Long Live The Hunt

Indie Selective RP Blog ||Multi ship|| mun is +18 ||Please read bio before interaction||EST ORIG:2013|| Penned by Morgan

[acull5]

Dove Cameron

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas didn’t flinch. Didn’t step back. Didn’t give Orion the mercy of looking wounded, even though something in his chest had gone very quiet and very still.

You aren’t in charge of me.

No. He wasn’t. He knew that. That wasn’t the point.

He exhaled slowly through his nose and made himself stay where he was, made himself keep his hands loose at his sides even though everything in him wanted to close the distance, wanted to take Orion in his arms and make him understand through sheer physical proximity what words apparently weren’t doing.

He signed instead. “It’s not about being in charge. You don’t get to decide that I need protecting from you. That’s not your call. It’s mine. And I’m not going anywhere.”

[twoworlded]

What would it take to make him understand? Orion internally cursed his own efforts to get Silas to let his walls down and give the two of them a chance. It would have saved all this trouble and heartache

“You think I’m being difficult and we can fix this but we can’t” Orion started to sign once he felt the tremors pass “this is always going to be part of me-even if i learn to keep it somehow under control”

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas watched the last shape of the sign.

Of course it would always be part of Orion. Silas had stood at Eve's side for centuries. He'd seen what the powers of the Underworld could do to a person. He'd watched Eve fight them every day and still refuse to become them.

“You keep saying that like I don't understand danger.” His hands were sharp now. Precise. Almost severe.

“I know what you're saying. I know this could happen again. I know next time it could be worse.” His jaw tightened. “I know you could kill me.”

A faint sting still lingered beneath his skin where Orion's darkness had nearly drained the life from him.

He welcomed it.

It kept his hands from shaking.

“You're not a threat I have to endure.”

The words came easily. The next ones didn't.

“You're my—”

The word caught. Hard.

“Fuck, Ori.” His voice broke around the name.

“You're my everything.”

He took a step closer. “I'm not going to let you run from me after spending all this time trying to stop me from running from you.”

[leaderofthenightriders]

The room felt too small for how hard she was breathing. She wanted to grab him by the front of his shirt. “What are talking about? What’s fixed?”

Eve stared at him. Her ribs still felt tight. “And no vague, non answers. I swear to the Gods, George, if you make me drag the truth out of you one tooth at a time, I’ll make you eat them.”

[neverlandborn]

The tension drowning around them grew heavier the longer this dragged on. And he knew she would make good on those threats out of concern “something about Neverland came up” nothing better than starting at the beginning

“It was nothing a few months back, just whispers about it. Not worth worrying” that’s what he had been telling himself alongside his siblings “Until now”

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve went still in that dangerous way she had when every part of her locked down except the part listening for a lie.

“Until now,” she repeated. “Try that again with actual information.”

George dragged a hand across the back of his neck. There was stubble along his jaw she didn't remember. Little things like that were somehow worse than the big ones. Proof of time. Proof that his life had kept moving while hers had stalled around a note and the empty space he'd left behind.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas stared at his hands for a beat too long, at the sharp, furious shape of Orion’s words hanging in the air between them even after the movement stopped.

My problem.

The phrase hit harder than the near-mauling had.

A laugh almost came out of him. As if Silas had any idea how to stand in the same room with him and keep his own heart out of it.

“You think I’m asking permission?” Silas signed, too low now, the anger burned clean into something meaner because it hurt. “I’m telling you how this goes. If you’re losing control, you come to me. If you want to tear the room apart, you come to me. If you hate me, if you want me gone, if seeing me makes it worse—fine. You still come to me.”

[twoworlded]

Orion's brows furrowed deeper the longer Silas's words continued. Being told exactly what you always wanted to hear could be a worse punishment than being thrown insults or rejection.

"I'm not risking it" he signed back with the same stubbornness he had carried around all his life, digging his heels into the sand. For as much as Silas was insistent on taking care of him, Orion's own sense of protecting him was twofold "You aren't in charge of me; this isn't up to you" because it would be on Orion if anything went wrong. If...- When he hurt him again no excuses would work

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas didn’t flinch. Didn’t step back. Didn’t give Orion the mercy of looking wounded, even though something in his chest had gone very quiet and very still.

You aren’t in charge of me.

No. He wasn’t. He knew that. That wasn’t the point.

He exhaled slowly through his nose and made himself stay where he was, made himself keep his hands loose at his sides even though everything in him wanted to close the distance, wanted to take Orion in his arms and make him understand through sheer physical proximity what words apparently weren’t doing.

He signed instead. “It’s not about being in charge. You don’t get to decide that I need protecting from you. That’s not your call. It’s mine. And I’m not going anywhere.”

[leaderofthenightriders]

It was the wrong thing to say.

She could feel it in the way her fingers curled at her sides until her knuckles ached. I said I would come back. Like that was supposed to be enough. Like a promise scrawled on a piece of paper and left on a pillow was the same thing as actually staying.

“You said you’d come back,” she repeated, and she hated how her voice did that — dropped low and quiet the way it did when she was past the point of screaming. “You said you’d come back, George. That’s all you said. No explanation. No timeline. No reason.” She took a step toward him, and she watched his expression shift, that careful neutral thing he did with his face when he was bracing for her. “Do you know what it’s like to wake up and reach for someone and find nothing? Just a note?”

[neverlandborn]

The quiet tone was the clearest sign that something was wrong. The yelling and the anger were stages long past at this point, leaving nothing to hold onto in his attempts to fix it “I’m sorry” honesty was the one way he had to go here if only by the look on her eyes. “I wouldn’t leave. Not ever, not like that”

He stared into her eyes without daring to touch quite yet, in case it would turn into something else. She knew him well enough to read his eyes better than most people ever could "And it won't happen again- it's fixed"

[leaderofthenightriders]

The room felt too small for how hard she was breathing. She wanted to grab him by the front of his shirt. “What are talking about? What’s fixed?”

Eve stared at him. Her ribs still felt tight. “And no vague, non answers. I swear to the Gods, George, if you make me drag the truth out of you one tooth at a time, I’ll make you eat them.”

[leaderofthenightriders]

"You don't get to walk away from me. I don't care about the flames, or your eye color, or even that your bloodlust almost made you kill me. I couldn’t care less if you hurt me. Just don't lock yourself away from me. You come to me, understand?"

@twoworlded

[twoworlded]

Walking away was the one thing that was in Orion’s control at the moment so he would be taking it.

“I get to chose this” he signed quickly, the emotion making his movements sloppy “because it’s my problem and i have to learn to handle it. Not us, not you. Me”

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas stared at his hands for a beat too long, at the sharp, furious shape of Orion’s words hanging in the air between them even after the movement stopped.

My problem.

The phrase hit harder than the near-mauling had.

A laugh almost came out of him. As if Silas had any idea how to stand in the same room with him and keep his own heart out of it.

“You think I’m asking permission?” Silas signed, too low now, the anger burned clean into something meaner because it hurt. “I’m telling you how this goes. If you’re losing control, you come to me. If you want to tear the room apart, you come to me. If you hate me, if you want me gone, if seeing me makes it worse—fine. You still come to me.”

[leaderofthenightriders]

"I love you. I’m in love with you. My heart only beats as long as yours does. So you disappearing on me with nothing but a note left behind is some fucking bullshit, George!"

@neverlandborn

[neverlandborn]

His rational mind was well aware of how it hadn’t been the smartest of choices to leave a note. But at the time it hadn’t seemed terrible

“I said i would come back” he replied in what he expected was a calm enough tone that wouldn’t set her off even further- useless as it might be

[leaderofthenightriders]

It was the wrong thing to say.

She could feel it in the way her fingers curled at her sides until her knuckles ached. I said I would come back. Like that was supposed to be enough. Like a promise scrawled on a piece of paper and left on a pillow was the same thing as actually staying.

“You said you’d come back,” she repeated, and she hated how her voice did that — dropped low and quiet the way it did when she was past the point of screaming. “You said you’d come back, George. That’s all you said. No explanation. No timeline. No reason.” She took a step toward him, and she watched his expression shift, that careful neutral thing he did with his face when he was bracing for her. “Do you know what it’s like to wake up and reach for someone and find nothing? Just a note?”

[leaderofthenightriders]

"You don't get to walk away from me. I don't care about the flames, or your eye color, or even that your bloodlust almost made you kill me. I couldn’t care less if you hurt me. Just don't lock yourself away from me. You come to me, understand?"

@twoworlded

[leaderofthenightriders]

"I love you. I’m in love with you. My heart only beats as long as yours does. So you disappearing on me with nothing but a note left behind is some fucking bullshit, George!"

@neverlandborn

[leaderofthenightriders]

“It’s happening to him, George,” she said, her voice breaking. “I need to take him away, teach him to control it before it controls him.”

Eve looked between her husband and her son, gratitude and guilt twisting together in her chest. George’s steadiness grounded her, but this was her doing.

Eve hesitated. The Wild Hunt was her domain, but not a place for the uninitiated. The battles, the bloodlust, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All of it would overwhelm Orion before he ever had a chance to learn control.

“I’m taking him to Valhalla,” she said. “We’ll stay with my father.”

[twoworlded]

George closed his eyes, head tilted to the side as he let her words sink in. This had always been a possibility that loomed over their heads.

Even when Orion was born and he didn’t seem to inherit those traits, they kept holding their breath. It was a matter of it, not when.

“When do you leave?” He finally asked as he closed the distance between them and rested his chin over her head with full body sigh

You. Not we.

He should have picked on it when his mother’s words didn’t seem to include his father on it but he had still been holding onto something “You aren’t coming with mom and me” he signing was careful. Putting the words out there made it real. The curse inside him had awakened and there would be no going back now. Just before and now

[leaderofthenightriders]

“He can visit because of our bond,” Eve said, trying to find a silver lining for her son, whose world was changing too quickly. “But the girls are too young to be there, and we can’t leave them alone.”

Eve turned away from her son’s questioning gaze, her decision pressing down on her shoulders. She couldn’t meet George’s eyes either. Not yet. Silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sound of the twins playing downstairs.

“We need to tell the girls,” Eve said, her voice steadier than she felt. “They deserve to know why their brother is leaving.”

She moved toward the door, needing space. Air. The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly before her, each step slower than the last. How would she explain this to Freya and Nyx? They were too young to understand the darkness in their bloodline, too innocent to comprehend the sacrifices their family would have to make.

Eve stopped at the top of the stairs, her hand tightening around the banister. The home they had built together suddenly felt fragile, as if it might crumble around them. She had fought so hard to create this sanctuary. To shield her children from the legacy of blood and battle that had defined her own childhood.

She sank onto the top step and buried her face in her hands. This was her fault. All of it.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas watched Orion settle onto the bench, his posture relaxed in a way that felt achingly familiar. The weight of his gaze was comforting, not intrusive—a quiet presence Silas found himself craving more than he wanted to admit.

“You know,” Silas signed, his hands moving with practiced ease as he worked the carburetor, “I think I prefer you watching me work to criticizing me.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them—flirtatious, bolder than he meant. Something about this—about him—had loosened the careful restraints Silas had always kept in place. No more hiding. No more pretending.

[twoworlded]

“I don’t need to be talking to criticize” was the coy response that Orion signed back at him. It had been nice to settle into a calm moment. No need for any kind of conversation between them. Existing in the same space was enough

“You think I’m gonna go easy in you this life? You wouldn’t like me half as much if I did” the grin on his face was lighter compared to the teasing of his words

[leaderofthenightriders]

Warmth spread through Silas’s chest at Orion’s words. The teasing felt achingly familiar. He set down the wrench and wiped his hands on a rag, suddenly needing to look at Orion properly.

“You’re right,” he signed, his movements deliberate, unhurried. “I wouldn’t like you half as much.”

He reached out, hesitating just before his fingers brushed Orion’s cheek. The contact sent a sharp rush of electricity skittering across his skin. He knew he should get back to work, but concentrating with Orion this close felt impossible. He just wanted to touch him again. To feel him beneath his hands and convince himself this was real.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve felt the connection snap into place like a lightning strike, the bond solidifying with a force that nearly knocked her off her feet. She gasped as George’s emotions flooded through her—pain, fear, and beneath it, a powerful surge of love and determination that stole her breath.

“I can feel you,” she whispered, her hands still pressed to his chest. The wound had already closed—no mark, no trace the dagger had ever pierced his skin. Only the connection remained, thrumming between them like a second heartbeat.

Her own emotions surged toward him through the bond. She couldn’t hide anything from him now—the fear, the hope, the desperate need to protect him that had driven her here. It was terrifying. Exhilarating.

“Are you okay?” she asked, searching his face. Color was returning to his cheeks, the initial shock of the bond already fading.

[neverlandborn]

His breathing slowed down when his senses came back to him. It was an odd sensation to register what he now knew to be her emotions alongside his.

One would have expected it to be a task to discern what belonged to who but it seemed like he could tell it easily “I’m getting there” George whispered while leaning into her touch “you feel…really love me that much, huh?”

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve’s cheeks warmed at his question. The bond made it impossible to hide how deeply she loved him, how that love had grown and changed over the years. She felt his wonder through it—his surprise at how completely she had given herself to him.

“I’ve loved you since the moment you looked at me like I wasn’t a monster,” she whispered, her fingers tracing the place where the dagger had pierced his chest. “Even when I tried not to.”

The bond hummed between them, pulsing with their joined heartbeats. “You love me that much?” she repeated, feeling his love answer through the bond—endless, overwhelming, alive.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve accepted the helmet with a small laugh, the weight of it familiar in her hands. She had never liked her real crown. It had always been a shackle from her mother that she refused to put on her head. et here was George, bowing before her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You remembered,” she said softly, turning the helmet over in her hands. A small detail, one that shouldn’t matter, but it did. It always did with them.

[neverlandborn]

“I always do” the reply left his lips automatically. In their past lives her titles had tied her down to her mother, Hel’s clutches reaching her even when they were worlds apart.

Same reason George had tried to show her that his own devotion affections came solely from Eve herself

“there, all ready” he gestured towards the motorcycle briefly as he jumped and started it, the feeling of her arms around his chest was fitting. Like pieces of a puzzle coming together once again

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve slid onto the motorcycle behind George, her body instinctively settling against his. The engine roared to life, just as loud as she’d predicted, the vibration rattling through her bones like an old memory. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing close enough to feel the brief tension that ran through him before he relaxed into her touch. As if some part of him recognized her before the rest caught up.

“So where are we taking this death machine?” she called over the growl of the engine.

[leaderofthenightriders]

“Yeah… we need to talk to him.” George.

The thought alone sent dread curling through Eve’s chest. Not because he wouldn’t understand—he would. He always did. But neither of them had ever wanted this. George had been her anchor through every storm. This was different.

This was their son.

“He needs to know what’s happening.” She brushed a strand of Orion’s now-white hair back from his face, her touch lingering for a moment too long.

Eve rose, her movements smooth despite the weight in her chest, and crossed to the door. “George,” she called into the hallway, her voice carrying more urgency than she meant to show. “I need you in here.”

Footsteps answered drawing closer with each passing second.

Her mouth went dry.

She had faced gods. Monsters. Led armies without hesitation.

But this? This terrified her more than anything.

[twoworlded]

Something was going on, George was sure of it. The air around their house was practically crackling with something and he was soon to find out exactly what it was.

The image that greeted him did little to soothe him. Between Orion’s obvious apprehensive body language and Eve’s concern that practically screamed in his own head “what’s happening?” No point dancing around it when all three of them knew better

“Something’s-” messed up , different, wrong “changed. Mom understands it better than me” Orion signed as his eyes went from one parent to the other. He almost shrank into himself, trying to see if that would help with the noise. Even if the only solution was the one his mother already had decided on

[leaderofthenightriders]

“It’s happening to him, George,” she said, her voice breaking. “I need to take him away, teach him to control it before it controls him.”

Eve looked between her husband and her son, gratitude and guilt twisting together in her chest. George’s steadiness grounded her, but this was her doing.

Eve hesitated. The Wild Hunt was her domain, but not a place for the uninitiated. The battles, the bloodlust, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All of it would overwhelm Orion before he ever had a chance to learn control.

“I’m taking him to Valhalla,” she said. “We’ll stay with my father.”

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas couldn’t quite hide his smile as he turned back to the motorcycle, acutely aware of Orion’s gaze following his every move.

“Impress you?” he signed, his hands moving with deliberate flair before reaching for his tools. “I thought that’s what I’ve been doing all along.”

He settled into the work with practiced ease, his fingers moving over the engine in a steady, familiar rhythm. It grounded him, even as his thoughts churned with memories that didn’t feel entirely new. Still, every so often, he glanced up—just to check, to make sure Orion was still there.

That this wasn’t something his mind had conjured.

[twoworlded]

“Amusing me it’s different than leaving an impression” Orion made quick work of his signing as he made himself comfortable on a bench that allowed him a more than comfortable view.

When there were no words to interchanged between them the air around the shop settled into a familiarity that was almost dream like for him. The type of thing that was so delicate it could break if you breathe the wrong way.

But this was good, wasn’t it? Something like that was something worth keeping and he had just decided he would. Simple as that in his stubborn mind

[leaderofthenightriders]

Silas watched Orion settle onto the bench, his posture relaxed in a way that felt achingly familiar. The weight of his gaze was comforting, not intrusive—a quiet presence Silas found himself craving more than he wanted to admit.

“You know,” Silas signed, his hands moving with practiced ease as he worked the carburetor, “I think I prefer you watching me work to criticizing me.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them—flirtatious, bolder than he meant. Something about this—about him—had loosened the careful restraints Silas had always kept in place. No more hiding. No more pretending.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve’s chest tightened at his words. The certainty in his eyes made her hands tremble, her grip on the dagger tightening. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. She had never meant to bind anyone to her—least of all him. But his trust, absolute and unflinching, steadied her.

She stepped closer, pressing her bloodied palm to his bare chest, directly over his heart. His warmth met the chill of the room, grounding and unbearable all at once.

“Look at me,” she whispered. “Don’t look away.”

His green eyes found hers. Then she drove the dagger into his chest.

She caught him as he faltered, her hand still braced against him as black flames erupted from the wound. The dagger dissolved, melting into his flesh, into his blood, into his very being.

Eve didn’t look away.

Tears blurred her vision, but she forced herself to see it—every flicker of pain, every fracture in his expression. She would not turn from what she had done.

“Stay with me,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “It’s almost over.”

The black fire spread through him, tracing his veins beneath the skin like dark, living currents. Eve could feel the magic working, binding their essences together, thread by thread. Her own heart faltered as it adjusted to the new, impossible connection forming between them.

[neverlandborn]

Breathe in and out, even if they ended up coming rather quickly. He had to focus on her voice as the anchor that kept him tethered instead of giving into the cold darkness the pain was pushing him towards to.

Maybe it was a for the best he hadn’t been given too much to think about this whole thing.

George’s body released a pained grunt, seemingly the only noise he could make that acted as a sign he was still holding on while leaning his weight against her. He could hold on. He would do it.

“I’m-” he coughed once the world got began to spin around for another long second. It was a different kind of dizzy spell.

This time the pull that brought him back to reality was more of explosion, all the sensations coming back tenfold.

Like he was experimenting them for the first time “Here. I’m here” hopefully that made sense for her like it did for him

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve felt the connection snap into place like a lightning strike, the bond solidifying with a force that nearly knocked her off her feet. She gasped as George’s emotions flooded through her—pain, fear, and beneath it, a powerful surge of love and determination that stole her breath.

“I can feel you,” she whispered, her hands still pressed to his chest. The wound had already closed—no mark, no trace the dagger had ever pierced his skin. Only the connection remained, thrumming between them like a second heartbeat.

Her own emotions surged toward him through the bond. She couldn’t hide anything from him now—the fear, the hope, the desperate need to protect him that had driven her here. It was terrifying. Exhilarating.

“Are you okay?” she asked, searching his face. Color was returning to his cheeks, the initial shock of the bond already fading.

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve’s heart stuttered at the suggestion, the spontaneity of it tugging at something deep and restless inside her. The thought of holding on to him as they cut through city streets felt equal parts reckless and inevitable.

“To new beginnings,” she said, her fingers gliding over the handlebars of his patchwork machine. “Though I have to warn you, I might critique your riding technique as mercilessly as I just critiqued your engine work.”

The teasing slipped out easily, like muscle memory. Like this wasn’t new at all. As if they’d been doing this—circling, sparring, finding each other—for far longer than a few hours. In a way, they had. The memories kept surfacing, unfolding like pages from a story she didn’t remember reading.

“I should probably let Adam know I’m not going to make dinner,” she added, pulling out her phone. “He worries.” He always had—every version of him, every life. Some things didn’t change.

She sent off a quick, intentionally vague message. Adam would ask questions—too many—but that could wait. Right now, she just wanted the rush of wind in her hair and the solid presence of George in front of her.

“Do you have a spare helmet?” she asked, glancing up. “Or should I just trust that your driving skills are better than your exhaust system design?”

[neverlandborn]

New beginnings

Such a simple phrase that could mean nothing but held the entire world for George at the moment. The memories of past lives thrummed under his skin and it materialized in a fond huff and a characteristic roll of his eyes “once again, no faith in me at all” the well intentioned teasing carried the same fondness he basically oozed when it came to her.

George quietly went about around the place as she texted Adam, offering only an understanding nod. A part of him was curious if anyone else in his family would remember their past as well.

But for now he just wanted to soak into the bubble that had formed around them since their eyes met from across the street

“Here’s your crown” he offered her the spare helmet with a mock bow. Maybe that seemingly random instinct to always keep a second one at hand wasn’t so random after all

[leaderofthenightriders]

Eve accepted the helmet with a small laugh, the weight of it familiar in her hands. She had never liked her real crown. It had always been a shackle from her mother that she refused to put on her head. et here was George, bowing before her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You remembered,” she said softly, turning the helmet over in her hands. A small detail, one that shouldn’t matter, but it did. It always did with them.