𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐀 | Druig — Part. 6
Pairing: Druig × Female Original Character
Genre: Slow Burn | Character-Driven Romance | Hurt/Comfort | Canon Divergence | Found Family | Eventual Smut
English is not my first language. Please let me know if I wrote anything wrong.
Cover and gif made by @spiderswff on Instagram
— ♡ —
The wind that morning drifted warmly through the trees. It was another summer day in Babylon. The damp scent of earth mingled with the fragrance of freshly bloomed flowers, while the first rays of sunlight pierced the canopy above, scattering patches of gold across the forest floor.
Tefiti took a deep breath. She had left the Domo early that morning, as she often did whenever there were few duties to attend to. She liked reserving a little time just for herself. Sometimes she invited Thena to train with her. Other times, she would try a recipe alongside Gilgamesh that one of the human women had taught her weeks before. But that morning, she had decided to devote those quiet hours solely to herself.
She cherished those moments when the other Eternals were still occupied with their own routines. It gave her the chance to slip away from the Domo as the sun rose beyond the mountains. The world always seemed quieter before human voices fully awakened.
Tefiti made her way toward a small grove a short distance from the great city they all called home. The trees stood apart from one another, their roots twisting above the ground. As she walked, the first beams of sunlight filtered through the leaves, gently warming her skin. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of running water blended with the morning songs of birds.
Stopping at the center of the grove, surrounded by a circle of trees, she raised one hand. A violet thread of cosmic energy flowed across her fingers. Then another. And another. Small blades began to materialize around her, as though they had been forged from light itself. They circled her body in slow, graceful orbits, following every movement of her arms.
Tefiti closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. Then she began to dance with her blades. Her feet glided effortlessly across the grass while the daggers mirrored every turn, every sweep of her arms, like leaves carried upon the wind.
She never thought during combat. Her body simply knew. As though every movement belonged to a single, shared consciousness. The blades sliced through the air, weaving impossible patterns, their edges catching the sunlight like tiny stars. It was almost too beautiful to be called fighting.
She spun with greater force, and several of her blades struck the center of the surrounding trees. Each target was marked with almost impossible precision, the impact strong enough to startle birds resting among the branches into flight. As her final movement came to an end, the blades vanished one by one. The grove's natural silence slowly reclaimed the space. A faint smile touched her lips, quietly proud of another successful training session.
But something was wrong with the way the morning breeze moved that day. A cold, funeral-like shiver slowly crawled down her spine, as though something invisible had passed straight through her body.
Her smile faded. For a brief moment, she had the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching her.mShe slowly turned her head. The trees remained perfectly still. No animals. No humans. Certainly none of the Eternals.
And yet her heart began to race. The sensation felt disturbingly familiar. It was the same feeling she experienced only seconds before a Deviant appeared. But there was no danger. Or at least, none that she could see.
She shook her head, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Perhaps she was simply tired. Thinking too much about things she shouldn't.
"[...] don’t dwell on it too much. It may do you more harm than good." Ajak's words echoed through her memory.
As a precaution, she decided to end her training there and began making her way back to the Domo
— ♡ —
She spent the rest of the day trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that something was wrong. She kept herself busy alongside the other Eternals, helped Phastos, spoke with Sersi, and watched Kingo draw laughter from the city's children. She smiled whenever she needed to. She talked whenever conversation called for it. But beneath it all, that quiet unease remained lodged deep inside her chest.
That night, it took her far longer than usual to fall asleep. An anxiety she couldn't explain settled heavily inside her, refusing to let her rest. The entire week had been exhausting for everyone, and this day had been set aside precisely so they could leave their worries behind and regain their strength. She didn't want to wake anyone in the middle of the night over something she herself couldn't understand. So she tried to ignore her instincts. At least for one night.
When she finally closed her eyes, a vast and unfamiliar darkness swallowed her mind. It didn't feel right to call it a dream.
There was no beginning. No end. She simply... was. Standing within a place she did not know, and yet, somehow, it felt familiar.
An endless violet sky stretched overhead. There were no stars. Only tiny luminous fragments drifting slowly through the void. She blinked several times, trying to adjust her eyes to the strange landscape.
That was when she noticed a figure standing in the distance. A woman. Perfectly still. Her hair was long and dark. Her dress seemed woven from the night itself. She stood with her back turned, yet for reasons Tefiti could not explain, an almost desperate need rose inside her to look into the woman's eyes.
She tried to call out, but no sound came. It was like trying to scream in a place where air did not exist.
She tried to reach her. Her body refused to move.
Then, without warning, the entire universe trembled. A blinding white light tore through the void, shattering the ground beneath her feet. The woman vanished like mist, swallowed once again by the darkness.
Far away, however, a single star continued to shine. It grew before her eyes. It shifted into countless forms. Its radiance intensified with every passing second until it was no longer merely a star. A supernova took its place. It exploded before her eyes. Its light consumed everything.
It was beautiful. It was terrifying… in a way words could never fully explain.
And amid that endless brilliance… Tefiti heard someone crying. A cry so profound it seemed to be born from the universe itself.
Tefiti awoke with a violent gasp. Her chest rose and fell in quick, uneven breaths. It took her several seconds to realize she was back in her room inside the Domo. Nothing seemed out of place. It was as though everything had happened within the span of a single heartbeat. It was still the middle of the night. Silence ruled every corridor of the Domo.
She ran both hands over her face, clinging to the sensation of her own touch to convince herself she was truly awake.
"It was only a dream..." she murmured to herself.
But her voice sounded heavy. The air felt far too dense to reach her lungs. She needed to believe that.
That was when she noticed a different scent. Her brow furrowed as she searched her memory for where she had encountered it before. It reminded her of heated metal wrapped in ash, like the air moments after lightning tears through the sky. The aroma faded only seconds later, but Tefiti remained perfectly still.
Her heart insisted someone was there. Something was watching her from within the darkness. Yet her eyes found nothing but emptiness. She tried to dismiss the strange events and push away the unease that had settled inside her chest.
Even so, she remained awake for the rest of the night.
— ♡ —
The days passed peacefully.
Before long, Tefiti was once again consumed by her responsibilities. She continued helping Phastos with his inventions, training alongside Thena, accompanying Ajak on her visits among the humans, talking with Sersi, and laughing at Kingo's increasingly exaggerated stories. At first glance, everything seemed perfectly normal. Yet that faint sensation remained.
Over the past few days, Tefiti had begun to feel as though she was never truly alone.
Sometimes, while walking through the streets of Babylon, she would catch a fleeting glimpse of a dark, violet mist weaving between the buildings. But the moment she turned to look, there was nothing there. Other times, it appeared only as an unusual reflection upon the surface of a river. One ripple across the water was enough for the figure to disappear.
She chose not to mention it. Not to Thena. Not even to Ajak.
Perhaps she was simply imagining things. Perhaps her mind was still too consumed by the questions that had haunted her ever since her conversation with the Matriarch.
Even so, the unease grew more persistent with each passing day. And more noticeable. Even Druig noticed.
During one of the Eternals' many gatherings, he quietly approached from the edge of the room, just as he always did, making himself invisible to everyone except her.
"You look tired."
His voice came as little more than a whisper, audible only because of how close they stood.
"I'm fine."
The answer came automatically. They both knew it was a lie.
Druig studied her for a few silent moments. Her foot tapped restlessly against the floor. Her breathing rose and fell unevenly. Her fingers gripped the soft fabric of her violet tunic so tightly it seemed she needed something to hold onto just to keep herself from falling apart.
He remembered the conversation they had shared weeks earlier beside the lake. Perhaps her thoughts were still trapped within that future that unsettled her so deeply.
Without another word, he sat beside her on the sofa. His eyes remained fixed on Ikaris, who was explaining a new combat strategy to the others. But his true attention never left Tefiti. Discreetly, he reached one hand toward hers. The unexpected touch made her flinch. She turned to look at him. Druig, however, didn't return her gaze. He continued watching Ikaris as though absolutely nothing unusual was happening. Tefiti understood. They couldn't draw attention.
She turned her eyes back toward the center of the room and carefully intertwined her fingers with his between their bodies, concealing the gesture from the other Eternals. Even through that simple touch, Druig could still tell something was wrong. But he didn't press her. He knew that whenever Tefiti withdrew into herself, pushing only caused her to build even higher walls. He would wait for her.
Tefiti, on the other hand, wanted to speak. She wanted to entrust someone with the unease that refused to leave her. But she couldn't explain what she herself didn't understand.
It happened again only a few days later.
She was crossing a small grove near the Domo alongside a young human girl who had gone out that morning to fetch water. The two walked slowly together, sharing easy conversation and quiet laughter. Tefiti loved the company of humans. But there was something about children that fascinated her even more. Perhaps because she had never experienced that stage of existence herself. She knew how to behave like an adult despite being an Eternal. More often than not, she learned simply by observing humans, mimicking their gestures, expressions, and countless small habits. Even after so many years among them, she still found herself enchanted by the simplicity with which they viewed life.
Then, without warning, her steps slowed on their own. Suddenly, her legs seemed to lose the strength to carry her forward. The same shiver she had felt that first morning returned. This time, it was far stronger. The wind fell still. The birds fell silent. Even the little girl's laughter vanished.
Tefiti tightened her grip on the basket in her hands until her fingertips turned white. She searched the grove for any sign of danger. There was nothing. And yet the air felt too heavy to reach her lungs.
"My Goddess... are you alright?"
The child noticed the change in her expression immediately.
Then Tefiti felt it. She was being watched. Slowly, she lifted her eyes. There she was. A woman's figure stood among the trees. Tall. Perfectly motionless. Wrapped in a violet mist so dark it seemed to swallow every trace of light around her. There was no face, only a silhouette and a pair of deep, distant violet eyes that seemed to pierce straight through Tefiti's very aura.
Even from afar… Tefiti knew.
The figure was looking directly at her. Her entire body froze.
"Who..."
The word died before it ever left her lips.
The figure gave no answer. She didn't move. She simply continued watching.
"Is there danger, my Goddess? Should I warn the others?"
The child followed the direction of Tefiti's gaze but found nothing beyond the trees surrounding the grove. Even so, she too seemed to sense that something about the place had changed.
Tefiti took one cautious step forward. The shadow slowly lifted its head. And then… It disappeared. It didn't walk away. It didn't run. It simply ceased to exist, like smoke carried off by the wind.
The silence dissolved. The birds began singing once more. Leaves rustled gently overhead. The world breathed again. But Tefiti remained frozen where she stood.
Her heart pounded so violently she could hear it echoing inside her own chest. Without realizing it, she reached for her arm. Her skin was covered in goosebumps.
For one brief moment, her eyes met those of the little girl. That single glance was enough. Tefiti felt the invisible weight pressing against her mind suddenly shatter, as though she were awakening from a deep trance. The instant their eyes met, all of her senses returned. She saw the fear written across the child's face. Yet the little girl never stepped away from her. She seemed to understand that the true terror lay elsewhere. Instead, she stayed close to the Eternal, as though believing that no evil could ever reach her while she remained at Tefiti's side.
And that was exactly what Tefiti needed in that moment.
"I'm alright, little one. It's only a headache."
She offered the warmest smile she could manage. Then she extended her free hand toward the child. Without hesitation, the little girl took it. Together, they resumed their walk. Before long, the girl's laughter once again mingled with the birdsong. The sun had already begun disappearing behind the mountains, painting the sky in shades of gold and amber. Ahead, the city slowly emerged once more between the trees.
The world looked exactly as it always had.
Yet even as she walked hand in hand with the little girl, Tefiti could still feel the shiver creeping along her spine. She glanced over her shoulder one last time. The forest stood empty. And still, for the briefest of moments, the scent of heated metal reached her once again.
She gently squeezed the little girl's hand, as though that simple touch alone could drive the strange presence away.
But the feeling...
The feeling never truly left.
