The Philtre (1)
The Run. The Hunt. The Choosing. The Devotion. A series of events traditionally used to test skill, wits, honor, loyalty, virility, and survival. If you can’t catch your Omega, or any Omega for that matter, you were never worthy of them to begin with. Curtis has his eyes on the Omega who's been Unclaimed for the past seventeen years.
Pairing: soft!dark!alpha! Curtis x omega!Reader (tall, mid 30s)
Word Count: 1.6k
Series Warnings: NONCON/DUBCON, A/B/O, canon style violence, tall!reader, reader is 6', Curtis is 6'4", language, fighting, explicit smut, rough sex, hate sex, possessiveness, jealousy, probably incorrect descriptions of archery type things
This is a soft!dark fic, and contains the usual elements and themes in dark!fics. It is explicit in its descriptions of violence in every sense of the word. PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF YOU'VE READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL WARNINGS
A/N: this was originally for Siri's Soft Dark Challenge which was roughly a year ago, I think. Like most things, I didn't finish it on time. The more I thought about it, the more lore seeped out and I couldn't figure out how to execute what I saw in my head. Shoutout to @sweetlyscared for helping me with the initial brainstorm of the fic. (i know she's on a break from Tumblr but credit has to go where it's due) Hopefully this comes close to what I'm trying to do.
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It was the dead of night.
Not really, but that would’ve made things easier.
Dawn was just breaking and as much as she wanted to relish in the morning dew and sounds of the waking forest - owls returning to sleep, crickets turning off, whatever other bugs and shit that roamed the night, and start to take in the squirrels awakening, the birds starting to sing, etc.- she couldn’t.
This morning was unlike any other. It wasn’t one for meditation and relaxation. It was one of danger and survival. It seemed the forest knew as well. The noises of the animals were subdued, more cautious for this time of year. The morning fog was denser, the humidity heavier - she could feel it weighing her clothes. She knew she had to get a move on and she’d normally rush through no problem. But this year she’s not alone. This year she had more than herself to think of. Maybe it was the daunting thought of having to protect a youngling this year. Maybe it was the humidity weighing her down but she felt like she was trying to wade through the thickest mud. The further they went into the woods the thicker the brush was - the less kept the grounds were. The further from safety of the Temple, the more gnarled the tree roots and branches were - scratching at their arms, snagging at their clothes - as if to stop them from getting farther - getting to that area where not all return. As if the wood wanted to keep them safe - while also representing the danger they were headed towards.
And again, usually she’d pay it no mind, but she's not alone this year. It’s hard enough sometimes to keep a level head - but she can feel herself start to spiral. It’s not like her - especially this early on in the Run - especially since she’d been doing this for so long. The loudest noises around were the footsteps of her charge - trampling through the forest - leaves crunching, and twigs snapping. They’d been out since the moon rose, the young one keeping pace the entire night.
“Yona, do you remember what I told you of your intuition?
“To always pay attention to it?”
“Yes,” she gave the girl a small smile, “but what about yours in particular?”
“That it was good? I don’t know, I can’t remember.”
“Well, you’re going to need to dig through that head of yours and remember all that I’ve taught you over the course of your life.” She stopped walking and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, the other gently tilting her head. She made a point to make eye contact. She spoke firmly, but as gently as she could. The girl must be scared enough as it is, I don’t need to cause anymore distress. “Those who don’t remember have no control over what happens and that’s what this is all about. Establishing and enforcing your control, your power. Your intuition is far stronger than the rest of the newcomers. That is your saving grace and you must,” she shook her a bit, “you must take advantage of it. Do you understand?
“Yes, ma’am.”
They forge on for a couple miles, the sun fighting to shine its way through the darkening clouds filling the sky.
“Alright, we’re almost there. Don't forget everything I told you. Remember your intuition, remember your training, and if at any moment you don’t want to do this alone anymore you call for me and we meet at the place I told you. It’s not far from here. About two miles north of where I’m taking you.
The kid doesn’t answer.
When she turns to look at her charge, she notices the girl spinning in circles slowly, eyes taking in the view of the trees above. Her eyes are rimmed in red, glassy and out of focus, feet barely leaving the floor, mouth open as if all strength of her jaw is gone, yet still muttering something while no words leave her mouth. She prays to the Mother - please don’t let this be what I think it is. “Yona, what are you doing? They’re on their way and we need to get to the hide immediately. Hey. Hey! Come here. Look at me.”
Stumbling when she stopped mid twirl, the youngling made her way towards her mentor, a small smile on her face. When she got close her gaze was fixed somewhere near her neck. She lifted the girl's face by her chin, and noticed the bloodshot eyes.
Her grip grew firmer when she lifted it higher trying to make eye contact with the youngling. “Don’t tell me,” she ground out. “Don't tell me you’ve been huffing that shit today of all days.”
The girl didn’t react.
“Yona,” she snapped. “Talk to me. Tell me you’ve been doing anything but what killed your father and what will pretty much guarantee our death today.”
Yona’s eyes finally seemed to focus on her mentor. Her name tumbled out of her mouth with a smile. “Kronole?” She lifted her hand and in her palm was a small gray lump.
“No!” She smacked it out of her hand, causing the girl to lunge for it. The older omega grabbed her by the waist, “no kronole, Yona. The Alphas will smell it - I don’t know how I didn’t catch it earlier. We have to go before the sky cracks.”
“They’re already here,” Yona mumbled.
Her head whips towards the youngling. “What do you me-” the sound of the ceremonial trumpet broke through the eerie quiet of the forest.
“Shit,” she hissed, “we gotta move. Now.” She tossed Yona over her shoulder. They were already pretty close to one of her favorite safe spaces.
It didn’t take too long for her to decide that the girl’s continuous twitching and jerking was not only going to slow them down, but hurt the girl.
“Ok,” she crouched and put the youngling on a cushioned part under a tree. “Sit here for a second, alright?” Yona barely responded, and she knew that must mean she’d been huffing that shit for a long time during their journey, probably even before the ceremony. Or, she thought, it was sometime in the beginning of the journey, when they were talking. She must’ve done a poor job hiding her nerves and the youngling took advantage of her distraction.
Knowing that letting the stress of her charge’s state distract her even further would put them in more danger, she closed her eyes and attempted to center herself. With a deep breath she tuned in to the sounds of her surroundings. The crackle of leaves being crushed under them, the ants crawling on her fingers, the crescendo of rustling leaves, the pressure of the frequent rushes of wind, distant sounds of thunder, and even further out, the sound of chanting Alphas.
“Fuck this shit.” She turns to Yona, “they shouldn’t be that close if the trumpet just sounded.” She lugs the girl back over her shoulders and books it.
The once quiet forest bursts with sound as she runs. She ignores the branches scratching at her and the roots underfoot threatening to trip and slow her down. Unfortunately, she knows the girl is going to end up all cut up, but if she focuses on it too much, they’ll be fucked.
As she runs she can hear a few alphas closing in on them. Pushing herself to run faster, she feels her calves straining, each step harder than the next.
Right as she bursts through the perimeter of their intended camp, she gently tosses the kid on the floor as far from their entering point as possible, she does a quick one-eighty and reaches for the folding bow strapped to her bag. With a jerk of her arm the bow opened and it started raining, and she prayed to the Mother that it quickly washed the scent of Kronole off of them. Preparing to take down as many alphas as possible that got to them she nocked an arrow when a clap of thunder sounded and lightning struck the ground before her. When the flash of light disappeared she saw three alphas breach the treeline.
She very quickly took down two, a lanky one with sunken eyes, piercing his throat and a woman with hollowed cheeks. The third alpha manages to rush her before she can nock another arrow, tackling her to the ground. Rolling out from underneath him and maneuvering out of her backpack at the same time, she reaches for the hatchet holstered to her thigh. Both at a crouch they growl at each other.
Slashing when he lunges at her, she manages to knick his shoulder. The alpha tries to circle her but she won’t let him get close to the unconscious youngling behind her.
Running headfirst towards him she slashes upward, slicing her way up his sternum and lodging the ax in his jaw. Slamming her foot into his chest, she pulled out the ax and used the momentum of the pull to swing at a hulking man who made his way through the barrier and who she recognized as someone who pushed Kronole. He ducked and dove under her arm towards Yona.
Before she had a chance to go after him, she was kicked in the knee by a woman, bringing her to eye level with the alpha’s knees. She took a swing, a knee for a knee and brought the woman down, slashing her neck before she hit the floor.
Turning, she saw the drug pushing alpha running with an unconscious Yona in his arms. Grabbing the ax with both hands she pulled back and threw it, lodging the ax in his back.
As he sank to his knees, she ran for the girl hoping to get to her before the full weight of the alpha crushed her. While she was able to yank the girl out of his arms enough to avoid her lungs being crushed, her legs got stuck beneath him. The older omega shoved the dead man off the girl and gently set her on the ground near her discarded bag.
A/N: This is my first attempt at any kind of dark writing; it will most likely be three to four parts. Please let me know what you think. I've been thinking of this fic for about a year and I'd love to know if it's had the effect I intended. Thanks 💕