I Can't Post On Twitter So I'm Slapping This Here

I can't post on twitter so I'm slapping this here

Hunter the Hunted

This is a loooonnnng post, so it’s going under the “read more” lol… I was going to break it into parts, but it didn’t flow right. So one long mental image at once, lol.

The Ancients go out for some hunting, but their fun is interrupted.

Alpha: (crouching lower, his eyes never leaving the deer) You come around from downwind…

Air: (watching intently as well) Downwind…

Alpha: She hasn’t noticed our cold yet… We may still have the advantage.

Air: (nods and moves to leave) Downwind… (silently begins to pick his way through the brush. stations himself downwind and waits for the cue. takes off in a sprint when he hears Alpha’s low whistle, but is met with a bodily thud that knocks him right off his feet. he squeals and begins to giggle as their two bodies roll with the landing)

Alpha: (rising from his crouch, watching the deer bolt) Damn it you two!

Earth: (laughing as he pins Air to the ground) That’s four for me tonight, skybird, and only two for you!

Alpha: (approaching the ghouls on the ground) I’m about to have two T.K.O.s if you fuckers don’t knock this bullshit off. (narrowing his eyes as the mated pair finally look to him) We’re out here to hunt, not play silly games.

Earth: (rolling his eyes at Alpha as Air nuzzles his neck, still pinned beneath him) Hunting is playing.

Alpha: (spits on the ground in annoyance) If you two can’t take this seriously, go back to the Ministry.

Air: (sitting up at last, giggling at Earth’s playful nip at his collarbone) We’re ruining his fun, my heart.

Alpha: And don’t start with the lovey, bullshit nicknames.

Earth: (helping Air to his feet) They’re terms of endearment.

Alpha: Spare me. (looks off in the direction the deer took) Your little game is over. We’re here to hunt. If you don’t want to— (is knocked off his feet with another bodily thud)

Earth: (smiling as he watches River pin Alpha) I saw him coming; I just wanted to see where you were going with that.

Alpha: (face in the dirt) Why.

River: (climbing off Alpha’s back) They made it look fun!

Omega: (coming up from behind, blood on his hands and face) You guys haven’t caught anything yet?

Alpha: (sitting up) Not with these two idiots— (a sudden bang silences him)

Omega: (hits the ground, laying low)

Earth: (pulls Air to the ground, looking around) Gunshots…

Omega: (looking around with the second bang) Humans.

Alpha: Why are they so far north?

Earth: (pulling Air closer in a protective embrace) Hunters… Where are they, skybird?

Air: (tilts his head upward, trying to catch a whiff) I don’t know… They’re downwind. (looks to Earth) They might catch our scent…

Earth: (shifts himself to press his head to the ground, trying to listen. brings a hand beside his face, sliding his fingertips into the dirt as Air puts a protective arm around him) … (lifts his head from the ground, embracing Air again) I can’t hear them… They must be far off.

Omega: Back to the Ministry. Quietly.

Alpha: (growling) So we let humans chase us off? This is our territory; I say we hunt them.

Omega: (firmly) Back to the Ministry.

Alpha: (hisses, but rises with the others)

Earth: (places a hand under Air’s chin) Take to the trees.

Air: (whimpers) But what about you?

Earth: Take to the trees. It’s safer. And you can watch for them.

Air: (nods slowly, squeezing Earth’s hand) Be careful…

Omega: Save your affections for the Ministry; we need to move.

Air: (places a soft kiss on Earth’s lips, then hazes up to the treetops)

Alpha: (with a protective growl as he rubs the tearful River’s shoulder) Don’t be scared. We’ll make it back.

The fifteen-mile trek back to the Ministry is slower than usual, but the gunshots grow more distant, and Air reports no sighting of the humans. Alpha is grumpy that he didn’t get a good kill in, but is secretly relieved that his pack made it home safely. It’s nearly sunrise when they reach the catacombs. Earth and Air separate to Earth’s room for some comfort love-making, and the other three opt for a cuddle pile in their shared space. They don’t get to hunt together often — especially with the clergy’s insistence that it’s too risky if the bigger ghouls are caught — and they’re all a little sad that their fun was interrupted the way it was.

The first thing Air did was slip on a corset. They’re all shook up from the experience, both from the near-encounter with the hunters, but also what will happen if the clergy finds out about it.

(if you’re still here, thanks for sitting through this sloppy, stupid little blurb; now go find a better artist to follow)

I’m sorry I have an artblock

Dew: Due to personal reasons, I will be fucking sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a large metal box.

Cumulus: Did Swiss say 'I love you' and you said 'Thanks' without thinking?

Dew: THE REASONS ARE PERSONAL–

You don't need anyone's approval for the stories you write and the art you create. But it's also absolutely valid to want some approval from your audience. Kudos and likes don't determine your creation's worth. But it just feels amazing to receive them.

Copia, not the rat