#wixia

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This inaugural series of Wuxia Warriors is drawing to a close. Tomorrows reveal will make six of six pieces. Each made to made their subject. #wixia #wuxiawarrior #tigertuesday #illustration #characterdesign https://www.instagram.com/p/ChU4WmFrSno/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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November Writing Day Twelve: (Wixia and Ekemon)

Hi everyone! Sorry this is a little bit later in the day than usual! I seem to be incapable of writing anything but angst for poor Wix, but I have added a little floof at the end so hopefully things will be better for her eventually! The prompt was: “’God.’ They tried for a smile. ‘Things must be really bad if you’re crying.’ ‘I’m not crying! It’s fine. It’s going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.’”” Credit to @the-modern-typewriter​ who made this post! Hope you all enjoy!

“Ekemon!” Wixia screamed, running over to him as quickly as she could, as if he was her last link to the world. He’d fallen in battle and Wix had assumed it would be bad, but not this bad. He’d practically been cut in half, the blood was rapidly soaking his shirt, and he was clearly in pain that was nothing short of agonizing. “Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods,” she murmured, feeling the panic rise up as she realized the true extent of his wounds.

“Wix?” he groaned as she ran up and knelt next to him. He was dizzy, out of it, clearly half loopy from blood loss. “Gods, things must be really bad if you’re crying.” Ekemon looked down at his wounds for what seemed like the first time, and something clicked in his eyes. It was if at that moment, at that exact point, he realized that he could die, that this could all be over, that there was so much he hadn’t done and he’d never get to do. His breathing got ragged, shaky, and Wix saw raw, unadulterated panic in his expression.

“I’m not crying!” Wixia insisted--she honestly hadn’t even realized she was until Ekemon said something, but now all she could feel was the hot tears running down her cheeks. “It’s fine. It’s going to be fine--you’re going to be fine.”

That’s a lie and you know it, a voice whispered in her ear.

“It’s going to be fine,” Wixia insisted, almost as if by saying it could be made true. But the venom in her voice looked like it scared Ekemon just a bit. She took a few deep breaths, a few vehement deep breaths to reassure herself that her demon was wrong, that it was going to be okay, that he was just trying to hurt her and that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I have a brother, I’ve been looking for him for forever,” Ekemon began.

He’ll never find him, you’re going to fail, her demon whispered as Wix tore a spare shirt into bandages. She might have to cauterize it, but how did she even ensure that it didn’t make it worse?

“His name was Damakos and gods, he was the best big brother I could ever imagine, I love him so much but he disappeared…”

He’s your only friend, you know. What happens if he dies? Wixia did her best to ignore her demon as she tried to figure this out. Yes, it would have to be cauterized. She took out her dagger, it was too small, it would have to do, and honestly she couldn’t make the wound much worse than it already was.

“I’m never gonna find him, I love him so much, I can’t believe I’m never gonna find him…”

You’re going to kill him, just like you kill everyone else.

“SHUT UP!” Wixia screamed, the voice becoming too much for her. She took a few shaky breaths, the tears still flowing freely, and quickly realized that she had scared Ekemon. “I...not you, I…” At a loss for words, she rolled up one of the cloths tightly. “This is going to hurt real bad but it’s the only way you’re gonna live through this. Bite down on this,” she said, shoving it into his mouth a little too insistently. Wixia heated up the dagger with some magic, until it was white hot. “OK, if you can, take a deep breath in,” she said, trying not to let it show that she was crying, trying to hide that she was absolutely fucking terrified. And before anything could tell her to stop, she pressed it to the wound.

Ekemon groaned--Wixia figured he would probably have screamed if he actually could have through the cloth--and tensed up. When Wix took the dagger off that part of the wound...it had sealed, blessedly, it had sealed. She repeated it on the rest of the wound, still shaking but a little calmer knowing that he wouldn’t die right away. Somewhere in the middle of the process Ekemon passed out, but Wix kept going until she was absolutely sure that everything was alright. Well, she wasn’t absolutely sure, but she was sure that it should last until Lawrence got back from wherever he was and could use some of his power to help him.

Are you sure that you haven’t killed him? You’re not good at anything besides killing. You probably killed him. She heard a gentle chuckle.

“You’re wrong,” Wix whispered, her voice shaking as she looked at Ekemon, who was thoroughly unconscious.

Look at him. Does he look like you’ve helped him at all?

“He’s not bleeding out anymore, you absolute ass. Shut up. Leave me alone.”

When you were in that basement, you weren’t begging for me to leave. You wanted my power. You’re greedy, you want to destroy.

“That was different.”

How? You didn’t have to kill those men. You could have let them live. They let you live.

“At what cost?! Why am I even listening to you?” she spat, pulling anxiously at her pink hair.

You’re nothing without me.

“Shut up,” she spat, checking over Ekemon again. “He’s going to be fine.”

But doubt nagged at her, and a seed of fear blossomed in her heart.

-----------

After Lawrence had come back, he’d pumped some healing magic into Ekemon, but Ekemon hadn’t woken up yet. His breathing was shaky and a little too shallow for Wix’s comfort, and she absolutely refused to leave his side. She clung onto his hand like a lifeline, shaky, terrified, still worrying every second about whether he would live or die. Her demon continued to whisper to her, voicing her doubts and mocking her every step of the way. With that, she honestly didn’t expect Ekemon to wake up, but she was holding onto the tiniest vestiges of hope. And eventually, it paid off.

“Ugh…” Ekemon groaned, his eyes cracking open.

“Ekemon!” Wixia gasped, looking over at him. “Okay, okay, stay down, you’re not gonna move. Don’t hurt yourself any more. Stay down.”

“Wix, you’re shaking,” he murmured, and Wix realized that the wave of relief and her stress giving out was making her feel faint, shivery. “I’m fine,” he said, his voice weak but it was there.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she whispered, breathing deeply to help calm her nerves.

“Thanks for saving me,” he said as a reply.

“That’s what f...friends... do,” she told him, her voice quivering. Ekemon really was the first friend, the first genuine friend, she’d ever had, and goddamn it, he meant the world to her. And the moment that she said it, Ekemon’s face lit up, and he smiled at her with the purest smile Wixia had ever seen.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Wixia smiled back.

[sneeple-confirmed]

November Writing: Day Seven (Wixia ft. Ekemon)

Mod Mom Friend, back with some more writing! We’re about a quarter of the way through! Today, the prompt was, “I can hear you crying, you know. At night. When you think no one is listening.” Source is this post by @serving-inspiration! And of course I borrowed Mod Snooth Snalking Snatan’s boy because we need more than one person for this prompt! Feel free to request anything, and I absolutely love feedback! Hope you enjoy!

“Hey Wix? Can I ask you a question?”

The gnome heard Ekemon’s voice, and some part of her immediately wanted to turn over and have a conversation. This lack of human contact, meaningful human contact, was grating on her; she’d been so incredibly used to living with others and telling them everything. And now that she’d shut herself off to protect them from her demon? Sure, she was traveling with three other people, but God, she’d never felt so alone. A huge part of her wanted to just sit next to him, just like she used to with her little brother, and spill her guts.

But she shoved that part of her down hard.

“Nope,” she responded coolly, her voice void of emotion.

“How can I get you to talk to me?” he asked.

“Can’t,” Wix replied, biting her lip to stop more words. There was a pause, and Wix was about to look and see if Ekemon had left, turned away, decided to do something else…but instead, he replied.

“You’re not a robot. You need someone. You’re not meant to be alone.” Wix took a deep, shaky breath, begging herself not to break at what she knew was the truth.

“And why do you say that?” she asked, not really wanting to know the answer but feeling like she had so say something. Her voice was still cool, detached, but her heart hurt, and she swore she could hear her demon laughing at her.

“I can hear you crying, you know. At night. When you think no one is listening.” Wix’s head snapped up. She always made sure everyone was asleep. Always. And she always wandered away. But maybe Ekemon was just bluffing, maybe he just was trying to get a rise out of her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Thankfully, she’d started this conversation turned away from Ekemon, so he wouldn’t see the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to rip off her shirt and show him the scars that the men left her, tell him that this was why the demon was there. She wanted to tell him she never slept because she was afraid of what she might do when she wasn’t on her guard. And she wanted to tell him that she wanted, with all of herself, to just have a friend. The other things…they’d be bearable if she had someone around to help her through. But she hid the shuddering breaths, hid the tears.

“Wix, I want to help you,” he said, his voice soft. Gods, this absolute child was too pure, too naive. Helping people got you almost nowhere, Wix knew. Too often, other urchins didn’t show any gratitude for being helped out. You didn’t do selfless shit. It was stupid. Setting yourself on fire to keep other people warm was the dumbest thing anyone could do. And here’s this tiefling bard, just sitting here and wanting to help the broken little gnome next to him.

Despite herself, the tears came faster. So few people actually wanted to help, and sure it was naive, but it was just…it was a nice gesture. But he couldn’t know that. And she wasn’t allowed to feel that. When she let someone into her heart, she let the demon have stock in them too, and that absolutely couldn’t happen. “That’s stupid,” she spat back. “Won’t do you any good.”

“It’s not about doing me good. And it’d make you happy. I don’t think I’ve seen you smile since we met. Not once. Everyone smiles.”

“Not me.” God, it had been nice to have a reason to smile. Wix missed Erlin like crazy, her dumb baby brother who she loved more than anything else. She knew he was okay–she’d feel something if he wasn’t, and he was smart–but he’d been a big source of light in her life. He always knew how to make her smile, even when she was at her worst. But that was gone now. She’d been dumb and gotten herself caught…and then she’d been even dumber and called on this demon. Stupid things happened, and the days of smiling were over. “You don’t have to smile to survive.”

“Sure, you’re surviving. But you aren’t living,” Ekemon told her. “Just let me be your friend, okay? We’re more alike than you think.” The thought of someone being like her, of someone going through what she’d gone through, struck fear into Wix’s heart. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want it for anyone. No one should go through the shit she went through. And Ekemon didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. He just didn’t know.

“You aren’t like me. And if you have any sense of self preservation, you’ll never be.” Wix got up, glared at him. And then she walked away, so she’d have some space to cry. Tentatively, she climbed a tree, knowing that it’d be harder to see her, and curled up in on herself. She tucked her knees into her too-large shirt, and she wept silently into the fabric, taking extra care that Ekemon wouldn’t be able to hear this time.

You realize that if you embraced me, you wouldn’t feel like this, Wix heard in her demon’s trademark, gravelly voice. Rage shot through her, and Wix slammed her head against the tree, wincing and feeling dizzy.

“Get out of my head, you bastard!” she hissed.

Just kill them all, and I’ll make sure you don’t feel any pain. It’ll be easier that way.

“Shut up. Shut up.” Her voice shook as she chanted it like a mantra, curled up in the boughs of the tree. And that was where she slept, hoping that anything that she might do in the night would be mitigated by her actually having to get out of the tree. She’d never actually done anything in her sleep, but there was a first time for everything and she absolutely would not kill any of these people.

Because despite her best efforts, they’d managed to worm their way into her heart. And she wouldn’t let any harm come to them. She’d rather fall to her death trying to get out of a tree in the middle of the night than take that risk. She loved these people more than she loved herself.

But then again, that wasn’t a terribly high bar.