windwalker, lifebringer
Tags: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, The reader is pregnant but no sex or gender is mentioned, Yandere, Kidnapping, Not Beta Read, POV Second Person Summary: The night is cold on the Plateau of Leng when the man feared as "Ithaqua" comes upon the warmth of two heartbeats.
It was such an innocent question.
āCan I have some more, please?āĀ you had asked your husband during one of your stops, your voice so soft it was nearly lost to the wind.
You hadnāt meant to be greedy. You hadnāt meant to eat more than your share. You hadnāt meant to leave him to starve on your journey.
But thatās what he accused you of the second your words reached his ears. Heād screamed in your face, cursed your name, grabbed the meat still cooking over the campfire between you and hurled it in your direction. And you had tried, so very desperately, to explain yourself and to calm him, but the fact that you were heavy with his child and in need of more nourishment than he was providing meant nothing to him.
By morning, he was long gone; the fire that once warmed your fragile form reduced to a smoking pile of burnt wood under his boot, and the wagon and horse that carried you so far into your journey disappeared into the night.
Thus, you were forced to retreat into a small cave, getting by on a handful of berries youād found in the otherwise dead forest. But so little could only sustain you for so long, and come evening, you were clutching your stomach from hunger pangs, made worse by the needy life growing inside you.
And when the night fell? You were drifting in and out of consciousness, growing weaker by the hour as the chill of the winter wasteland seeped through your woolen clothes and stabbed into your very bones. Your pulse grew weak, your breathing slow, and your words, as you sobbed tearless apologies to your baby, became slurred.
The stab of stilts into the snow-covered ground came late into the night, accompanied by soft lantern light as a tall, masked figure approached your makeshift shelter. You raised your gaze to them, half-convinced you were hallucinating.
āPleaseā¦ā You muttered, watching your words swirl into vapor before disappearing into the howling wind. āHelp me⦠help meā¦ā
The creature stared unblinking for what felt like an eternity before they set their lantern aside, burying the hilt in the snow to keep it upright. They then crouched, examining your exhausted, starving form, and reached out one long, bony hand toward your stomach. Only when you flinched at the sight of their horrifically long nails did they hesitate, fingers curling as they opted to touch you with their knuckles instead of their palm.
As if sensing their presence, your baby began to kick, and you instinctively placed your hand over it. The stranger noticed and immediately shifted their hold, fingers intertwining forcibly with yours as they pressed against the kicks. That earned them a soft, panicked shriek.
āNoā¦!ā You gasped, flailing as much as your body would allow, trying to put distance between your stomach and this⦠thing. āD-Donāt⦠donāt hurt my baby! Theyāre all I have left!ā
The creature, ignoring your outburst, did not remove their hand, but the pressure on your stomach did lessen. Still, it was a ghastly sight, one which youād have averted your gaze from had you the strength to do so; their hand was almost branch-like, too large to belong to a human, and appeared so rotted youād have thought it had necrotized.
But despite that⦠they were gentle, achingly so, especially when they dared press their thumb to the little lump created by your childās kicks and rub it carefully. They blinked, or at least you think they did, but it was hard to tell with the mask.
Finally, they spoke, ā...Why are you here?ā
The voice that just barely reached your ears was soft, much like the touch on your belly, and its soothing quality made it all the more difficult to think clearly. Nevertheless, you forced out a response as best you could:
āMy husband. He left me. He left me and ourā¦Ā myĀ baby to die.ā
Before the words had even fully left your lips, the creature was already removing their cloak, coaxing you into leaning forward so they could drape it over your shoulders. You could do little more than breathe a silent āthank youā in return. They said nothing in reply. Rather, they curled their arms under your back and knees, unbothered by the layer lost even when the wind picked up, and stood effortlessly.
āHold the lantern,ā they commanded.
You reached for the axe holding the light.
"OnlyĀ the lantern.ā
You paused. Then, gingerly, you plucked the lantern as instructed, cradling it to your chest. It did not burn hot as you expected, only providing a pleasant warmth instead which, coupled with the safe hold you found yourself in, helped lull you into a deep sleep.
Your savior did not disturb you.
When next you awoke, it was not in a frozen wasteland, vulnerable for the elements and wild animals to leave you a forgotten memory, but on a worn sofa by a crackling fireplace, bundled up in blankets. The sound of boots and scent of cooking meat dragged your senses out of their dulled state. Your attempt to sit up, however, was prevented by a firm hand on your shoulder, pushing you back down.
āDonāt strain yourself,ā came that same soft voice from earlier.
Turning, you found the hand belonged to a thin, pale-haired man, handsome yet ordinary in all but his eyes, where blue irises glowed against black sclera. The sight had you jerking back in surprise.
The man narrowed his eyes at you. āI said,Ā donāt strain yourselfĀ . Youāre too weak to be wasting your strength on pulling away from something hideous.ā
āThatās not⦠I donāt think-ā you tried to argue, but he was already pulling away to tend to something in another room.
That gave you a moment to think, to breathe; everything leading up to that point swam in your head, but what weighed on you most heavily was your concern for your unborn child, who would likely enter the world without a second parent, and perhaps even without a home should your savior choose to throw you out. Thus, when he returned with a bowl of soup and loaf of bread, you immediately took the opportunity to speak, āMay⦠May I stay here?ā
He said nothing as he took a seat beside you, gaze owlish as he handed you the food. You continued: āOnly for a little while, until I can find a way back to my village. Please, I promise I wonāt be a burden.ā
Silence.
Your face flushed hot in embarrassment, fearing youād spoken out of line, and you could only console yourself by indulging in the food heād provided. Mid-bite, however, he spoke up, catching you off-guard:
āWhy did your husband leave you to fend for yourself?"
You paused in your eating, fiddling with the spoon between your fingers. āHe⦠he said I was selfish. He said that I was asking for more than I deserve, and that⦠I was ungrateful and attempting to hurt him.ā
āYouāre with child,ā he muttered, eyes squinted as they raked up and down your vulnerable form. āYouĀ needĀ more.ā
ā...He didnāt see it that way,ā you sighed, resuming your meal. As your hand reached up to rub at your neck, the manās gaze followed, finally noticing the faint bruises adorning it: plentiful and too distinctly shaped like a large hand to be self-inflicted or the result of rope.
āHave you anyone to return to?ā he asked.
āWell⦠my family, but itās a long journey from here, and Iām in no state to travel.ā
Once your bowl was empty, you set it aside on the creaking, old table between you and the fireplace, folding your hands over your stomach. The soft kicks that met your touch set your heart alight.
ā...You will stay here.ā
You perked up at the sudden declaration. āPardon?ā
āYou will stay here,Ā with meĀ ,ā the man clarified. āPermanently.ā
āWhat?! But-ā
He raised a blackened, bony finger, silencing you. āYou said it yourself, youāre unable to travel, and I am the only one who can provide for you.ā
āButā¦ā You tried to speak up, shoulders sagging in disbelief. āMy familyā¦ā
āThe same family who left you to journey with a man willing to make an attempt on not onlyĀ yourĀ life, but ourĀ childāsĀ as well?ā
His words caused the color to drain from your face. āTheyāre not-ā
āI will hear no more of it,ā he said, reaching out to press his hand to your stomach. You flinched. āThere is no sense in arguing with me⦠save your energy and rest.ā There was a pause before his expression softened almost imperceptibly as he leaned down, eyes locked on your plush stomach. ā...the same applies to you, little one.ā
Your baby kicked at his hand. The man pressed the spot gently in response.
Then, as though heād not altered the course of your life only a minute prior, he let go of you and stood, features schooled back into the perfect mask of no emotion. āMy home is humble, but I will prepare a room for the three of us.ā With that, he turned sharply on his heel, footfalls heavy against wood as he made his way to a staircase leading up.
āWait-ā you called, instinctively reaching for him.
The man paused on the first step, letting only the sound of the crackling fire fill the room for a moment before he replied coolly, āIthaquaā.
ā...Ithaqua,ā you echoed, softer, which left nothing more to be said between you.
All you were left with for the rest of the night was a squirming, unborn child for company, and a dying fire for conversation.













