Earthblood Cartel - Tumblr Posts

Whumptober Day 3: "Make it Stop."

Fandom: The Dragon Prince

Summary: Runaan is sent to deal with an Earthblood Cartel.

Warning: Character Death

    Runaan moved swiftly around the tree line of the forest. He was near an Earthblood elf camp. He was there to kill the ring leader of a shroom cartel. The gang has been nothing but trouble, killing the people who displeased them.

    So Runaan was there to shut it all down. Unknown to him, he has a visitor. As he approached the camp, he pulled his bow over his shoulder and scouted the area.

    Then he turned around. It startled him, seeing Rayla. She had followed him. How the assassin didn't notice, he didn't know. Maybe he just taught her well?

    "Rayla" Runaan whispered harshly.

    "I came to help."

    "I'll be fine."

    "Why can't I help?"

    "You don't know what you're doing! You're too young."

    "I'm 12! I'm sure it's fine."

    "Stay here."

    "Fine." Rayla sat at the base of a nearby tree. She crossed her arms and sighed.

    Runaan sighed. "Stubborn child" he whispered. "Stay out of trouble."

    "I will."

    Runaan looked back then started towards the cartel. He was nervous but not for himself. Rayla was young and now she was alone. Too many thoughts crossed his mind. But for now, he would just have to focus on his mission.

    He reached the edge of the village and snuck in using the moon's shadow. It took longer than he expected to find the cartel but that should only be a minor setback.

    Sneaking into the building Runaan hid near some stairs. Pulling his bow apart, he nabbed the first elf quickly and slit their throat. Blood fell to the ground as Rannan placed the stranger behind the stairs.

    As he made his way further into the building he carefully killed the members he had been instructed to and left the others knowing that they would rather be too scared or wanted out to begin with.

    Then came the last few rooms. There was screaming from the last room. It has only just come into earshot. The victim sounded young. 

    It startled Runaan. He walked past the few other rooms he had left and stood outside the door. Inside a deep booming voice spoke, "tell me where they are!"

    A small voice answered. "I don't know!" A little girl. Runaan almost broke the door. Children were his weakness.

    The girl was around 12, and looked just like Rayla. Her hair was a little bit shorter, her eyes a bit lighter, and her skin a bit darker. She had multiple wounds all over her body.

    Runaan knew the girl. Not by name but he had seen her around the village. He pulled his knife as the leader of the cartel pulled the girl up by her hair.

    The assassin saw red. As he got ready to attack a man grabbed him from behind. One of the most important rules of being an assassin crossed Runaan's mind, never get distracted.

    The leader grabbed something from a table, "you little bitch! You brought this fucker here!" The shine of a blade could be seen as Runaan fought the bastard that held him.

    The knife slid into the child's side. Runaan finally got the man off of him and grabbed his knife that had fallen to the ground. He ran it though the leader's chest making the rest of the drug deals stop with fear.

    Runaan swiftly executed the rest of the Earthblood elves that surrounded him and the girl. He neglected his own body, doing anything to keep the child safe.

    The remainder of the cartel members fled once they decide that they cared more about their lives than their dead boss.

    Runaan moved to take care of the girl. She lay, bleeding out on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "It hurts!" Her voice cracked in a way that made the assassin's blood run cold.

    "I know." He tried to sooth her.

    "Make it stop! Please, make it stop!"

    "I" Ranaan paused. "it's okay." 

    "Make it stop!"

    "It's okay." He couldn't stop the pain. As badly as he wanted to there was nothing he could do to help her but hold the wound and pray he could get to a doctor in time.

    He wanted nothing more then to switch places with her. If he could take the pain, taking it from her and feel it all for her he would.

    It didn't take long for the screaming to turn to turn to just heavy breathing. Then nothing at all. It stopped. Her pain, her screaming, her heart, it all just stopped.

    Runaan picked her up gently and stumbled to his feet. Her pain may have stopped but his didn't. He didn't think it ever would. He walked out of the building and back into the woods. There he met Rayla who had fallen asleep against the tree.

    He sat the girl's body down out of view and kneeled to wake Rayla up. He shook her lightly and she began to stir.

    "Oh you're back" she spoke.

    Runaan didn't say anything instead he just grabbed her into a tight hug. It was the only time Rayla would ever see the man cry. He held her for a while before letting her go. "Let's, go home."

AI-less Whumptober Day 6: "It Should Have Been Me."

Fandom: The Dragon Prince

Warning: Character Death

Summary: Runaan goes on a job. A young girl gets caught in the crossfire.

  Ethari did have a good feeling when Runaan left for him next job. He had put Rayla to bed and had made a cup of tea. He sat on a chair in the living room for most of the night. As the sky started to lighten, he started to pace.

    It was almost morning when Runaan returned home. Ethari was on his fourth cup of tea, using the same tea leaves, when the door opened. He was going to greet him, but the elf had already made his way to the room.

    The assassin slammed his bow down onto the ground. He quietly yelled in frustration and started to walk around the room. He jumped when he saw Eathari.

    "Are you okay?" Ethari walked over to him.

    Runaan opened his mouth to speak but couldn't. He instead collapsed onto his lover's arms. He cried into his shoulder.

    All Ethari could do was hold him. He hoped Rayla would wake up late. All any of them needed was to add her into the equation.

    "It should have been me."

    "What?" His voice shook as he spoke.

    "It should have been me. I should be the one we have to bury!"

    "Runaan, please don't talk like that. What happened?"

    He didn't answer. Instead he muttered the words again.

    "Runaan, talk to me." Ethari was trying not to cry. Sure, Runaan had come back to him hurt and unstable, but this was new.

    The assassin pulled back, out of the craftsmen's comforting arms. He looked at his own and apologized. "I forgot about the-" his voice broke.

    "Darling it's just clothes. Please, let me take a look at you. Are you hurt?"

    "It's- not, mine."

    "It's going to be okay. Let's get you cleaned up." Ethari stood and offered a hand out. When Runaan didn't move the craftsmen informed him that he'll be right back.

    He brought back a damp rag. "Here, give me your hands." He took Runaan's shaky hands and gently scrubbed them. The man was still trembling and tears were still falling from his eyes.

    Ethari wanted to take away his pain. He looked into his eyes and softly asked, "what happened love?"

    "There was this, this young girl. You get them Rayla."

    Ethari's heart sunk. That's why Runaan was so distressed.

    "She had" he paused "She came out of nowhere. I didn't, have time. The leader had aimed at me. He missed and" the words became sobs again as Runaan tried to explain. "I should have been me."

    "It's going to be okay." Light had begun to fill the room. It wouldn't be long before Rayla would wake up. "Breathe. Let's go to our room okay?"

    Runaan just grabbed him. He wrapped his arms around him tightly and didn't move. A door creeped open. Ethari listened to the footsteps as he tried to calm his husband. He didn't want Rayla to see Runaan like this, for both of their sakes.

    The footsteps got quieter and the door closed gently.

    Slowly, Runaan recovered. He laid on Ethari's chest, asleep. The man sat against the couch, trying to figure out how he was going to get circulation back in his leg.

    Rayla decided it should be okay to come out of her room. She shut her door silently and walked the hallway without revealing she was there. She came into the living room and looked at the two of them.

    Ethari had his head on the couch, even though it was uncomfortable. His arms were around his lover and Runaan's were around him. "Is everything okay?"

    "It will be."

    "What happened? Is he okay?"

    Ethari paused. "He, just had a rough night."

    "How rough because he was crying pretty hard earlier."

    "Very. He'll be okay. He might be off for a while but it'll be okay."

    "Okay. Are you okay? You look tired."

    "Yeah, I'm okay."

    Rayla seemed satisfied with that answer. She walked into the kitchen and returned with breakfast and a hot tea with just the right amount of sugar for Ethari. He smiled as she entered the room. "Thank you Rayla."

    She just smiled and handed the cup to him. "Can you bring me a damp cloth?" He asked.

    "Yeah" she whispered. After moment she came back to the room and handed it to him. "Here."

    "Thank you." He took bits of Runaan's hair into his hands and gently pressed the cloth against it to get buts of dried blood out of it.

    Rayla sat down near him with her legs crossed, "he'll be okay."

    "I know. Are you okay? This can be a lot to deal with."

    "Yeah I'm okay."

    "Okay."

    The room filled with silence. Eventually Rayla fell asleep and Ethari was alone again. What could he do about this? Nothing he could say or do would ever convince Runaan that it wasn't his fault. So he just had to be there, be a shoulder to lean on, be a chest to sleep on, and be arms that he could feel safe and loved in.

    Ethari took a deep breath then took a sip of his tea. He had a long way to go and the road would not make it easy. But no matter what, he would make sure Runaan made it through the rocks and breyers. Even if it meant holding his hand and walking through it with him.