hey quick question, does anyone want a sick fic reader x kwei or a smut fic reader x kwei? both are a work in progress but i wanna know which one yall want first
Kwei x Gladiator pt.4! some actual gladiating in this one lol took me long enough, not as polished as I like to make my stuff as this was hastily written in between final papers bc I’m lowkey obsessed with this guy. Not a direct continuation of the last part, but still picks up sorta where the last fic left off kinda? Perhaps some time in between, Lmk what you think :]
I also have a couple other ideas in the works, looking forward to getting them finished!
[~2210 words]
part 3 - part 5
WARNINGS: angst, death and blood, semi-graphic depiction of wounds and injury, bitter bantering, potentially ooc Kwei (screams and cries in only 15 minutes of screentime), vulnerability?
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Your forearms were slicked in blood, which shone an electric blue under the blazing sun and dripped down onto the handle and blade of the sword you held tightly. Sweat seeped from your brow as you stalked around your opponent, who’s wild eyes were wide and locked in a stalemate with your own. You had never met a creature such as this; they were slender and sharp, mandibles on the side of the mouth covered a maw of needle-like teeth, each of their three fingers ended in razor sharp talons with thick spurs adorning their calves. The equally as sharp frill that rested atop the head twitched and vibrated, the same blue substance that coated your arms dripping down from their jaw onto the sand below. Their fallen allies lay limp, slain by your hand. Between you both laying in the sand was a dagger, it had been dropped by you when the alien landed a particularly hard blow on you. You held your sword tight, raising it then grasping it in both hands, bracing yourself as the alien screeched and charged at you, their own weapon poised to pierce your body.
As you made contact you slid across the arena, your feet digging into the sand as the alien threw their weight against you, you grunted as you grabbed them by the front of their carapace and threw them down to the ground. You prepared to swing your blade downward, ready to plunge it into their abdomen, but with a with a swift kick to your stomach you were knocked to the ground, your sword fell somewhere behind you. You had little time to catch your bearings as they were on top of you, hissing and spilling droplets of blood onto your face. They reached for the dagger that had been dropped, which was now above you and once they had it in their grasp the alien attempted to dig into your neck. You caught their wrist as the blade was inches away from your throat, your arms trembled under their strength as it slowly inched closer. You broke one of your arms away from your barricade and jabbed the alien in the neck, but they slapped your hand away and put more weight overtop the blade, pushing it down further until it was centimetres away from your jugular. You felt the tip of the blade graze against the cartilage of your larynx, you knew your arm was going to give out sooner or later, the beating of your heart, the crowd, the horns and drums echoed in your ears and drowned out all your other senses. The blue blood continued to drip across your face, heat radiated through your body as you felt your thin skin breach at blade’s tip.
Was this it? Perhaps it would be better this way—getting your throat gouged would be a better fate in this arena as opposed to others who have been eaten alive, dismembered or dissolved. This way was merciful, though painful and excruciating, of all the ways to die bleeding out into the sand as it all fades to black. You closed your eyes, letting a tear you didn’t know you had stream from your eye.
You growled, yelled as you diverted the blade to the side and headbutt your opponent square into their nose. They yipped, instinctively recoiled as they reached for their face; you flipped yourself around and grabbed your blade. You swung back around and with your sword in hand sliced the arm off the arm of the alien at the elbow. They screeched, and as they did you kicked them backward onto their back and with a final manoeuvre, you placed your knee against their abdomen and plunged your sword into their chest. The alien squealed and gurgled, choking on blood as they clawed weakly at your hands. You panted, staring into their eyes as your hands trembled.
The crowd was howling in glee. As you kneeled victorious over the dying alien, you realized their eyes were a familiar yellow. They coughed, splattering up blood onto their chin and lips, breathing rapidly as more cerulean wept from the wound down into the sand. The eyes of the alien were still staring into your own, no longer with resentment nor determination, but with fear.
Your chest and gut twisted, your own throat tightening as you watched their life fade. They wheezed, then their head thumped against the sand, their breaths ceased and their eyes turned blank, glazing over as they looked into the sky. Shakily, you reached forward and slowly closed their eyes.
As you stood, the crowds’ jeering drowned out all your other senses. But when the ground shook, your head snapped to the opposite side of the arena, where a large door had begun to pull up from the ground. You ripped your sword out from the carcass of your opponent and raised it once again. From the deep dark there was a bellow, a gust of wind from the call threw up sand from the ground and tossed your hair back.
Whatever it was had come barreling out from the depths, it was sleek and long, its streamlined body covered in quills. When all four of its large eyes landed on you, its jaw opened to reveal several rows of serrated fangs, all of which were layered and pushed into the back of its throat. From its tail the quills shot upward and launched a barrage at you, you barely had time to dodge out of the way as the quills penetrated the sand; which, upon closer placement you horrifyingly realized they were just about two feet in length.
You shouted and rolled out of the way of more projectile quills, gritting your teeth at the beast as the crowd howled above you.
…
Your leg had been broken. Your femur was shattered, patella dislocated and your tibia and fibula were cracked in multiple places. Once you had washed off the viscera and sand from your body, you were injected with some kind of substance. You had no idea what it was, but by the time you had returned to your cell your entire leg felt as if it was in flames; hot, piercing, throbbing and intense pain surged through your whole limb. Say nothing of the wound where the beast had latched its teeth into the meat of your leg, the stitched skin in between each puncture had begun to melt back together, rapidly returning to its initial state.
“Do you know what… the hell… they gave to me?” you seethed out, gasping as another shock of pain seared through you.
“They likely gave you a healing serum. A yautja’s body can cope with the discomfort of rapid repair.” Kwei’s voice was an anchor you held onto. “A speed which an ooman body cannot tolerate well.”
“Yeah, I’m really not— fuck!” You yelped when you felt a piece of bone lock back into place.
“Try not to move; while our medicine is very effective, you’ll need to keep your leg aligned so it heals properly.”
You whined, rolling your head to face Kwei. “I can’t curl into a ball during this?”
“Not unless you want to heal misshapen— you’ll have to break the leg again.”
“How long until I’m free?” you heaved.
“Until it heals.”
“And how much time will that take?”
“It’ll take until it’s done healing.”
“Fuck you, that’s not what I’m asking Kwei!” you tried to keep your voice from wavering, but were very much failing.
You’ve been shot at, stabbed, slashed and, most recently, tossed around in an alien’s mouth like a ragdoll; the fact that you were rolling over in agony from this made embarrassment swirl inside you. You breathed through both your mouth and nose, trying your best to keep your leg flat and your inhales and exhales even but with each snap of your bones and muscles ripped from you a whimper of pain.
“What can you tell me about your planet?” Kwei’s voice broke through, and you focused on him.
“You mean earth? Urrgh, don’t you already know about it?”
“What do you like about earth?”
You stared upward at the ceiling, trying to piece thoughts together despite the war that raged inside you. “Ugh, earth. What haven’t we already used?” you chewed the inside of your cheek.
“…I like the sunrise, I guess.”
“What about it do you like?”
“It’s one of the few things’ humans can’t really drain or exploit for resources, I guess. I mean, augh… solar energy exists, but… can’t really poison the sun.” you breathed heavily, drawing out the last syllable while piercing the stone ceiling with your withering stare.
“Think about your sunrise. Think of how the sunrise colours the sky of your planet, think of how it warms you.”
You huffed, feeling delirious as the ceiling started blurring, but as you strained to listen to Kwei’s words you did exactly as he said. Closing your eyes, you tried to picture the sunrise; it had been so long, so long since you’ve been home, felt the grass underneath your feet and the wind curling around you. After a long moment of waiting, the image refused to manifest in your mind’s eye, days and days stuck in this concrete blurring your memory— when was the last time you had even seen a sunrise?
The heat of pain surged through your leg once more, severe and unrelenting. “I can’t remember.”
“That’s not true.” Kwei wasn’t gruff, but he was firm. “You do remember. Think of the sunrise, remember what that looks like.”
You rolled your head over to look at him, scrunching your face in defiance, before turning back up to the ceiling. Closing your eyes again, gritting your teeth when the pain scorched, and coaxed your mind to go quiet.
Breathing in and out through your nose, you tried to picture it. The sun, earth’s sun, specifically; the clouds, how they were quickly cast in light, pinks and oranges chasing away the darkness of the night. How on particularly cold nights, when the grass would freeze, the gentle warmth of sunrise embraced those blades until they glistened. You held onto your memory as hard as you could, using it to guide yourself through your aches and chills.
You were quiet, flinching as your leg continued to meld into place. Hearing a soft thump against the ground across from you, you turned your head over to see Kwei had laid down as well; he looked tired. Your eyes met and similar to all the times before, you held his gaze. Staring deeply into his golden irises, you saw a grief that reflected against your own. Your eyelids soon fell heavy, and as you slowly lost the fight against exhaustion you kept gazing into Kwei’s eyes, softly realizing that you wanted to know what his eyes looked like up close.
…
By the time you awoke, the torches that lined the walls of the chambers outside your cell had been dimmed. You deeply inhaled, fully extending your lungs in a full breath you didn’t know you needed, the thoughts you had prior completely faded from memory. You pushed yourself up from your back, very sore, but your leg no longer held the same pain. It was still sore, make no mistake, but no where near to the level it was. You groaned, pointing your foot then stretching out your ankle, it felt good as new.
“Feeling better?” you turned your head and half-smiled, seeing as Kwei was still flat against the ground.
“Yeah. I mean, still sore,” you flexed your leg. “But better than earlier. How long was I out?”
“Ten hours. You needed the sleep.” Like yourself Kwei had pushed himself up as well, sitting with his legs crossed and facing you.
“…thanks for earlier, Kwei. It… helped.” You felt your face heat but refused to look away. “Why’d you ask me to remember something like that?”
“So that you have something to look forward to, when we get out of here.”
You wanted to scoff but managed to withhold. “Kwei, if there was a way out, I would’ve left a long—”
“We will. I know we will.” Kwei’s eye ridges furrowed, he seemed certain.
“How are you so sure?”
“…We will. I feel it.”
“So, you just feel it?”
“Yes.” He said, too matter of fact, but definitive nonetheless.
As Kwei held your gaze you knew he wouldn’t be backing down, even though you felt he was being highly delusional. Realistically, you knew there was no way out of here and Kwei had to have known that as well. The only way out of this place, the only way you knew was tangible, was the release of death in the arena. It was a painful release, wrought with despair, but it was freedom. But that’s not how you wanted to go, you didn’t want to die in pain; however unlikely, there was something inside you that wanted to believe him.
“Alright. Say we do get out of here, how are we even going to do that?” you let your forehead press against the bars of your cell.
“I do not know yet. But someway, we will.”
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Thank you for reading!!! Hope you liked it, hope it was good, the works :] told myself I’d try to keep these short then I tripped and accidentally wrote over 2000 words lmao; also, the alien in the beginning is a reference to other media, brownies for you if you understood ;]
I think there’s only gonna be one more part after this one, but don’t worry I am far from being done writing stuff for Kwei lol I love him so much
Also lowkey doxxing myself a little bit but I saw the first home game of the Vancouver Goldeneyes last night and it was SSOOOOO good to win the first game ever I’m not even a hockey fan but my god I love women and winning
I’ve been sitting on this for MONTHS and I have been trying to get it out for MONTHS and literally nothing was coming. However now that I have this idea pinned and in a chokehold, I present thee this
I’m cooking? Maybe? We’ll see
That being said, I hope you enjoy reading <33
RELATIONSHIP: Noa x Bunker!Reader [pre-relationship]
MEDIA: Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
WORDS: 4.6k
SUMMARY: you’ve lived under the ground for your entire life and leaving was the best decision you’ve ever made. There were so many things you were excited to see and when Noa learns of one of them, he’s eager to show you.
WARNINGS: fluff, slight angst I think, yearning, some weird ass conversations idk where the hell ts came from, tension and dangerous situations, big thick and uncut paragraphs
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Learning the dialect of sign language the Eagle Clan used had been challenging, but you were happy to say that you had made a lot of progress. There were many similarities to what you were familiar with, many signs held the original meaning, but there were new words you had yet to fully pick up on. Luckily with your quick learning, already after spending two and a half months in the village you had picked up on some of those words. Soona was nice enough to take the time to teach you, every now and then Noa (who you had been informed, and partially deduced, was the leader) would sit with you and show you the proper movements. It was hard not to fixate on how much larger his hands were, when you were trying to figure out how to move your fingers properly, he’d grab and adjust them as needed. His touch was gentle and mindful, watching your face as he fixed your hands, bending or straightening out your fingers to properly pronounce the sign. You hadn’t anticipated enjoying his closeness as much as you did.
It was a slow process, but you had gotten to the point where you could keep up with the conversation happening around you. This was useful as it allowed you to start communicating effectively with the rest of the clan; up until recently, the only apes who you frequently spoke with were Noa, his companions Soona and Anaya, and Noa’s mother (however you gave her plenty space— you were sure she had more important things to do than give you her time). That being said the rest of the clan’s broad avoidance of you was understandable, you were completely alien to them—or rather, an Echo. That’s what they’ve been calling you, anyway.
Currently you were sitting between Noa, Soona and Anaya, watching the conversation as you chewed on salmon meat. You found that the trio teased and bickered amongst each other a lot, their close siblinghood obvious despite the lack of relation; Noa’s rank above them didn’t hinder their banter in the least. You felt warmth within your chest, grateful that they were willing to integrate you into their life when you had fallen into it so unceremoniously. You picked at the food on your plate, plopping a bit of fish into your mouth.
Anaya poked your knee and you looked up at him mid-chew. ‘So, Echo, what is your underground like?’
‘Oh! Yes!’ Soona joined in, turning herself to face you. ‘What was it like?’
You finished chewing as you raised your hands. ‘It was… ok. Was all I ever… knew. Big, mostly. Cold.’
‘How many other echoes in there with you?’ Anaya scooted closer as well, both of the apes in front of you awaiting your answer.
‘Other than me… 120, I think.’ If you were honest with yourself, outside of that hundred and twenty, you only spoke to about 17 of them. This seemed to enrapture your ape friends further.
‘That many?’ Soona asked, her eyes wide, and even though she was now facing away from the fire you could see the glimmer of intrigue within her fern coloured eyes. ‘Never seen that many echoes! Never in one place, ever!’
‘Yeah. Sometimes it… felt crowded.’ You grabbed another piece of salmon. ‘But not really. I am happy to… be here now and… away from there.’
Soona moved closer to you. ‘What is your favourite part of being here?’
You had to stop for a moment and consider all the things you have experienced thus far, there have been many new experiences and things you have seen, it was hard to name just one. From the moment you had stepped foot out onto the grass and into the world, you had been overwhelmed with how many smells and sounds surrounded you all at once. The force of the wind tossing your hair, the warmth of the sun enveloping your skin, ahead of you fields of lush grasses as far as you could see. Large calm lakes and rushing rivers, fish breaching the water and getting snatched by eagles and other birds of prey. However, there was one thing that stuck out to you the most: it was all around you, in the branches of tree canopies, the dirt under your boots, the waters you submerged yourself into.
‘I like… the sounds.’ You begin. ‘My bunker… big, secure… safe. But… I did not know… it would be so noisy up here.’
‘What do you mean?’ Anaya interrupted. ‘It’s not noisy! Everything sounds like what it’s supposed to sound like.’
‘I have… never heard any of it before.’ You clarified. ‘Bunker has… no noise. No trees with… leaves that sing. No… running water. No animals… no eagles, no… horses. No sky… no wind. The only sounds were from… our machines.’
It was unintentional, truly, but the change in atmosphere surrounding the conversation changed starkly. Soona’s brow was furrowed, her eyes looking sadly at you. Anaya held a similar look, his intrigue overshadowed by gloom. You chewed the fish that you didn’t realize was still in your mouth and cast a glance up Noa as you swallowed. Noa mirrored his two friends, his face downturned. Yours and Noa’s eyes met, but you quickly cast your eyes back down to the small pile of food still sitting in front of you.
“…I’m happy to be here, though.” As you spoke, all three of the apes’ attention was solely on you making you shrink slightly. “I like the sounds of the wind, of the trees, and all the animals during the day and night.”
“We’re… happy you’re here too.” Speaking for the first time this evening, Noa’s words made heat travel up through your cheeks. “What other things would… you want to see?”
Thinking again for a moment, you knew exactly what you wanted to see next. “I really want to see the sunrise. I’ve never seen it before.”
“Oh! Sunrise is beautiful!” Soona smiled, seemingly happy to discuss what you want to see next. “Echo will enjoy sunrise very much!”
“Just don’t look at it for too long.” Anaya joins in, poking your knee once again. “Look too long, your eyes will burn!”
You laughed lightly, “I understand.”
The rest of the evening went on without anymore gloomy moments, once your conversation had changed subjects a couple more times the melancholy had evaporated entirely. Laughter returned easily, which you were grateful for. By the time you were starting to feel tired your food was long since eaten, your full stomach furthering your sleepiness. Standing, stretching and then bidding your companions goodnight, you made your way towards your small hut. Once inside, you plopped a collection of twigs into the pit in the centre of your domain and stoked a weak fire. Stretching again, reaching your arms above your head as far as you could, you started to get comfortable in your cot and blankets. However, before you could get too comfortable, there was a light knock at the entrance. Throwing off your blankets, you yawned your way to the door to peer your head out.
And came face to face with Eagle Clan leader, Noa. You hadn’t meant to almost touch his nose with yours, you reeled back into your safe personal bubble and flashed a nervous smile at him. Noa blinked owlishly at you before smiling.
Feeling your heart pulsing through your neck, you returned his smile. “Hey. Did I forget something?”
Noa shook his head. “You said… wanted to see sunrise?”
“Mm, yeah. It’s uh, on my list of things to do.”
“When?” Noa asked, scratching the back of his neck.
“Whenever is convenient, really—or, uh, if I’m able to wake up early enough.” You scratched your neck as well, trying to keep yourself from staring at Noa’s shoulders too obviously.
Noa was quiet, his eyes looking elsewhere, his thoughts turning over in his mind was obvious.
“I will be back later. Be… ready.” With that, Noa turned and walked away, his form dissipating as he ventured deeper into the nighttime darkness.
You watched him for as long as your eyes would allow it, once he was no longer in sight you went back into your hut and rested your back against the wall. You watched your fire twist and dance, your teeth chewing into your bottom lip as a small and hesitant smile bloomed onto your face. You were stunned, kind of? The feeling you had pulsing through your veins made your skin tingle, your hands and legs felt restless. Noa was going to… take you to watch the sunrise?
You huffed softly, giggling just as quiet as you pushed off the wall and grabbed a small satchel sitting next to your small cot.
It was still packed, thankfully, with supplies and rations you’d need if you ever travelled elsewhere, such as the current circumstance.
…
You slept lightly, more so dozing as you waited for Noa to arrive. He hadn’t given you much information, other than his vague ‘be ready later’, you had no idea when ‘later’ was or would be. You were lightly irritated admittedly, but your interest in what exactly he was planning to do took precedence. You were willing to be lenient, he was allowing you to stay in his village with his clan. You weren’t restless, per se, but you were definitely energized. You listened to the crickets chirping outside, straining to hear the leaves rustle in the breeze outside. You’d count how many times you could hear an owl, calling out into the night, from what you could tell it was a while away…
You huffed, and sighed, and groaned.
Then a tap tap tap at the wooden board you called the front door, gentle enough that if you had been sleeping you wouldn’t have heard it. You chucked off the thin blanket you had wrapped around yourself and swiftly made your way over, then pried the door open. There, as if your thoughts had summoned him, Noa stood with his horse standing behind him.
“Ready?” Noa steps back from your door.
“Yeah, ready.” You turned back, grabbed your packed satchel, and turned back around to follow behind him. “Quick question, where exactly are you taking me?”
“Going to… high peaks. Close by eagle nests… but not too close. High enough to see sunrise.” Noa hauled himself up onto his bay mare and watched you as you approached.
He reached his hand out for you to take, which you did, and swung your leg over the rump of his steed. While sat behind Noa, the heat from his body achingly close to yours. You firmly kept your arms at your sides, even as Noa urged the mare forward and you bounced slightly as you rode into the dark valley.
As you rode farther away from the village, the gentle burning of the village’s torches dwindled out of sight. The moon was hard to spot, as there were some clouds in the sky blocking her out. However, with help from the stars the dark looming trees that wrought chills over your spine were brightened and the vast valley and plains which made you curl into yourself were illuminated, revealing to be nothing but harmless blades of grass. You had tried your best to keep yourself hidden during this hour, as the night out in the wilderness was something you had never experienced and it left you afraid, but while you were safe with Noa you allowed yourself to take in your surroundings. When the horse walked through tall grass she chased upward fireflies, which surrounded you and Noa, one even landing on the top of your hand. You brought it closer to your face to study, but the small insect seemed indignant to this and flew away. But you were fine with just watching, all of them fluttering around you and the ape sat in front of you. Your eyes land on a singular firefly to focus on and you follow it, its delicate wings flapping soundlessly as its abdomen repeatedly flickered; as it flew, with you diligently watching after it, it crossed over Noa’s shoulder and you hadn’t realized that he had been watching you. Your eyes widened as did Noa’s, but while the mare you both sat on kept walking neither you said anything, gazing into one another’s eyes letting the soft song of the night surround you.
Your mouth and throat felt dry. “…Hey.” You chewed the bottom of your lip, heat filled your chest.
Noa blinked, his head lowering slightly. “…Hi.”
“It’s a, uh, it’s a nice evening tonight, isn’t it?” your face felt heated in the cool nighttime air.
“It is… nice. Smells like rain, but not many clouds.. in the sky.” Noa turned his head away from you, now the only part of him you really were getting a good look at was his neck.
“Mhm, yeah you’re right.” You had no idea what the incoming smell of rain was supposed to be, but sure, fuck it, smells like rain’s coming. “Rain, yeah. I like the rain.”
Silence fell over you both, not knowing exactly what to say to one another. The fireflies were no help, not giving you any kind of ideas, just glowing softly and minding their own business. The horse under you placed her leg down in a particular way and she rocked you slightly forward, which knocked your body flat against Noa’s back. You felt Noa grunt as you smacked into him and he turned his head back at you, his bright green eyes boring into yours. You pulled back quick, as quick as you could without looking like you were scrambling away, and righted yourself, mumbling a soft ‘sorry’. Noa nodded and turned his head back around.
“…what about the rain, do you like?” Noa hadn’t turned his head back, but that didn’t prevent shyness creeping up on you.
These feelings were starting to feel alarming, these aren’t the feelings you would be usually feeling. They confused you, made the song playing screech to a halt, tripping over itself before evaluating what it was. Your skin felt warm, you wanted to shrink away from Noa’s presence and hide because it made you sick, but wished deeply in your heart that he’d turn back; you wouldn’t fully admit that, though.
“It’s nice, I think? I mean, I’m not a fan of being out in it but… it’s the first time I’ve experienced it.” you didn’t mean to ramble, but you felt compelled to describe it completely. “I like it. It makes me feel…alive.”
Noa hummed but otherwise remained quiet, so did you.
…
Thumps from the horse’s hooves turned into proper clops as the terrain changed, signalling your arrival. The old buildings were worn from years and years of erosion, in the darkness they leered at both you and the ape from above, the haunting sight causing chills over your arms. The shadows blocked most of the light from the moon and from within the caved in walls was almost pitch darkness. Still sitting atop the horse, you listened to your heart, not pulling your gaze away from the dark, but when a gentle light lit up the surrounding area you blinked away. looking towards the origin of the light, Noa stood on the ground next to you and the horse, torch burning in his hand. He looked up to you, his vibrant green eyes clear now, his other hand outstretched towards you.
“This way. We are going to climb… up there.” Noa’s voice was softer than before, and as you took his hand in yours to dismount the mare you felt tingles shoot up through your fingers.
You mumbled a gentle ‘thanks’ as you placed your feet onto the ground, putting your hand into your pocket. You looked up, craning your neck to see all the way to the top and swallowed. This decrepit skyscraper was broken into chunks barely clinging together, moss and vines woven into the metal beams that were revealed between the concrete. The nape of your neck surged with heat, your eyes widening as you continued to stare up at this monstrosity. One small mistake—be it a slip, trip, gaze downward a second too long that you start to feel woozy, your life would be over.
“Echo?” you blinked and dropped your head down, returning your focus back to Noa. “Are you ok?”
You nodded your head and followed after him.
You had expected the inside to be falling apart, but it was much deeper into deterioration than you initially thought. Every step you took felt unstable and while you were trying your best not to stumble and fall, Noa traversed the rubble with ease. He never ventured far, always stopping for you to catch up before continuing forward, but you still felt like you desperately trying to keep up with him. Climbing further upward into the spiral, the light from the torch lit your path well as it persisted higher and higher, the small stones crumbling from under your shoes tumbling away behind you. Finally, after an agonizing hour (it certainly was not an hour), the climbing came to a stop as you and Noa made it to a floor that had remained somewhat intact; it was by no means in good condition, but it had a stable enough ground where you could catch your breath. You slid down the wall and tried hard not to heave as you regained your composure, because when you turned to Noa he looked unaffected from the climb.
Still, you opened your waterskin and guzzled as much as your mouth could handle.
“Echo… alright?” you did not miss the amusement in his voice, but for the sake of your dignity you chose to smother the rebuttal ready to shoot out of your mouth.
“Mhm, peachy.” You swallowed more water with a loud gulp. “How much further up are we going?”
“Not much. We should be careful… stone is not stable.” Noa turned from you and looked up, studying the levels that you had yet to scale. “Almost ready?”
You swallowed your second gulp of water. “Oh, yeah! Yeah, yes, I’m ready—” you began pushing yourself up from the ground.
“No, no. Can take longer, if… you need.”
“Nah, I’m fine, don’t worry.” You brushed off your hands on your pants, shoved the water skin back into your satchel and approached Noa. “Where do we go from here?”
Noa eyes your face for a moment, before gesturing behind him. “Up this way. Stay close, could be dangerous.”
You nodded. As Noa began to climb up a pile of rubble to the next floor you stayed behind him. Try as you might, however, it wasn’t long until you started faltering and gradually the distance between you both became larger. You climbed three more agonizing floors until you came to another floor with a mostly intact ground. Slumping against a wall you wiped your forehead with your arm as sweat started to build on your forehead once again, pausing to catch your breath. Your legs shook slightly and as you lifted your head up to gaze at the many floors still above you, you huffed. Your eyes caught Noa’s eyes, as he stood still ahead of you watching as you struggled after him. You smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Noa nodded, but he still approached you as you pulled yourself up. You put your hand up to stop him and you started to flounce over towards him.
“Don’t worry, I’m alright, just needed a short—”
There was a loud crack from underneath your shoe, it sucked the air out from your lungs. You stared into Noa’s eyes, which were now as large as yours, and watched his throat bump up and downward as he swallowed. Despite holding as still as you could, you couldn’t prevent the shake in your arms and hands nor the tremble in your legs. Swallowing your saliva you dared to slowly tilt your head downward, your trembling intensifying as you came face to face with the thick definitive break your foot was placed above. You could hear your heart in your ears and felt it hammering in your chest, intensifying when there was the clatter of small stones falling from somewhere around you.
“No-Noa—”
“Calm.” Noa held his hand out, he spoke softly but was firm. “Be calm. Come… to me. Slow. I will grab you.”
Noa lodged the torch into the wall within an opening in the rock. With his palm facing upward, Noa gave you something to hone your focus on. Forcing yourself to focus on the pace of your breathing you began to step forward, and when you lifted up your foot and put it back down closer to Noa another loud crack resonated through the air. A whimper wretched its way out from your throat.
“Calm, Echo, calm. I am… here. You will be ok.” Noa kept his voice even, but he still stretched his arm out further for you to reach for. When had there been so much space between the both of you?
You took another step and again as you put your foot down there was a tremendous crunch from beneath you. Two more steps and you’d be able to grasp Noa’s hand, escaping the fate that prowled under your feet. Noa shuffled closer when you took your next step, mindful of the ground under him as well. Bracing yourself for the final step, the stress made you feel like your bones themselves were shaking, but thankfully you made it to Noa. Your hand reached out quickly and brushed against Noa’s hand, his fingers entwining with yours. The moment your hands made contact there was a final, thunderous crack filling the room as the ground finally gave out beneath you and crashing into the floors below you. You yelped as you lost the stone under your heels, but Noa wrapped his hand around your wrist and pulled you forward launching you into his chest. Eyes wide and bracing against him, you watched as the concrete crumbled further, loud booms rocking through the lower floors of the skyscraper. Yet, the remaining intact stone held strong, keeping you and Noa upright.
You stared into the newly formed pit, remaining in the arms of Noa. The steel bars were bent downward, in the light of the flames behind you they were a dark reddish orange. Your breaths started to even out, the tenseness in your shoulders loosening.
“…Holy shit. Thank-thank you.” you huffed, your lips pulling up into a smile.
“…of course.” Noa responded, and when you looked to him, you realized you were still in his arms.
There was a moment of silence that overcame you. Your heart seized, but this time for a different reason. Your palms were flat over Noa’s chest, your fingers nuzzled into his fur— he was soft. Like his chest, his arms were firm and warm, they wrapped around your waist entirely, his own hands pressing into the fabric covering your skin. He held you close to him, perhaps tighter than he intended, but you wouldn’t will yourself to tell him. You didn’t realize how many flecks of gold peppered his green irises, glinting in the light of the flames behind you. Noa gazed into your eyes as well, shockingly unashamed, exploring the unsaid thoughts that hid behind them. Your breaths intermingled, your exhales becoming his inhales. You’re not sure how long this moment lasted, but you were in no rush to end it
Noa broke eye contact first, glancing behind you. “…should keep going. We are running out of time.”
“…right. How much further up do we got?” you figured he was going to pull away, but when he didn’t you made no effort to move either.
“Not much, but you… would be too slow.” He said it slowly, you smiled as you realized he was saying it carefully. “I will carry you. If that’s… alright…?”
You said nothing momentarily, blinking up at him. “Sure. I’d be fine with that, yeah.”
Before you continued the way up, Noa grasped the torch and snuffed it against some crumbled rubble, the disappearance of light causing the room to darken significantly. However, outside the broken windows, you noticed the sky had started to shift from the thick coat of midnight into a navy colour.
“Won’t need it… anymore.” Noa turned back to you, reaching out his hand.
You’re not sure when you got so comfortable with wrapping yourself around Noa, perhaps it was the nature of the situation you found yourself in, but as you locked your arms over his neck and across his chest it was surprisingly easy for you. Noa hoisted you the rest of the way onto his back and you swallowed as your legs wrapped around his lithe hips, his large hand clasping over your calf. When had Noa become so comfortable with me, you thought, as Noa braved the rest of the climb. Much faster than the rate you were previously going.
You clung tightly to Noa as he climbed up several more floors, at points you felt like if you blinked, you’d miss a floor. Despite how many floors were still ahead, Noa leapt through them with ease and it wasn’t long before you and Noa arrived at the final floor. The entire ceiling had crumbled away as well as most of the walls, revealing the big endless sky. Gently, Noa helped you slide off his back, the hem of your shirt lifted slightly and your stomach grazed against him. As your feet were finally, hopefully, on solid ground you braced your hands on your knees. Deeply inhaling, you looked up over the horizon and saw that now the sky had turned into a lighter blue and at the edge the sky was starting to light up into pinks and oranges. Your eyes widened and all at once the time had finally come.
“Come, come,” Noa walked closer to the edge of the floor, stopping a few feet just before the vast drop off. “It’s happening soon.”
You shot upright immediately, a giddy feeling rising in your chest and replacing your stress as you carefully made your way to where Noa stood. You both sat down, facing the skyline, the rough rock underneath you was uncomfortable but you reached into your satchel, grabbing a pouch full of berries and popping a raspberry into your mouth. You sat patiently, but truthfully you were anything but.
“Excited?” you turned to Noa, who was eating another raspberry.
“I’m more than excited.” You handed Noa a few more raspberries, which he took and placed in his own mouth.
You had arrived at the peak at just the right time. The sun had begun to finally pull itself over the horizon, and from it’s light it turned the sky into a flurry of hues; baby blues, pale oranges, and pink. The stars quickly fled from the sky in the presence of the sun, as it consumed more of the sky. Moving further upward the sun changed from a crescent then to a half, before finally showing itself in full, casting over the land and basking every tree, stone, field and peak in gold.
You watched, quietly. You paused your eating so you could focus on every detail, every beam of light reached over the whole world, you even hesitated to blink— scared that you’d miss something. You wanted to drink it all in, every imperfection and blemish, every gorgeous ray and colour.
It was amazing, it was everything.
“Do you… like it?” You didn’t look at him, but you heard the careful attentiveness in Noa’s voice. “Is it what you were… hoping for?”
“Oh, Noa…” you felt a tear trail down your cheek. “This is… it’s perfect.”
You both didn’t leave for quite some time. The distant tune of a bird met your ears, gentleness and ease swirling around you both as the sun coloured everything it touched.
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Thank you so much for reading! If you made it this far it means a lot to me, I really hope you liked it :]
I know I haven’t posted anything these past few months and it’s because of a few things, main thing being that my rabbit who was in my life for 17 years passed away in June. His name was Velvet and he had been with me since I was 3 years old. I loved him so much and now that he’s gone it’s been really hard, while I don’t want my grief to prevent me from writing, finding motivation and being creative feels impossible.
So, for the foreseeable future, expect my activity and posting to still be very, very slow. That being said, October is my birthday month! I want to post a few things, but because of midterms currently going on for me it probably wont be a ton of writing for fun :[
For everyone who likes my writing and comments, your words mean so much and I look at them often :’] thank you so much for your support
