First Order pilots are trained from childhood to deal with crash landings, equipped with the means to survive until retrieval and tasked to eliminate enemies on sight. When you crash on an uncharted planet just behind a Resistance pilot, your training comes to the test as youâre thrown into a new environment and forced to make decisions that go against your code.
One such decision while leaving the planet comes back again and again to haunt you, causing yourself to wonder one thing:
Am I out of touch?
[Also posted on AO3]
please note: has pov with she/her pronouns
includes: eventual smut, casualties of war, enemies to reluctant friends to lovers, pining, slow burn, forced proximity, reader is lowkey an assholeâŠangstâŠ
authorâs note: begging on my hands and knees for forgiveness for just now getting this out
word count: ~2.4k
I post on ao3 first!
Series Masterlist
At the sight of Denel pinned beneath a burly human male pummeling any weak point he could reach, the familiar cradle of anger seeps into every synapse within your muscles.
Poe sharply shouts your name, overpowering the jeers that fill the space of the cafeteria as you launch yourself at the man. He lets out a grunt as his back collides with the floor beside Denel, a series of other sounds quickly falling in succession as you lay crushing hits to his face. Thump thump thump your heart thunders in your ears, drowning out the crowd around you. The man attempts to shove you off, but the adrenaline coursing through your veins allows you to situate his arms to be pressed beneath your shins as you sit on his chest.
You feel a weak pull at the fabric of your shirt, but you canât pay attention to it. The only thing that consumes you is the need to see the blood of this man splattering the floors. What the tunnel vision doesnât allow you to see is the crowd start to get closer to the pair of you, causing a shock when an arm wraps around your middle and pulls you off.
Wiggling in their hold, you stab your elbow into their side to get back into the fight when your eyes fall to the crumpled position of Denel. Like water to a flame, the anger is seeped from your body, leaving panic in its place. Blood pours from a wound above his eyebrow like a faucet, pooling on the floor where itâs joined by a stream leaking from both nostrils.
Pulling at the personâs hold again, you screech: âLet go of me!â
The hold is released and you fall to your knees, crawling over to where he lays and skimming your shaking hands over his face to appraise him. Bruises are already starting to bloom on his face, but much to your relief, the wound above his eyebrow doesnât appear as large as the blood flow makes it out to be. However, heâs dazed, wincing and eyes closing in pain as the fluorescent light breaks through the narrow slits that he tried to look at you through.
With a glare, you glance at the man you tackled who lays on the floor unconscious and the surrounding faces of the Resistance that had now quieted.
âAnd you say you are the good side.â You snarl, and their eyes guiltily dart away from where you stare them down.
You try to pull Denel up, but in his state heâs hardly able to lift himself up. He groans in effort as you get him to sit up, Poe kneeling beside you to help but you snap at him.
âI can do it.â As soon as the words leave your lips, you feel guilty. You didnât want to take your anger out on Poe yet again, especially when you definitely couldnât lift Denel on your own, but the betrayal you felt at your teammate being attacked festered in you.
Ignoring you, Poe softly says âNo you canât,â wrapping his arm across Denelâs shoulders. With a nod you two lift him up and settle him between you. The crowd splits to allow you to exit, everyone you pass avoiding your gaze like cowards. It seems ridiculously juvenile, and you couldnât believe you replaced for one playground for another.
You and Poe slowly walked Denel to the med unit in silence. Disappointment towards yourself settled on your shoulders, adding to the weight of your teammate against you. Was it a good idea to come here? Verbalâand now physicalâ attacks were thrown at you every time you stepped out of the safety of your quarters. At the time of your escape, you considered this the only available place of safety in the galaxy, considering the experience you had in the Order. However the constant challenges against that choice were becoming tiresome.
You look over at Denel who pants in short and rapid breaths, likely due to at least one broken rib. The guy was huge. Turning your attention back to the hallways in front of you, you blankly stare at the floor.
Maybe even Tatooine would have been a better choice than this pit.
_____
You lean your back against the wall with your arms crossed as you listen to the nurses deal with the wounds that Denel sustained. A broken nose, 2 broken ribs, a concussion, and a quarter-inch gash above the eyebrow. Luckily, the unit recently was able to their hands on bacta and so he should be close to normal by at least tomorrow, but the dread stays settled in your gut.
Poe exits out of the door that stands to your left, joining you as he tenderly rubs at his ribs with a sigh. You glance at him in curiosity.
âWhat happened?â You asked, staring at where he rubs.
He chuckles, a smile adorning his face, âOh you knowâŠtried to pull a blood hungry wolf off of a someone who tried to mess with a member of her pack.â Your eyebrows pull together in concern.
âThat was you?â You face him and lay your hand on his ribs, your head falling to rest of his chest, âOh PoeâKriff, Iâm so sorry. Genuinely.â Guilt floods you and heat burns at your face. Why does this keep happening?
Poeâs hands rest on your back and he softly traces a thumb back and forth, âYou shouldâve seen the other guy,â He says, humor laced in his voice.
You lift your head, âAre you okay?â You ask, still concerned.
âIâm fine. Just a bruise.â His eyes trail down to your hands, where he lets his own hands fall to, lifting them up and staring at the blood that litters your knuckles.
âThrowing it back to youâŠare you okay? You need to see the nurses to get this taken care of.â At the warmth radiating from his palms into yours, you pull away, not wanting to unpack the feeling that you got from how comforting it was.
âItâs okay. Iâve had worseâŠâ You trail off, but he looks less than pleased.
âIâm not having someone in my care risk the chance of infection,â Poe states, pulling you into the room where Denel lays on one of many patient beds, 3 nurses surrounding him. He weakly smiles at you as you pass, which you return.
Poe leads you to another nurse, who stands in a further corner of the room looking at a collection of supplies. You look in amusement as he explains what you need, and itâs at this moment youâre happy you have at least one person truly on your side from this base.
After being cleaned and wrapped with a medicated gauze, you sit in a chair by Denelâs side, who now looks much fresher since given his initial treatment. Poe decided he could wait outside to give the two of you space, and you appreciated the privacy it somewhat gave you considering each bed was separated by a fabric curtain.
âSo,â you start, âhow did you end up on the floor?â
Heâs silent for a moment, pursing his lips in thought before responding. âI wasnât expecting to be swung at. Honestly, I donât even know what started it.â His index finger on a hand that lays across his chest starts to bounce up and down.
âI had heard him and his group talking among themselves about me. Iâve been able to tune most everything out when it comes to conversations around this base. Nothing good ever comes of listening to themâŠthey just want to get a rise out of you to see if you fit their expectations,â He takes a staggered breath before continuing, âMaybe I ignored something he said or he took one of my self-mumblings to heart, but one moment I was standing and the next I was on the floor.â
You shake your head in disbelief. Is this really how deep the hatred lays among the people in the Resistance? Though you had to be fairâthe First Order is an oppressing hand on the galaxy and you know the horrors that were done on the people who didnât agree with how they rule.
You lean forward in your chair to allow your head to fall into your hands. âIâm sorry. We never should have come here.â
A silence rests between you again, only broken by the sounds of beeping and shuffling feet that usually accompany a med unit.
âItâsâIâ,â He stumbles on his words, âI consider it karma for what I did to Koleâ he says, and your head snaps up to look at him in shock. A somber and ingenuine smile lifts the corner of his mouth and you frown in return.
âThatâs bantha shit, Denel. Whatever karma that may have needed to be fulfilled for Kole was done when Ren put you on deathâs door. What happened today should not have happened.â
He doesnât say anything as he just stares at you before giving a single nod, probably just to shut you up.
You look at him in earnest, âPlease promise me you understand today wasnât deserved.â
With a sigh and dramatic roll of his eyes, âI promise, Commander .â Your spine zips up like a pole was stabbed straight down your back and you suddenly felt uncomfortable to be sitting in the room.
You purse your lips and stand up slowly. âThatâs not me anymore,â you say softly.
You give a small pat to his shoulder, âGet some rest.â And you leave the room, walking right past Poe.
You need to isolate yourself. Too much has happened today and all you wanted was the dark recesses of your windowless room. You can hear Poeâs footsteps behind you and the concerned call of your name, but you didnât want to answer him. What was the point? Sure, one person on base that was consistently on your side was nice. But what about all of the others?
There were hundreds of people here that wanted you dead, for good reason. You commanded a team of killers that assassinated whole legions of people who just wanted a separate life free from the demand of the First Order. What kind of person were you to live while billions of innocents perished at the power that you enforced?
Thump thump thump your heart thunders in your ears again and your eyes get watery as you recall the blood that covered your hands hardly an hour ago. You unclench your fists that you unconsciously had tightened by your side and stare at them in horror. Why are these the hands chosen to still move when the only life theyâve known was to harm the lives of others? You arrive at your quarters and slam the button to your door, stiffly walking to your bed and collapsing on the floor to cradle your knees to your chest.
Thump thump thump your chest starts to hurt and you claw at your sternum, gasping for breath as tears cascade from your eyes. Guilt consumes you, the pain eating you from the inside as it starts to get harder and harder to breathe. You had to find somewhere to go, leave in the night to the farthest planet out of reach from the war and stay there until death inevitably calls for you. You start to shake now, tremors and shivers wracking your body as each explosion and lifeless body youâve caused flash by your eyes, sobs leaving your mouth andâ
Suddenly thereâs only Poe, the warmth from his palms radiating into your shoulders as a look you could only describe as unbridled alarm molds his face.
âItâs alright, youâre okay, youâre safe,â He repeats, cycling through them and starting to rub up and down your arms.
You sniffle. âNo, itâs not alright and Iâm not okay. I shouldnât even be here, Poe. All Iâve ever done is hurt people, and being here is continuing the damage I was born to do.â He stops his ministrations as he listens unblinkingly, âYou of all people shouldnât be telling me itâs okay, especially when itâs you I keep on hurting.â
Another shiver shakes your body as you continue, âI hate hurting peopleâŠI hate hurting you . And the more I think about it, the more guilty I am that Iâm still alive to do it.â Sobs wrack you again and your head falls to your knees to hide your face from Poe, who never looked away as you poured out the thoughts that kept you up at night.
Instead of resuming the movement from before, he slowly slid himself next to you and maneuvered you to where you could lean against him as he wrapped his arms around you. Heâs silent as he lets you cry, his thumb rubbing soothing circles until you eventually cry yourself to sleep.
______
Opening your eyes, a black abyss is all that meets you. ExceptâŠitâs not. You sit up, and the water you lay in drips down your back soundlessly into the shallow pool that caresses a sheer blood red dress that loosely holds you. A copy similar to the gray that adorns your form in the dream that meets you all other nights of the week. Unlike your other dream as well, thereâs a combination of scattered whispers that feel so close and yet so farâinexplicably like theyâre just out of reach.
Looking around in interest, you try to make out any other difference from what youâre beginning to get used to but see nothing before you turn your head to look straight in front of you. And then there it is.
Standing only feet in front of you, towering over where you remain seated, is a figure shrouded completely in black.
âYouâll return to what you know, child.â It says, itâs tone scratchy and deep.
âWhaâ?â As you start to move to stand up, youâre shoved down by a heavy force unlike any youâve ever known, the breath knocking straight out of you.
The water surrounding you is illuminated red as the figure pulls out a lightsaber much like the one Ren yields, their arm extends up and just as they swing down you gasp awake.
Poe startles awake as well, asking what was going on as if you knew either.
Unbeknownst to you, in a part of the galaxy far far away, joined Kylo Ren. Quickly pulling himself from his bed, he shrugged on his uniform and latched his mask. There had been a disturbance in the force.
a/n: probably going to fix this up tomorrow when Iâm not tired. Thank you all for sticking with this!!
At this point I need to shut my mouth đ so over spring break I went to the ER twice and they found something I need to get out ASAP + my college is not being forgiving about this so Iâve been stressed as fuck since Iâve applied to graduate in May (nonrefundable... College is a scam). 2 of my classes are required for graduation since theyâre major-based and only offered in the spring. SOOOO. I have not had the mental capacity to do anything but rot in bed and/or try to be productive for school so if the chance arises I actually can graduate in May. Then I went to the ER AGAIN yesterday and found out my heartâs fucking inflamed and hurts to function đđđ» likely final update before either your story continues or my account is never active again due toâŠ.negative reasons.
(Had to rant a little, my bad)
Peace, love, and joy, you beauties. See you on the flip side :)
Shoutout to the dedicated cheerleaders of wips who comment on each chapter and motivate the poor fic writer to keep going you are crucial to the ecosystem
Summary- Duke Leto Atreides was supposed to marry your sister, but a vision from the Bene Gesserit causes a change of plans. Nevertheless, you and Leto are determined to cement the bond between you, no matter who is determined to see your downfall.
Contents- f!reader, non-explicit physical encounters, kissing, no smut, drama, The Angst, playing fast and loose w/ the Dune universe lore
Visions and Loyalty (âïžcomplete)
--Visions & Loyalty- part 1- The Vision (~1.5k)
--Visions & Loyalty- part 2- Lifting the Veil (~2.2k)
--Visions & Loyalty- part 3- Loyalty (~1.8k)
--Visions & Loyalty- part 4- The Test (~2k)
--Visions & Loyalty- part 5- Forward and Apart (~2.1k)
HEYOO, I have no idea if anyone gets notifications of my postsâŠformal apology right here if you do. I update things so much because I change my mind like the tide.
Speaking of, I updated chapter 2 today too, joining chapter 1 that I did yesterday. Imo, I think itâs at least a little better.
My last semester technically began today, but I had classes online so I worked on this. I canât promise Iâll get the other ones updated and then another chapter out until I graduate lol, but Iâll try. So far, things are looking not so optimistic since this semester is looking like the last one :,)
Just wanted to give a little update! Thanks for sticking with the story/me. Excited for the future! đ«¶đŒ
warnings: mentions of someone getting verbally assaulted and beat (not reader); also a man in his sassy era
authorâs note: I post on ao3 first!! :)
MINORS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DONâT INTERACT
word count: ~2.7k
Series Masterlist
It had been a day or so past the incident where you had assaulted Poe, and it was just within the past few hours that you could actually look him in the eyes while either of you talked. The entire aftermath had been horrifying for you thus far, and if you think about it for too long, you cringe. To occupy yourself, you asked if it was possible to get your hands on a decommissioned ship and tinker around with it. When the request was approved, you felt joy you hadnât felt since escaping from the Order. You didnât want to complain, but it was hard to be happy when the same nightmare woke you up every night.
Which is why youâre now crouching on the floor of the hanger, situated under a wing, and trying your hardest to do something to it. Itâs been a few hours since you first got it, and it was getting to the point where the thought of quitting replaced any other thought in your mind given nothing was budging. Maybe they did this intentionally.
As your wrench slips off of the bolt again, you let out a groan. Your mood is only exacerbated when you hear footsteps fall behind you, and you close your eyes in waiting to hear whatever he is going to say.
Poe snickers, âYou know, it would probably be easier to take the entire thing apart compared to whatever youâre trying to do.â
You shoot a glare behind your shoulder to your newly appointed guard and find a grin beginning to lift the corners of his mouth. With a small shake of your head, you go back to your attempt at getting this bolt out. To at least have one success today.
âI guess Iâve been thinking wrong about your role with the Resistance. All this time, I thought you were just a glorified lap dog, but apparently, youâre a droid as well.â The wrench slips off of the bolt again and you let your arm weakly fall to your side as you rub your temple with your free one.
Thereâs a silence filled with the sounds of the hanger before Poe responds, âI know you probably think thatâs an insult, but droids are super useful.â
A small laugh escapes you and you take the rejuvenation as a chance to continue trying to take out a bolt, but the wrench still wonât catch its curves. Throughout your entire time sitting next to this machine, youâve done nothing but move to different sections with each failed attempt at even taking it apart. You take the hint with a sigh, deciding to call it quits. With a grumble, you toss the wrench down and slide a hand down your face in exasperation.
âAnd you know, thatâs what Iâve been trying to do, but all of these stupid bolts are practically stripped.â You turn your head to where heâs standing behind you, cooly sipping the caf he just came back with. After a moment of just watching you, he takes another sip while walking, then crouches next to you to get a better look. He hums after appraising it and stands back up.
âYeah, theyâre definitely stripped all right. I would help, but I donât have the upgrades yet to take those kinds of bolts out.â He lifts his hands and makes a turning motion starting with his wrists, mimicking a droid. You roll your eyes.Â
âI could go get a buddy of mine for a price.â A smile begins to lift the corners of his lips, with you fighting the one on your own that wants to match his. It physically pained you that you were on the cusp of giving him the satisfaction of laughing at his behavior again, but you cave, your face getting warm with the effort of holding it in.
You let out an airy chuckle, âIâm afraid the only thing I have to offer here is a cup of caf. Other than that, youâre out of luck.â
âThen Iâm in luck because I was just starting to run out.â He shakes his cup so you can hear its nearly empty sloshing.Â
You stand up from your crouch to be closer to his height than you were and motion to the cup, âDidnât you just come back with that?â
He shrugs, â...So, do you want me to get BB?â
You shake your head, âNo, this thing is out of commission anyway. I was just using this to give me something to do.â Poeâs eyebrows begin to pull together and he opens his mouth as if he wants to talk, but nothing comes out.
âActuallyâŠthis is one of our backup fighters.â Your mouth falls open slightly in disbelief. Thereâs no way this hunk of junk has any chance of going up against a First Order fighter.Â
âYouâre lyingââ You cross your arms across your chest, âI specifically asked for a decommissioned ship. Why would you guys give me a backup fighter?âÂ
âMaybe people are starting to trust you,â he shrugs again and takes another sip from his cup.
You point back at B-wing that has rust flaking off of it with every breath of a breeze that comes into the hangar. âThat thing is hardly near the condition to be put into battle. Itâs basically a death trap.â
âI wouldnât say itâs a death trap, necessarily.â He hands you his now-empty cup, which you take without questioning, and lifts himself to get into the cockpit. âLook.â He says, but now you start to question his decisions.
âWhaâPoeâŠâ You step closer to him, your head now at where his feet are dangling as he shimmies in. Â
You gawk at him, âThat is definitely not safe. Get down.â
He shoots you an amused look when heâs seated, âYou said I sounded like a droid and now here you are sounding like a mother.â You purse your lips in aggravation. The nerve of this guy. B-wings arenât something to play with.
âSomeone clearly needs the influence if theyâre attempting to fly a machine of certain death.âÂ
He laughs and playfully rolls his eyes, âYou know, youâre pretty funny. Maybe not as funny as me, but youâre up there.â Your eyebrows pull together, and you try to get a response, but heâs lifted into the air before youâre able to.
At the sound of the engine struggling to start, you take a few paces back on the off-chance the engine explodes and you wince at the noises it lets out once it comes alive.Â
Out of nowhere, someone steps in front of the fighter to direct him out and you mumble expletives under your breath. Heâs going to get himself killed. With a sigh, you run over to the person, shouting, âHey! What are you doing? This thing isnât cleared for take-off!â
âIt is if Iâm standing in front of it. Iâm only here because it was cleared.â She continues to direct Poe with the sticks in her hands, backing up slowly. You step away too and throw the cockpit a look of utter confusion as Poe just waves at you. In return, you twirl your index finger by your forehead mouthing âYouâre crazy.â
He laughs, pumping his fist excitedly. You stand there until heâs out of the hangar completely, making enough space for when he decides to take off, which he quickly doesâa plume of white smoke following him. You stare up at the sky as he recklessly does tricks and flips, the rest of the people outside also stopping what theyâre doing to watch him. You look around at all of the people you know are stroking his ego and you shake your head. With a sharp turn, you walk back into the hangar and throw the cup youâve been holding into the trash before walking back to your room.
-----
Little time passes before you hear the door to your room open, and you look from your point on the bed to the strutting man who walks in with shameless confidence. With an unamused grunt, you turn your attention back to the holopad and the manual pulled up for the B-wing starfighter.
âDid you have fun?â You donât spare a glance at him as he sits down next to your legs.
âProving you wrong? Absolutely.â You give him a quick unimpressed look before going back to your reading material.Â
He leans in a little, not being able to help himself from being nosey. âWhat are you reading?âÂ
âIâm just further cementing the idea that what you did was reckless and dangerous and the people here need to stop enabling you.â
He laughs, âIf everyone were to do that, theyâd lose the best pilot in the galaxy.â
Your eyebrows pull together and put your attention on him, âIs that what you call yourself?â
He leans away from you and it looks as if he puffs out his chest before he responds, âItâs what Iâm known for.â
You give an amused huff, drawing your eyes back to the pad, âClearly must be the reason why I had never heard of you and your tricks before I switched sides.â
âOuch.â He fake winces and grips the middle of his chest, the fabric of his shirt wrinkling in his hand. Seeing he didnât get your attention, he releases his chest and leans down to where his elbows rest on his knees. A comfortable silence stills between you, the only other sound heard being the two of your breathing and the slide of your finger up the holopad as you scroll.
Just as youâre beginning to melt into your bed since Poeâs arrival, he ruins the silence with his agitating, grating voice. âI wasnât done with that caf, by the way.â
You drop the holopad to your chest, the clap of it hitting your chest echoing the walls. âIt was empty.â
He hums, âI couldâve kept using it.â
You tsk and roll to your side, facing the wall and pulling up the manual again. Unbeknownst to you, Poeâs eyes trail to the exposed skin from where your shirt is pulled against your mattress, a deep need filling his body to just touch it and slide his hands up and down your back. He wanted to know what it felt like as he held you, to rest his head in the place where your neck meets your shoulderâŠknow what sound you would give him if he licked there. The twitch of his cock interrupts his thoughts and he stands up with a harsh cough. You look over your shoulder with concern, âAre you okay?â
âMy throatâs a little dry with the reminder you threw my cup away. Iâm gonna go grab something.â He goes to leave in a hurry to hide his quickly wakening problem.Â
âGeneral Leia made a poor choice to have you as my guard. You don't do it very well,â you say, a hint of disapproval in your voice.
âI didnât ask for this position,â he snaps, so you can either join me or shut up.â At his words, he can hear the rustle of your sheets as you turn, and he can only imagine the look youâre giving him right now. If he wasnât overstimulated at the prospect of you finding his dick hard, heâd probably laugh.
âOkay, fineâŠMaker.â He takes a quick glance at you as you slide up into a sitting position to grab your shoes at the end of the bed and put one on. âI guess itâll be my job to save yours,â you grumble.
As you put on the other one, he looks away from you and subtly tucks his issue under his waistband, hoping youâre still fooling with your shoes. Gliding a hand down his middle and past his waistline, he tries to check to see if anything is visible. He releases a low sigh of relief at his check, and the huge weight of anxiety leaves his body when he looks back at you and sees youâre just now standing up, mumbling under your breath as you glare at the floor.
As expected, you shoot him the same glare you just killed the floor with and he receives it with a smile. Your eyes flit across his face, perplexed at his sudden mood change.Â
âYou give me whiplash,â you say with a tone of irritation, walking past him and out of the door. He quickly follows, the sound of the set of your feet hitting the floor echoes in the hall of the base as he smiles to himself. There are only a few paces done before he responds.
âThe feelingâs mutual, sweetheart,â he rubs at the places where your hands connected to his chest a few days ago, âI can still feel the whiplash you gave me right here.â With the last sentence, he decides that instead of rubbing at the spots, he should point at them with his index fingers and make a sort of puppy frown face as he does so. You take a look at him from the corner of your eye and shake your head.
âDonât remind me,â you briefly close your eyes to will the memory of the interaction away. You couldnât believe he gave you the option to stay in your room and still decided to go with him anyway. As if to dig into the ever-growing wound, he doesnât let up.
He gives a dry laugh and claps both of his hands on your shoulders, lightly shaking you as the two of you walk, âTrust me, Iâm never letting you live that down.â
You reciprocate his laugh in a more mocking manner and slide his hands off of your shoulders, âI never expected you to. That would require you to be a little more mature.â
Heâs silent for a moment.Â
âTo be fair, youâre not the first one to have shoved me based on a rumor, so maybe I should just add you to my story list and call a truce.â You nod while he pauses, âBut that wouldnât be fun. It brightens my day to see Miss Former Commander embarrassed.â He grins as he waits for your response while staring at your face.
You only look at him blankly before you go back to looking straight ahead.
He sighs dramatically, âOkay, okay, I get the point. Iâll leave it for another day.â Silence hangs between the two of you momentarily before he breaks it, âSorry for snapping at you, thereâsâŠnot really an excuse for it...â He trails off and rubs the nape of his neck while looking at the floor.
The two of you get to the doors of the cafeteria and you face him, âWater under the bridge. Itâs pretty mild compared to the things Iâm used to.â You offer a light smile to show him that youâre okay, especially his apology bandage helping heal the horror. He reciprocates your smile and gives a single nod. The two of you stare at each other, the break in the conversation making you slightly awkward before you hear a crowd shouting in the caf. Your smiles turn into concern just as you trigger the doors.
When they open, your attention is immediately drawn to a crowd that is situated in the middle of the room, three people being surrounded by it as several encourage whatever is happening. You tsk and relax, your thoughts of something more serious going on puffing out of existence.Â
Thereâs either an arm wrestle or some kind of food-related bet going on, you think. As you both walk towards the commotion, it becomes more evident that a fight is happening rather than a tame bet, the sounds of flesh meeting flesh and a lone groan coming from the middle of the crowd.
You and Poe exchange a concerned look again and the two of you push through the crowd. The people you shove past hurl nasty insults to whoever is being attacked; some along the lines of âYou donât belong here,â âYouâre going to get everyone here killed,â âYouâre a waste of resources.â As you hear each one, you bristle more and more as you know exactly who such kinds of insults would be used against. When you break past the last line of people surrounding the three, your fears are confirmed.
