Fantasy Hidden Worlds

[Rabid_Rabbit]

Mordecai - the Messenger
The Devil | spuɐM ɟo ʇɥƃᴉuʞ | Knight of Cups

“June? Oh! June!” Relief washed over the fae man, dizzying and refreshing. It was palpable in the way the fear and anxiety that had creased his brow and drawn his lips taught relaxed. His eyes twinkled, the fear that darkened them fading as he took a breath and laid a hand on her cheek. Her hand on his shoulder brought them closer, their breaths mingling n the cold air. “I thought you were hurt or – or gone…”

But as soon as the almost tender moment began, it ended, the realisation June’s dress had been torn down to near nudity causing Cai to fret over where he could possibly rest his eyes to check her wounds when she was so bare! He spluttered, somehow losing the easygoing facade he had when they had first met. “Yes … yes … ok … “

Cai looked around frantically, seeing no vendors to quickly find cloth or fur to cover her. It was a half-minute of his frantic searching before he realised he had been wearing a jacket and – while the fit was very slim on his frame, Juniper was smaller herself and it easily kept her modest. He handed it over, shivering as he did so. The loose clothing he wore underneath was clearly suited to his exploits as a runner, light and breezy as it was.

“It’s OK June,” he spoke reassuringly. “Let’s get you back inside.”

---

“ … and what the HELL was that?!” Cai snarled as he slammed the door as they entered her room at the inn, him having basically carried her much of the way – and definitely scooped her up to climb the stairs. There was a banging on the shared wall of the room, the inn having gone dark for the patrons to sleep several hours ago. “I ask you to stay put for a reason and here you are, gallivanting around with the Unseelie! You could have died, you could have been found out!”

His chest was heaving and, for such a skinny young – man? Or creature? – he suddenly possessed a crackling, intimidating aura that seemed to suck the warmth and cosiness out of the room. Now that the danger was over, his concern and relief gave way to anger at how close a call it had been. It was the same feeling June had, no doubt, felt many times when she was fielding her many borthers and sisters away from danger – but it wasn’t any less infuriating to be the subject of such ire.

“In fact, they absolutely know, because the first thing they did was feed you some fruit! Could you not have waited?!” Cai continued, flouncing over to her. He emptied his messenger bag onto the bedspread. Some bread, a small pat of butter wrapped in waxed cloth, and dried meat – the scent of it rich and clearly seasoned with herbs and spices – fell out of its depths. He took another look at June, pale and wide eyed, her feet damaged by the frantic dance, and the messenger felt himself and his anger deflate. “I was going to take care of you, I promise. I just … you’re not supposed to be here, and … creatures will try to take advantage of that…”

There had been a wash basin and some soap placed in the corner, and as if to atone for his previous outburst, Cai lugged it over to June’s place, helping her clean and dress her blistered and torn feet. “I’m going to stay here tonight,” Cai said. “There’s a blanket and a chair in here. I just don’t want another nighttime visitor. A fae in the room will likely deter them – or deter you from giving them permission to come in. We rise early tomorrow, I have found us a way to the city.”

Code Credit: Shimivan

 

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Juniper

location: inn|tags: Rabid_Rabbit

Swallowing thickly, Juniper couldn't even find herself embarrassed at her lack of covering clothes. Surely the blood leaking from her wounds was far more concerning than a flash of freckled skin. Her eyes flickered shut as he brought his face close, and she let out a shuttering breath of air. His hand was almost soft again her cheek, a quick comfort to the rough dancing she had just been experiencing. The dull thud of pain was starting to pound in her ears, but she still managed a weak and rough laugh as Cai quickly grew flustered at the tears in her dress, though she was quick to settle down again once he slipped her his jacket.

It would do, for now.


----------

Shivering in his arms, Juniper winced at his raised voice. Her eyes were nearly squeezed shut at the new light slipping into view, but she found herself sliding away from his grip and across the room to the bed. A trail of blood followed behind her, mixed with the dirt that covered her calves. His voice was an alarm going off and off again, sounding far away yet right up against her. If she had the energy, she'd be chucking a pillow right into his slim little visage and yelling right back. But alas, she was exhausted. She wasn't even sure if she could yell at the moment, but perhaps if she tried her best she'd get a good shout out.

Instead, she was forced to listen to Cai rant on and on as her feet dangled over the edge of the comforter. Blood dripped and splattered on the ground, the scent surely pungent to other fae. Luckily, and hopefully, Cai would be enough to ward them off. A cough sounded, but she had yet to say anything to Cai as he finally deflated in his yelling. Her hand dropped down next to her to pluck up a bit of meat, and soon she was chewing and working on the dried strip. The sound of the basin being lugged over was noted, but the blank expression on her face suggested she had clocked out mentally.

That was, until he began cleaning and dress her feet. The water was quickly stained scarlet, and a hiss of pain sounded. Her features shifted as she sucked on her own teeth, before her hands lowered down to her lap with the remaining jerky. When she spoke, her voice was rough and patchy. As if she was attempting to hold back her tears.

"I-I didn't go out on purpose, all I remember was leaning on the window to get some fresh air. I didn't give anyone permission, do you truly think I'm that childish?" She hissed out hoarsely, before dropping her head forward. Strains of dirty hair covered her feature, though her entire frame shuddered as she inhaled deeply.

"Don't you understand how hard this is all for me? I know I'm not supposed to be here, but yet I'm stuck in this blasted world," she continued on, her hand reaching up to spread flat against her chest, right over her heart. "There's a constant tug on my entire being, it feels. Like I'm not supposed to be here, but I'm being held here by something Cai. But everything is completely different from my own world, and my only companion is a creature I'm not supposed to trust by any means!" She exclaimed the last part, before raising her head up to loo at him. Tears were streaming down her dirty cheeks, collecting the dust as they went.

"I'm trying terribly hard, Cai. But no matter what I do, I feel like a child in this world. Like I'm a helpless little baby, who needs her hand held by someone else."
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code by RI.a

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[Rabid_Rabbit]

Mordecai - the Messenger
The Devil | spuɐM ɟo ʇɥƃᴉuʞ | Knight of Cups

Cai took a breath. When things got as heated and emotional as they were now, his mother had always had the advice breathe. Just take a breath and see if you’re still so angry on the exhale. He wasn’t. If anything, he seemed very remorseful to watch June’s rumpled, sobbing form on the bed.

“I don’t think you’re that childish … I … I thought you didn’t know, but also that you knew better,” Cai sounded very sheepish and subdued. It was a contradiction in and of itself – and not a trickster’s contradiction presented as a riddle, no, it was an almost-too-mortal foolishness. It was a disturbing reflection for him to have, for to be as emotive yet illogical as humans – as passionate and unthinking – was considered a very poor trait among the fae. He had been out there, in the mortal world too long.

Or so you think. You are part of her blood now. The voice in his head trilled, the anxiety of the memory of the tug in his chest when she removed the arrow in his leg cut him like a knife. As she spoke of being tied to the world by something – like an invisible string – his stomach felt like it had dropped. She knew it too, somewhere deep down. “I don’t think you’re a child, June. If anything, of all of the humans I have met, you’re the one I felt would survive … the longest. Or longer …. “ longer than what? A mortal’s lifespan? It was dangerous talk to think of June staying here.

He sat on the end of her bed, wanting to reach out and comfort her in some way. The wake of his anger had drained him of the energy, and bravery, to do so. Instead, he watched as she let the last of her tears go, and handed her a rumpled handkerchief from one of his coat pockets.

“We will get you home to your family,” he said finally. It was the warmest thing he could think to say, given how upset she was. “And you’ll have a tale that speaks to your bravery and … and persistence. Those aren’t childish traits at all, you know?” He had tried, and quite possibly failed, to make her feel better in the face of what must have felt like overwhelming odds. He edged closer, and reached out, rubbing her arm gently. It turned into a hug, him sitting there with his arm around her shoulders, staring at the worn carpet beneath their feet.

“I think some sleep; a bit more food in you will help. I promise,” He sounded like a guardian, someone with her best interests at heart. He knew June was right not to trust him, as did all of the fortunate fae who happened to cross paths with the skinny messenger, but he still felt sad she could not. “I’ll be right here, nothing will take you this time.”

Code Credit: Shimivan

 

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Juniper

location: inn|tags: Rabid_Rabbit

Letting out a bit of an ugly sob, June reached up with both hands to wipe at her cheeks. One scrubbed at her eye that stung with dirt and tears, while the other rested against her skin to catch anymore that fell. With all the grime in her eyes, each time she blinked, pain poked and prodded at her. Even closing them didn't help, the sharp stings returning with every little movement. It was an unfortunate circumstance, given just how tired and sore the poor girl was. Though the damage was mostly done to her feet, various cuts and scratches littered her body. It didn't even cross her mind that she'd be in dire need of a new dress, given how hers was looking to fall apart at any minute.

Tilting her head back and forcing herself to swallow, June kept her eyes shut as she listened to Cai sheepishly mumble out his belief that June was, in fact, not a child. He had already managed to contradict himself, and her bottom lip quivered as she sucked it upward in an attempt to stop more tears from flowing. Her voice cracked as she spoke, and her head shook a bit side to side. "Oh, that doesn't make any sense. How can I know what I'm expected to not know?" She muttered out in reply, before dropping her head forward again and pushing down her dress a bit. If anything, she felt less than modest in the moment. She had never had a man touch her legs before like so, even if it was mainly just her ankle and feet. Much less a fae doing such an act.

What would her mother think? Unmarried, uninterested in the local boys. The matriarch of her family was always coughing and begging for Juniper to find a healthy boy to bring home and help her, but June's own pride got the better of her. She never needed a man before, why should she go looking to drool over one now? It was her family, and her responsibility. Yet here she was, letting a man clean the blood and dirt from her own feet. Sure, Cai wasn't exactly the hardy and muscular male most girls drool over, but he was...something. Unearthly.

Turning her bleary eyes over to Cai as he sat down, she could only let out a weak snort of laughter. Though hardly appropriate for the current situation, she couldn't help it. His weak attempts at comfort were noted, but they made her relaxed more than reassured. At least he was trying. Reaching forward, she accepted the rumbled handkerchief and dabbed at the corner of her eyes. It'd just be plain rude to blow her nose into it, given it wasn't hers.

"I wonder what they think of me being gone, and all. Perhaps they think I went off and eloped with some man..." She said softly, before Cai could feel her body lean against his. Her legs were slowly drawn up on the bed and tucked under her, and a bit of hair tickled under his nose as her head found his shoulder. Slowly, her eyes shut and she let out a light sigh. She still smelled so mortal, but it was mingled with her own blood and the scents of other fae. Yet a certain electricity crackled over her entire body, a faint reminder of her determination. Even exhausted, June would find a way. That's what she hoped, at least.

"Thank you, Cai..." She muttered softly, before exhaustion overtook the young woman. Her breathing eased out relatively quickly, and soon her entire body was slumped against his.

Dangerously mortal. She was glass in this world, but she wasn't broken just yet.
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code by RI.a

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[Rabid_Rabbit]

Mordecai - the Messenger
The Devil | spuɐM ɟo ʇɥƃᴉuʞ | Knight of Cups

Cai couldn’t help it, between the defeated look the crossed her eyes in a weary, greyed wash across those glittering violet eyes and how her body slumped – no, not slumped, she merely leaned. There was significance in the difference – she was not communicating her downfall to him, but rather drawing in some strength for him. He could feel the deep flare somewhere in her of a far off emotion that diffused between them.

He cocked his head, trying to make sense of what he could feel prickling along her spine. At first, it was alien to him. So caught up in their everlasting life, the fae were, that they could not make sense of the most human of emotions, the ones that ran raw and dirty in their blood. It was ... Cai’s mind scrambled to find the words. That was it. She was coy. When she looked to him, the quizzical look in his face must have said he was thinking hard, too.

“They probably miss you,” the fae were highly intelligent in ways of human emotions, but Cai showed something rare and sorely lacking in the world of the both fortunate, and unfortunate. He showed empathy. “I – “ he paused. He had wanted to say I promise, but such words were dangerous for the fae. “I think you will return, and I don’t think they think you are with a boy.” He finished, an impotent statement.

One of his bony hands reached up, and petted June’s hair. Slowly, over the course of many slight movements and touches and twists, they found themselves lying, facing one another, in the soft bed on the inn. Cai welcomed her touch, protective of her even despite the danger her mortality brought to him. After all, he resolved, he had brought her here, and he would save her from whatever fate lay in this land for humanity, whatever fate sealed the fae away in a slice of existence between realities.

---

The early morning sunrise sparkled through the lacy curtains, throwing a cold, brilliant light onto their faces. Cai woke softly, there was no startled jump. Like the contented waking of a cat, his eyes opened, settling on June’s freckled face, then his eyes squeezed closed.

It wasn’t a dream. She is still here…

He couldn’t comprehend for a minute. The want to sprint away from this deadly unknown was swallowed by the memory of her crying into him the day before – and how he had resolved to help her, regardless of what that would entail.

“June? Please, be awake,” he whispered quietly. She was still, and it pained him to disturb her. However, the sooner they found themselves in the crisp morning air, sitting on the back of the hunter’s cart, the better. Cai offered to help her with the laces of her bodice, although he had little idea what he was doing, and needed careful instructions so he did not harm her, given the strength of the fae was still greater than that of your average family matriarch, lacing a bodice tightly so one could not wriggle free on an escapade into the wilds. Instead, it left June free to allow him to lace it loose, even if now there was little to her shapeless dress.

Cai coughed, his discomfort coming off like a teenager who didn’t know how to handle being near a female he thought was attractive – it had the same, shy look-don’t-look language in his eyes looking off to the side. “Do you … want my jacket? We can get you something in the city…” He offered feebly.

Code Credit: Shimivan