There's likely going to be more fanfiction on here than original. If it's tagged as 'fanfiction', then I don't own the intellectual properties involved. If it's tagged 'original', then I do.
Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing. It is vital to get a reader’s attention. To write a good blurb, you have to make it short. Cut out sub-plots. Add tension to make it dramatic. Try not to mention more than two character’s names, and promise your audience a read they won’t forget.
I’ve come up with this easy acronym to help you create a blurb. I call it SCOPE. Follow these five steps and see if it works for you.
Setting
Conflict
Objective
Possible Solution
Emotional Promise
Setting: All stories involve characters who are in a certain setting at a certain time.
Conflict: A good story places these characters in a situation where they have to act or react. A good way to start this part of your blurb is with the words: But, However, Until
Objective: What do your characters need to do?
Possible Solution: Offer the reader hope here. Show them how the protagonist can overcome. Give them a reason to pick up the book. Use the word ‘If’ here.
Emotional Promise: Tell them how the book will make them feel. This sets the mood for your reader.
I saw The Edge of Tomorrow today, and I decided to write a blurb using this formula.
Example:
London. The near future. Aliens have invaded Earth and colonised Europe. Major William Cage is a PR expert for the US Army which is working with the British to prevent the invaders from crossing the English Channel. Battle after battle is lost until an unexpected victory gives humanity hope.
But the enemy is invincible. A planned push into Europe fails and Cage finds himself in a war he has no way to fight, and he dies. However, he wakes up, rebooted back a day every time he dies.
He lives through hellish day after day, until he finds another soldier, Sergeant Rita Vrataski, who understands what he can do to fight the enemy. Cage and Vrataski have to take the fight to the aliens, learning more after each repeated encounter.
If they succeed, they will destroy the enemy, and save Earth.
This thrilling action-packed science fiction war story will show you how heroes are made and wars can be won. Against the odds.
SCOPE will work for any blurb. Why don’t you try it?
One of the hardest things to do as a writer is to somehow get your readers to care about your characters. Knowing what to do with your characters is an important part of being a great writer. If this is something you’ve been confused about, I think these simple tips might help you.
YOU need to care about your own characters.
Writing a good story with intriguing characters starts with you. If your story can be boiled down to one simple gimmick (a vampire and a human love affair, for example), your story won’t be very interesting. You need to get your audience to root for and understand those characters. You need to spend time developing these characters in order to get your audience to care.
All your characters need some sort of motivation.
They need to want something and they need to fight for it. If we understand what your characters want, we will root for them. Sometimes it’s that simple. If we have no idea what your characters want, it’s hard to understand where they’re coming from. They don’t need to flat-out say what they want, but we should be able to figure it out through character development.
They need to be well thought out.
During your outlining or prewriting OR whatever you do, spend some time developing your characters. You shouldn’t just start with “tall, attractive, eighteen year old”. That’s not enough for you to go on. What do they want? Where are they going? How will they get there? Your audience needs to know to be interested.
Each character deserves a proper place in your story.
Don’t throw in a character that has no purpose and think that if you kill them off your audience will care. You need to work on building a relationship between your readers and characters before you can expect any sort of emotional response. There’s a reason why you care about your darling characters, so share it with your readers.
If you’re having trouble with character development, it helps to plan. Prewriting isn’t for everyone, but it might help if you’re having difficulties. Take your time!
A title is one of the first chances you have to intrigue a reader – as well as a potential agent or publisher. An alluring title could make the difference between reaching the hands of a literary agent or sitting in the slush pile for another few months.
For me, a book cover is what catches my eye first (I won’t lie, especially if it’s a shiny book cover), but an evocative title is what makes me actually pick a book up. Here are some of my personal favorites off the top of my head:
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
City of Bones
The Looking Glass Wars
Hush, Hush
13 Reasons Why
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Under the Never Sky
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Some Girls Are
Stolen
Shiver
Possession (paired with the cover was incredibly brilliant)
Need
Boneshaker
Each of the aforementioned either convinced me to pick the book up instantly, or remained imprinted in my brain so that I remembered the title and sought it out later.
So how the heck do you create a title like that?
I start thinking of a title as soon as I’ve solidified the premise of my manuscript, and I begin smashing words together after I’ve jotted a rough outline. I do this because, as I write, the title evolves with my writing (often dramatically, since I rarely find a winner within the first few tries). If I have some sort of rough idea to start, then I have something to work with as I go along, and then I don’t reach the end of a manuscript and think, “…..How do title?”
Start with anything but “untitled”. Don’t cheat yourself out of the chance to get your first words or ideas down, just like with anything you write. Slap words onto paper or a document, even if you cringe and writhe in agony. Getting over this initial hump will help you tremendously, and as you oh-so contentedly go on about writing (if only it were that easy), give yourself opportunities at certain points to rethink your title with these questions:
Does it give hint to what the story is about?
Does it sound like how my story is written?
Does it give a sense of atmosphere?
Does it create a question in which a potential reader will need to answer?
For example, one of my most favorite titles is “The Forest of Hands and Teeth”. This was a book I did not pick up right away, but I couldn’t shake the title out of my brain and ended up reading it a couple years later (yes, a couple YEARS later). This title is amazing in that it inspires imagery, atmosphere, and mood all in six words. It makes us readers ask, “What IS the forest of hands and teeth and why don’t I know about it? What goes on in there and how do the people survive it?”
If horror or dystopian isn’t your cup of soy, then how about “The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer”? I wanted to know who Mara was, and I wanted to know what had happened to her, and what was happening to her. I had the sense of a character unraveling, and I needed to know why. I picked this one up almost right away.
When I think up a title, I don’t stop reimagining it until I’m satisfied long after I settled on it. Epiphanies hit me and I’ll think “I’ve got it this time!” – but then the next day my palm hits my forehead and I’m like, “What was I high on?”
Also, do your title thinking in your best thinking times. For me, it’s while driving and, er…in the shower. Don’t judge me. It’s at these moments that my brain is distracted just enough that I’m not trying too hard to think, and ideas have the most freedom to wriggle into my brain.
If you’re frustrated, or if nothing’s happening as you try to structure your title, you’re thinking much too hard. Loosen up, go for a walk, listen to music, vacuum the house, brush all your cats. Distract yourself. Keep yourself from thinking too hard. Magic often happens when you least expect it.
If you’re a writer, there’s a BIG chance you’re going to kill off one of your characters eventually. Obviously being able to do this isn’t the same as experiencing death in real life, but it’s still something you need to think about and prepare for. Killing off characters should have some consequences to either your main characters or the plot of your story. If someone dies in your story, the loss must mean something to one of your characters. Don’t use death a cheap plot device to move your story forward.
Writing about the TOPIC of death can be a different story. If you’re writing about a character who is terminal and who we know is going to die, you need to know how to approach it with understanding. Writing about terminal cancer or a specific disease that you might not know everything about unless you’ve experienced it requires research. Don’t act like you know what it’s like to have something or the emotions that go into it. Don’t just guess what it might be like.
Here are a few tips on writing convincing death scenes:
Don’t cheapen a character’s death
If an important character dies, sometimes authors decide to bring that character back to life. Killing off characters and then finding a way to bring them back lessens the severity of death. Why should your readers care about what happens to your characters if they know nothing bad is going to happen to them? If you want to bring a character back to life make sure there’s a good reason for it.
Not everyone’s story will come together perfectly
Writing a good death scene isn’t about tying up someone’s story perfectly. People often die suddenly with no real time to “fix” things or say something to someone they love. Sometimes there’s more of an emotional impact when a character is not given the chance to change something about their life before it’s too late. Not everyone will be able to speak important or profound last words, so keep that in mind.
Everyone experiences loss differently
There’s no standard way for someone to deal with loss, so every person will deal with it differently. Obviously there will be unhealthy ways to deal with death, but it’s not abnormal for someone to not want to talk about it or for someone to be super emotional about it. Make sure you figure out who your characters are first and how they’d approach the situation.
Writing about death is probably so popular because it’s really about the discovery and appreciation of life. Some of the best stories make you analyze your own life and realize the blessings that you already have. Just make sure you know what you’re talking about and it doesn’t come off as disingenuous. Some people have actually experienced what you’re writing a fictional account of, so be respectful.
So, let me guess— you just started a new book, right? And you’re stumped. You have no idea how much an AK47 goes for nowadays. I get ya, cousin. Tough world we live in. A writer’s gotta know, but them NSA hounds are after ya 24/7. I know, cousin, I know. If there was only a way to find out all of this rather edgy information without getting yourself in trouble…
You’re in luck, cousin. I have just the thing for ya.
It’s called Havocscope. It’s got information and prices for all sorts of edgy information. Ever wondered how much cocaine costs by the gram, or how much a kidney sells for, or (worst of all) how much it costs to hire an assassin?
I got your back, cousin. Just head over to Havocscope.
((PS: In case you’re wondering, Havocscope is a database full of information regarding the criminal underworld. The information you will find there has been taken from newspapers and police reports. It’s perfectly legal, no need to worry about the NSA hounds, cousin ;p))
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IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT KIND OF WRITER YOU ARE YOU CAN BE WRITING: POEMS, FANFICS, IDK NORMAL FICS, NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, IDK ANYTHING!! JUST REBLOG!!!
Found this article. Found it incredibly helpful. Be sure to go read the full story, but these are the ten questions the author (Lydia Netzer) covers in it:
1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!”
2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming?
3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best?
4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know?
5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book?
6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe?
7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life?
8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.)
9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.)
10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”
Some of this could be easily adapted into roleplay critiques, though it’s primary use is, of course, novel writing.
A lot of your characters might have weapons they’re proficient at. Unless they’re already pros before the beginning of your novel, you might have to explain their training. This can be difficult, especially if you have absolutely no idea how to use that weapon.
I decided to link to a few articles/websites that might help you with your research. This is also useful if your character is constructing a weapon. Here are a few weapon basics—
Sometimes I stare at the computer screen when the words don’t want to come and I think, “Fuck, who am I kidding? This is terrible writing, and this story is shit, and no one cares, anyway.” And I close the window and go do something else.
But every now and then I get an amazing, heartfelt, beautiful comment from someone who loved something I wrote, and it reminds me that, at least for that one person, I did write something worthwhile. And so I open the window again and I write one sentence, and then another, and then I start to find my way again.
So on behalf of all fanfic writers everywhere, I want to say thank you, thank you so much, to all of the readers who take the time to leave a comment and tell us that something we wrote mattered to you, that it brightened your day or made you laugh or cry or get horny or whatever.
Please don’t think we’re ever bothered by your comment, or that we don’t want to hear it, or that what you have to say isn’t important enough. It means so, so much. And on some days, it’s what keeps us going.
Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or anything else you recognize as belonging to Anthony Horowitz or that it’s pretty obvious I don’t own.
This kind of ties in to chapter 7 of my story Somnium Visum, but can be read alone. I kind of half gave up toward the end so I'm not thrilled with it, but at least I've finally finished it.
____
Alex shivered, washing as quickly as he could under the cold water. Yeah, this is what he got for waiting until all of the soldiers were gone, but he couldn’t bring himself to be here when they were. There were a couple of reasons, not the least of which being that it was just too creepy, but also because he wasn’t willing to risk there being an "accident" like had been occasionally happening in the week or so he had been here.
He shivered again, but for a different reason. How was he supposed to do whatever the hell they wanted him to while he still hadn’t had a proper chance to grieve for Ian? He lowered his head, his wet hair falling into his eyes, and leaned back against the wall. He bit his lip, doing his best to hold back the tears. If he started crying now, he doubted he’d be able to stop anytime soon.
Things probably wouldn’t feel as overwhelming as they did if he was just left alone, but instead so many of the soldiers went out of their way to be cruel to him. It’s not like he had asked to be here. He was getting sick of being tripped and worried that it might soon escalate. And the team he was tossed in with? Sometimes they were worse than all the others and other times they mostly ignored them. He wished they would just be consistent so he knew what to expect.
Alex slid down the wall, not really noticing the chill anymore as he wrapped his arms around his legs and let his head rest on his knees. He just let his mind drift, getting a little bit of an escape from this hell before stepping back into it.
By the time he came back to himself, Alex was shivering in earnest. His hands and feet were numb and the water droplets felt like needles against his skin. He fumbled off the water and pushed to his feet, staggering over to his towel.
He dried and dressed as quickly as his stiff body would allow, hoping that he hadn’t lost track of time too badly and had missed the curfew. Things would be horrible with K-unit for the next couple of days at least if he had.
He was focused on putting one foot in front of the other as he left the showers and almost didn’t see the soldier who stepped in front of him. He stopped just before he would have walked into the man.
The soldier snorted derisively. "Blind and scrawny. Why the hell you’re here, I’ll never know."
Alex’s eyes narrowed. "Considering how stupid and clumsy you are, I’m not quite sure why you’re here either," he retorted without thinking about it.
Growling, the soldier reached out and clamped a hand on Alex’s shoulder, causing him to yelp in surprise. The hand tightened briefly, fingertips digging into the flesh and pushing the bones together, then he was shoved, hard.
Alex cried out in pain as his back struck the sinks several feet behind him. Falling to the ground, he had a moment to worry over how his legs had lost feeling before he hit the floor with a jarring thud. Panicked brown eyes flew toward the figure looming over him and he tried to scramble to his feet, forgetting in his haste that his legs weren’t working properly.
His attacker laughed at how the teen was reacting and stepped forward, swinging his other foot into Alex’s stomach. His laughter grew crueler as the blond wheezed for breath and cowered under the sinks, curling into as much of a protective ball as he could and covering his head with his arms. Luckily, the soldier contented himself with the damage he had already done so he limited further abuse to verbal before he turned and left again, chortling the entire time.
It was several minutes before Alex was able to breathe normally and, by then, the tingling in his legs had faded. He cautiously uncurled, wincing as he pulled at the already forming bruises. Casting his eyes around, he used a sink to pull himself to his feet. Forcing himself to move, he started staggering toward K-unit’s hut.
He was walking mostly normally by the time he actually arrived, so when he got in the door, he was able to head directly to his cot and drop onto it.
No one noticed the suspicious glance Fox sent his way.
____
Alex startled awake, disoriented and in pain. Opening his eyes, he went from sleepy straight to panic as he took in the shadowy male figure standing over his bed, reaching a hand for his shoulder. Alex yelled and threw himself away from the man, getting caught up in his blanket and falling to the floor with a crash.
Hearing several voices, but not actually able to make out what any of them were saying, made Alex fight to free himself all the harder. All he could think was that the same soldier was back and had brought others. He finally freed himself and was able to gain his feet, but he didn’t see the hand that reached out and caught his shoulder.
"Cub! What the fuck is your problem?" was yelled at him by the man who had him.
Alex blinked and cringed, jolted out of his panic, and looked at who was pressing their fingers into the bruise on his shoulder, trying not to grimace in pain. Seeing that it was Wolf, he relaxed, almost sagging in his relief that it wasn’t the soldier from last night.
Wolf scowled, sweeping his gaze over the boy then pushing him onto the bed. "Stop being such a baby. If you get us in trouble, I’m going to make you regret it."
Alex’s stomach clenched slightly as he flashed back, almost feeling each of the blows again, before he shook himself out of it and sat up, reaching out to snag his change of clothes. He missed the way Fox straightened and how he focused narrowed eyes on the small blond, but he was the only one who did.
The brunet soldier waved off his teammates before they could question him, motioning for them to act normal. They gave him odd looks before Eagle shrugged and kept chattering at the others.
The teen turned his back as he normally did before tugging his shirt over his head, forgetting about the bruises in his concern over angering his unit. However oblivious he was to the attention before, there was no way he could miss Eagle stuttering to a stop, Snake dropping the book he usually read in their little free time, Fox cussing, or Wolf’s heavy footsteps moving closer.
Alex turned warily, wondering what the problem was. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the furious expressions each soldier had, their eyes focused on him, and how Wolf was stalking toward him. He stumbled back, bumping into the wall, and the fear that flashed over his face made Wolf stop.
"What the hell happened to you?" Snake asked, making sure to keep his voice gentle as he pushed passed Wolf. He scanned the future spy’s torso, lips pressing together at the clear boot print in Alex’s lightly tanned skin and the dark fingers spreading over his slender shoulder - too dark to have been caused by Wolf though there was no way he had helped it any.
"The what is kind of obvious. I want to know who," Eagle said, his normally upbeat voice low and dangerous.
Alex shivered, looking between all of them with wide eyes, wondering what was going on. He flinched when the other blond started to lift a hand in his direction.
The skin around Snake’s eyes tightened and he turned just enough to address the others. "Cub and I will be out in a bit."
One look at Alex stifled their objections and they went out the door, but not without Wolf growling that one of them would tell him what was going on before he slammed the door shut.
Snake turned back to the younger. "I need to know exactly how you got these and if there is any lingering pain."
Alex eyed him before nodding hesitantly. He gestured at each as he spoke, "Boot, hand, sink. They’re all sore."
Snake scowled at the brief answer. "How? And I’m going to need to see if anything has happened to the bones." He gestured for Alex to sit on the bed.
"He kicked me when I tried to get up after he had grabbed my shoulder which was before he shoved me into the sinks. Nothing feels broken." He sat so Snake could feel along his ribs, back, and joints and tested his range of movement, wincing as the bruises pulled.
Snake nodded, sitting back on his heels. "Well, you seem to be fine, except for the obvious. Can you tell me who did it?"
Alex pressed his lips together and shook his head. "It was dark and hard to make out anything," he lied, staring down at where his hands were clasped in his lap. He didn't want to make things worse or sound like he was crying. He could deal with this on his own.
Snake sighed, standing. "Alright. Change and come outside."
Alex watched him go before gingerly pulling on the clean shirt - now that his attention had been drawn to the bruises, he was really feeling it now.
Outside, the medic found himself accosted by his teammates. All he did was shake his head when questioned.
"He says that he didn’t get a good look."
Fox huffed. "Do you believe him?"
Any response that may have been made was stopped with Alex’s appearance, though that didn’t stop the men from exchanging glances that spoke volumes over how they were going to keep a close eye on the teen.
It was that close watch that allowed K-unit to discover who it was that hurt Alex. Normally the boy met any abuse thrown his way with a stoicism that was impressive for men ten years his senior. Because of that, his minute flinch and refusal to lift his eyes from the dirt when a particular soldier passed by were easy for Snake to note and sent up red flags. After all, if even Wolf's harsh treatment didn't seem to overly phase the kid, then the other soldier had to have done something major. Snake just hoped it wasn't the worst case scenario that came to mind that had happened.
He kept his suspicions to himself for the time being, not wanting to risk one of his teammates doing something rash, especially since he knew them all by now.
So instead, he watched and listened and two days after Alex was attacked, Snake overheard all he needed to to confirm his hunch. That the soldier was grumbling about missing his chance roused Snake's cold ire.
Unlike Wolf who tended to get loud and showed his anger in his every movement and gesture, Snake folded it away into a corner and waited, keeping that pleasant smile on his face as he waited for the right moment to strike. It was why he had commented that Snake was certainly a fitting codename for himself - and most people either forgot or hadn't seen why that was in the first place.
It was surprisingly easy for Snake to sneak away and steal the things that he would need for a small bomb to plant in the soldier's belongings. It wouldn't be anything too bad, maybe blow off a few fingers if you were holding it when it went off, but more than enough to make a mess. And if he timed it right? Then that would be one less soldier that was unsuited for the SAS to deal with.
It was only a day before his opportunity arose, barely enough time for him to build the explosive, much less plant it before training began. The fallout, however, could be heard nearly half-way across the camp as the sergeant and other instructors reamed out the unfortunate unit.
It was all over the camp by dinner that a unit had left their bunkhouse so badly out of sorts that one member had been binned and the others were on a week's worth of mess duty as punishment.
And it was completely unnoticed by everyone that Snake had a satisfied smile on his lips upon seeing the way Alex's shoulders relaxed when who had been binned was found out.
"I wonder what they’re talking about," Eagle murmured, watching the pair of blonds from where he was still sat on the counter. "Cub looks upset."
Wolf shrugged, absently watching Fox finish cooking the forgotten breakfast food. "Snake will tell us if it’s important."
"You’re really going to just leave it at that?"
"Yes. I don’t want to make Cub trust us any less than he currently does."
Fox glanced at him. "Did you hear how many times he woke?" He shook his head. "I wonder what happened to him to cause so many nightmares."
Wolf grunted. "I was outside most of the night, but I’ll take your word for it. I came in around 0300 and he was in here, staring at the table like it had sprouted wings."
Eagle sniggered. "Remember that time Snake was sick and it did?" He just shrugged at the bland looks aimed at him. "Like I can help what I think of."
Fox switched the stove off. "Looks like they’ll be in soon," he said, nodding out the window, drawing attention to the blonds.
"...So, who’s turn was it this time?" Wolf asked in reference to the expression pulling at Snake’s features.
Eagle stuck his tongue out at the smirk and thumb Fox aimed at him. Yeah, he was not looking forward to needing to dodge spellfire for an hour. For being a Healing aspect mage, the Scottish man was surprisingly vicious when something had roused his anger.
"Wonder what Cub said," Fox mused, watching as the pair turned to head back inside.
"Nothing good," was the team leader’s grim response.
___
"You realize the others will want to know what we talked about?"
Alex snorted. "If they can get up the courage to ask. You look like you’re about to make another of your odd little bombs."
Snake shot a queer look at the teen. "Bombs?"
"Yeah. I remember this one time you set something small that completely messed up another unit’s hut after they had been giving you all shit over me." Alex actually laughed, some of the bitterness he had carried for almost a year still present, but faded from how it would have been even two days ago. "I don’t know if it was what they had been saying or that one of them had actually hit me that pissed you all off, but it ended up getting him binned since it was his stuff all over. Not that he was much of a loss, he’d have gotten someone killed."
"A soldier hit a child?" Snake demanded, stopping short in surprise.
"Well, to be fair, it was kind of my fault." Alex turned to face him. "I have a habit of mouthing off at people and it usually does get me hit. Or shot at." He shrugged.
"C- Alex, stop being flippant and explain. Please." He could not believe how different the two boys were. But then, there were times that it was like they were the same - like that same crooked smile when he knew he was aggravating you. Which he was wearing right now.
"Which part?"
"You were hit? And none of us stopped it?"
Alex shrugged. "It’s not like any of you were there to stop it. I always tried to shower alone and he cornered me, said some stupid crap and I told him off. By that point I was just getting fed up with everything. And before you ask, no, I really didn’t do it with you four because I knew that a) I had to sleep in the same room as you and b) even though you didn’t like me, you wouldn’t actually hurt me. Admittedly, that’s a bit hard to remember when you’re in the middle of being intimidated, but..." He shrugged again. "Anyway, I got back to the cabin and I think Fox noticed how I was moving first. He didn’t really hit me, he kind of pushed me and I hit the sinks. It had bruised pretty well by the next morning and you all spotted it when I was changing. That led to everything else. I still got crap from all of you, but everyone else quit trying to do anything except say shit."
Snake sighed. "And the rest?"
Alex pursed his lips and looked down, trying to figure out how to word it. "Being a spy sucks," was what he settled on. "It’s why I now know that he would have gotten someone killed. I’m not sure how he got into selection in the first place."
"And being shot at?"
Alex scowled, muttering, "Didn’t we already cover this?" before speaking at a normal volume. "Spy."
Snake sighed, dragging hand over his face. "That really doesn’t explain anything."
The teen shrugged, that same smirk settling on his lips again. He turned and walked into the house, the other blond at his heels.
"You are one of the most exasperating people I have ever talked with," Snake grumbled, though his lips turned up in a smile at the laugh it drew out of the boy.
____
It wasn’t until later, when Eagle and Fox had coerced Alex into going outside with them, that Wolf was able to speak with Snake.
"So?"
The mage sighed, setting down the book in his hands, and looked up at the team leader. "Hm?"
"What had you so angry?"
Quickly tamping down the flash of surprise, Snake felt his lips twist in displeasure. "A soldier hit him. Well, he claims that he was only pushed, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cub was bruised enough to raise all of our ire - mine enough so as to get the soldier in question thrown out." He peered at the werewolf. "I’m surprised you aren’t asking me to tell you everything."
Wolf snorted. "As much as I might like to and it would make things easier, I’m not going to hurt that kid’s trust anymore than it already has been. So long as he’s talking to one of us, I can wait for him to come to me."
"Unless it gets someone hurt," Snake added.
"Unless it gets one of us, especially him, hurt," Wolf corrected.
Snake nodded, reaching for his book again. "What are they doing out there anyway?"
"Playing hide and seek."
"Eagle’s idea?"
"Of course."
They shared an amused look before shaking their heads and Wolf turned to leave the room.
::Snake?::
::Yes, Fox?::
::Can you and Wolf come out here? We lost Cub.::
"How could you lose Cub?" Snake demanded, not realizing he had said that out loud.
Wolf appeared on the stairs again, having heard Snake.
::I’m not quite sure. Apparently this one is a lot better at hiding than the one we’re used to. I don’t know if he’s downwind or found something to camouflage his scent in or what, but I can’t smell him.::
::We’re on our way.:: was the last Snake had to say before heading out the door, filling Wolf in while they walked.
Upon meeting up with the demon and vampire, Wolf growled at them, literally growled, before demanding to know where they had already looked and if they had bothered calling out for him.
Knowing that an argument was about to break out (and would most likely turn into something physical), Snake stepped between them and spoke rationally. "Don’t you think it’s best to find Cub first? You can argue and blame each other later."
That effectively stopped the altercation but even with the addition of Wolf’s senses and Snake’s magic, it still took the unit another twenty minutes to find Alex, and when they did, they found him sleeping peacefully under a tree.
"We’re not waking him," Fox declared before anyone could say anything.
Wolf nodded, moving forward to gently gather the teen into his arms.
Alex stirred, brown eyes slitting open as he looked up. "Wolf?" he slurred, quite clearly nowhere near awake.
Wolf smiled slightly. "We’re going back to the house. Go back to sleep."
Alex frowned, peering around the darker male’s broad shoulders. Seeing the others, he shrugged and went to stand. He yelped in surprise when Wolf stood, arms still around his shoulders and under his knees. "I can walk!" he protested, grabbing onto Wolf’s shoulders with the arm that wasn’t stuck between their bodies.
"I’m not going to drop you."
Alex flushed, dropping his gaze to his knees. Not only was he being carried like he was a girl, but he could also feel the laughter vibrating in Wolf’s chest. "If you’re just gonna laugh at me, you can put me down."
Wolf sighed softly. "I’m not laughing at you. Werewolves use a low rumble as a way to comfort or relax packmates and cubs."
Alex blinked. "Oh... That isn’t something I’ve ever heard before." He felt Wolf’s arms and shoulders twitch in a shrug.
"It’s fine Cub. Not many know about it in the first place. Now, put your head down and try to get some more sleep."
"I don’t need a nap."
Eagle laughed. "Sure you don’t. I take it that’s why we didn’t find you asleep under a tree."
"You didn’t get much sleep last night either. Take what rest you can," Fox pitched in.
Alex frowned in consideration, thinking over how the men were, and had been, toward him as well as what was different and the same with the men he had trained with. Without realizing it, his head drifted down to Wolf’s shoulder as he dozed off, perfectly content and feeling safe.
Counting down to Christmas I’ll be posting Alex Rider fic recs for 25 days, with a few fanarts and fanmixes scattered in. Track #arficmas for your daily dose!
Today’s fic: Somnium Visium by PsychoWing (FFN)
Another mission, another near-death experience. It all seems routine - until what should be a fatal wound changes things. With all the confusion, and the resulting coma, Alex can’t help but feel like he’s fallen down the rabbit hole. And he isn’t sure he wants to climb back out.
Yoooo supernatural stuff, I am online for this! Not everyone’s cup of Joe, I’m sure, but hey K-Unit’s onboard. Wolf’s an actual werewolf. Alex is really confused. Monsters! Dimension hopping!! I should’ve recommended this around Halloween… This fic isn’t complete or very long (I’ve posted some monsters, wordcount wise), but what’s posted is worth the discerning read.
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
janainaart
origamiaround
germansingergirl
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