. the idea of partnering makes me uneasy. I’m not sure why though, it just does.”

“Wrong.. yeah. That’s it. It was wrong to kill them after they helped us.” Kai agreed, looking at Theo. “You’re onto something, maybe we can’t meet up with them but perhaps we can leave them notes? You know like the ones we’ve found in some of those houses? I’m just not sure how we’d make sure that they got them.” Kai said in thought. It was a way to work around him not being able to actually meet up with them to learn more. The idea of learning made him smile, though the idea of meeting Ezekiel again brought mixed feelings, like anger and frustration and a little annoyance.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel’s refusal of being paired with another stemmed from what he assumed was his refusal to stop being useful while he could still be truly useful. Bodies were at their healthiest and most capable, if trained and maintained correctly, in their twenties and thirties. When it was time for him to be paired with a woman again, Ezekiel made the only case against the Elders in his entire life. He told them that it would be a waste. They should wait. His argument was enough, and he continued to be granted this solitary life. He had to appeal to them every so often as they thought he could create wonderful offspring with those ‘strong genes.’ “That I do understand. That unease is one of the many reasons I told the Elders that this was not the right time. And keep telling them that. I am willing to bet that there are more of us here who feel that unease but have been unwilling to tell the Elders.”

Theo furrowed his brows at this new idea. “Leaving notes? But how would we even do that? We don’t even know where they go.” That wasn’t exactly true. “We do know where they came from. But that is not part of our patrol routes. How would we even get over there? And even if we left it in our patrols, how would we make sure that it got to the right people? And how do we say things like ‘hello, remember us? We’re the people you didn’t kill and we didn’t kill you, and I know that we split on real crappy terms, but we want to be friends in a we kind of hate you sort of way, so let’s work together and end this was so that we can fight some more’? I don’t think that’s going to convince them of anything.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaiden Lachlan and Alexander Brennan (along with the Smith Clan)
WLF Member, Young Seraphite Warrior | 23, 16 | Current location ;; Washington

Alex listened to Ezekiel and thought about it for a moment. Could he even do that? He knew it could come back on his parents and Alex didn’t want that. He loved his parents and didn’t want his own unease to cause them problems. “Many of us don’t want to because it could come back onto our parents.” Alex said quietly, looking him. “But I don’t know what I’ll do in three years when I have to be partnered.”

Kai looked over at Theo and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we can find a way? Look, it’s the only thing I could think of. Perhaps we can leave it at Martyr’s Gate? That’s not too far from our normal routes and we know they visit there. We can put their name on it and ours.” Kai suggested with a heavy sigh. “And yeah, maybe inside we could write that we want to learn more and maybe not fight them?”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Ezekiel Finch and Theophilus Sharpe (and also the Smith Clan)
Seraphite Warrior, WLF Member | 26, 22 | Current location ;; Washington

Ezekiel nodded at that sentiment. “That is very kind of you. I too worried about that at the beginning. Of course, I also allowed them to pair me with a very nice young woman when I was nineteen.” He sighed. “It was not a good pairing for many reasons. She was kind, and I was loyal. We worked well together in our trainings, and I thought it was a good match.” He groaned. “I did not like it, but I knew it was not my choice.” He raised a hand and waved it. “She died, which is why I am not still with her. It was very early on in our partnership. She was killed by wolves. And though I am sad that she died, I am both glad that she rests with Her and that we are not with one another anymore. It was not good for either of us. She needed someone who could care for her in a way I cannot.” He smiled again. “And I have been able to convince the Elders not to pair me with anyone else since. It has not been easy. I prepare my arguments far in advance. I know that not all are as lucky as I.”

Theo frowned and then actually considered the words Kai said. “Do you think that could work? Will that be suspicious? How would we even get there without causing our own people’s suspicions? How do we not make it look like something that could get them in trouble?” He took a deep breath. “You know, I think that could actually work, man. If we are super cryptic but in a way that they understand and everyone else might misconstrue or something?”
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