Hey! Sorry For The Early In Le Morning Ask, But I Was Wondering If You Could Write A CP X Reader Where

Hey! Sorry for the early in le morning ask, but I was wondering if you could write a CP x reader where one of the CPs finds the reader sobbing in a clearing over a clearly unmarked grave, surrounded by dead flowers? Maybe the reader is already in the motions of becoming a cp themselves since they've lost everything in their life? I thought you'd like the prompt :)

Ooo I do indeed like this prompt, sounds interesting. You never specified which Creep you wanted me to use for this though so I’m going with Eyeless Jack (cuz I luv this boi) and because I feel like he’s one of the few people living at the Manor that wouldn’t just randomly slaughter everyone he sees, whether they’re having a mental breakdown or not.  P.S. Sorry for the long wait, I’ve been pretty busy :P

Eyeless Jack x Reader (OLD)

The leaves crunched beneath Jack’s boots as he strode cautiously through the forest, his black hoodie temporarily stained with blood, at least until he could get back home and get it washed. Slung over his shoulder was a normal-looking satchel bag, and if anyone were to see it they wouldn’t think anything was suspicious, though what they don’t know is that in this satchel was Jack’s main source of food.

It was fresh, having just been stolen from another poor soul by his own hands and scalpel to provide him necessary protein. He didn’t enjoy it, he never does, but it’s become an absolute must if he wants to function properly. A couple of weeks without eating will make him extremely sick and unable to do basic things like clean and dress wounds, keep his infirmary tidy, or even go out and get some more food. He learned this the hard way.

But he stopped in his tracks when he heard, what he recognized as sobbing erupting from his far-right, deeper into the woods. Was he imagining it? No, this sounded very real. Should he go and check it out? Probably not.

He stood there and listened to it for a good five seconds before shaking his head dismissively and continuing on his way. That was none of his business, and even if he were to go and try to console whoever it was, he would likely be looked at as a monster and get kicked in the face. Nothing new to him.

But try as he might, he just couldn’t ignore the utterly pained, broken cries that met his ears, and what little compassion he had left was screaming at him to go and see what was wrong. It would be a bad idea, he knew it would, but no matter how much he tried to resist the temptation to walk towards it rather than away, he couldn’t. So he twisted around and began to silently make his way in the direction of the sound, drawing closer and closer until eventually coming upon a clearing.

The moonlight shone down from the sky, its silvery beams spilling across the ground and illuminating the girl collapsed beside the unmarked grave, tears cascading down her cheeks as she hugged herself. This wasn’t right. What was somebody doing out in the middle of the woods, all alone? She didn’t seem to be hurt, just heartbroken. Then again, he wasn’t close enough to get a great look at her.

He slowly moved toward her, staying quiet and trying to figure out how to pursue this situation. She’d surely be scared of him, he couldn’t just waltz up and act as if he were a normal human being because he obviously isn’t. He usually wouldn’t care about someone like this, and wouldn’t have much of a problem just brushing it aside and forgetting later on. But this...he didn’t know why, but he felt as if he had to interact. 

He got another foot closer before deciding to announce his presence so he didn’t startle her, making sure he was thoroughly hidden in the shade of the trees. “Hey...are you okay?” His voice was deep and smoky, though his tone was mildly concerned, and she raised her head up at the sudden noise, looking around and soon catching sight of a shadowy figure lurking in the shrubbery.

Any other situation and you would have been creeped out by the mere sight of him, but you were so distracted and felt so hopeless that you didn’t even care. So what if somebody murdered you? Or kidnapped you? You were already shattered, nobody could do any worse. No one could break you any more than you were.

“What do you want?” The sentence came out as a mere whisper, voice brittle as you avoided the previous question. You weren’t really in the mindset to process it, anyway.

“I...I just want to see if you’re hurt.”

“Well, I’m not. Go away.” Jack released a sigh from his nose, taking a hesitant step closer.

“Maybe not physically. But you sure don’t seem like you’re alright.”

“So why do you care?” You sniffled, allowing your hair to fall down in front of your eyes and obscuring both your vision and his view of your face. 

“Because...” He paused. Why did he care? It’s not like he could help you anyway; if you were homeless and needed a place to stay, he couldn’t provide you with that. If you were just suffering mental trauma, then he for sure has first-hand experience with that, but he’s no therapist. 

He’s a cannibalistic demon that serves a faceless entity, albeit against his will, and he shouldn’t have given two shits whether or not you, this random girl, was okay. But for some reason, he did. And he wasn’t sure why.

“...I’ve lost people, too.” His tone became softer as he put two and two together. Clearly, you were grieving the loss of someone important to you. Either that or you just conveniently landed yourself next to a gravestone and started crying. It was a possibility, he supposed, but since there were also wilting flowers of various kinds and colors placed in front of the grave, the chances were low. 

You raised your head at that, furrowing your eyebrows and trying to keep the tears at bay. He took your silence as a sign to continue.

“I know that it hurts. I’m sorry, it’ll get better.” You shot him a mildly vexed glare.

“You don’t even know why I’m here.”

“I can take a guess.” Not replying and instead only gazing down at the gravestone you sat in front of, he drew nearer, hesitantly, still remaining in the shadow so you couldn’t make out any real physical details other than he was wearing all black with the exception of something navy blue on his face, presumably a mask of some kind. It wasn’t like you were paying very close attention, anyway. “...Who was it?”

Not that he was attempting to pry into your personal business (even though he kind of was), but he was curious and dare he say, concerned. He knew what it was like to lose somebody, mentally and physically, seeing as how after the whole thing with that rat’s ass Jenny he had to basically give up his entire lifestyle just because he was sacrificed by some crazy cult. That meant leaving behind his friends, family, anyone or anything he held dear to him, and he didn’t even get a goodbye.

Sure, he supposed that he technically could go back and see his family, his mom, his little sister, but that would be pointless because inevitably, he would get screamed at. Not happy screams, or angry screams, no. Screams of pure horror. He didn’t look like what he used to, he knew that. But still...it would be nice to get at least a bit of closure after what transpired. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t happen. It was impossible at this point, he didn’t even know where they resided anymore.

Sure, he could probably find them without much effort—thanks to Ben and his shockingly accurate browsing skills—but he would get in trouble with his boss if he tried something like that. The ones living in the Manor are supposed to be completely isolated, no exceptions. They aren’t supposed to be searching for old family members or old close friends. That would be breaking so many rules and he’d suffer so much mental torment if he even thought about it in his presence.

You only sniffed, hugging yourself and deciding what the hell, what’s he gonna do, make fun of you? If he did you would definitely have it out with him. “Um...” Your voice was so soft, so indiscernible that even Jack had to strain his ears in order to hear you correctly. “Just...just someone that was there for me...and now they’re gone. B-because of me...”

He tilted his head, silence settling between the two as he thought of something to say. You beat him to it, however.

“...Why are you out here?” Your voice cracked slightly as you attempted to gather your composure, the tears still rapidly streaming down your cheeks. You rose your gaze up to meet his, where you assumed them to be, the moonlight reflecting off of your glossy eyes and making them sparkle with sorrow. 

He opened his mouth to respond, trying to form a good excuse in his mind that sounded totally normal and not at all suspicious. He couldn’t very well tell you that he just got done murdering three separate people and then stole their kidneys post-kill, now could he? “I...needed fresh air.” Technically not a lie; his mask was a bit stuffy.

You hardened your gaze, lips pressing together into a firm line. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“So why get it in the middle of nowhere? There are sidewalks and crap in town.”

“I, uh...” He racked his brain for a reasonable answer. “...I needed to get away from people.” You stared at him from your spot on the ground, e\c eyes narrowed and holding strong suspicion before finally averting them back down and releasing a heavy sigh.

“Fine. That’s okay, lie to me. It’s what everybody else does, so why shouldn’t you too?” You shifted in your position, tucking your knees into your chest as you mumbled to yourself. “I don’t care.”

He wasn’t sure what to respond with, so he let out a soft sigh through his nose and took yet another step closer, the top of his head now being struck with the moon’s silver slivers of light and illuminating the edges of his mask. “...You don’t want to know what I was doing.” 

You shrugged solemnly, eyes staying glued to the grass beneath where you sit. “No, you don’t have to make reasons or excuses as to why you won’t tell me. It doesn’t matter.” You ran your fingers through your slightly tangled hair. “It isn’t my business, anyway.”

He should have walked away. He should have forgotten you and this encounter as a whole, turned his back, and went back to the Manor without another thought. But he couldn’t. He felt...something. It was different, but it wasn’t exactly bad. It was as if you had some type of connection, even though you had never even spoken until tonight. Perhaps it was just his loneliness talking, seeking a companion. 

Even if it was, there was no way he could ever bring you back to the Manor without you dying in the process. There were way, way too many uncontrollable freaks residing inside, and most would look at you as fresh bait. 

That’s when it hit him. A few days ago, Slenderman had called Jack to his office. He didn’t say much, and didn’t really answer any of his questions. The only thing he told him was this, “Pay attention to your surroundings, Jack. I want you to bring her back. When the time comes, you’ll know.”

At the time, he hadn’t a clue by what he meant by that. But now? Now it seemed to make sense, it just...clicked inside of his head. Maybe that’s why he felt drawn to you in a weird sort of way. Because he was supposed to bring you back with him. But how was he going to approach you with this information?

He took another step forward, then another, then another, until he wasn’t at all being obscured by foliage or the shadows that the trees cast across the ground. You didn’t bother raising your head.

“...What’s your name?”

You hesitated, if only for a moment. “...Y\n.”

“Y\n...I can help you. If you came with me, you wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Who said I was lonely?” It came out as a snappy remark, your cold glare meeting his empty, black sockets before letting out a small, almost inaudible gasp. He ignored your reaction, quite used to it by now.

“You just look like you don’t have anyone else.” You got over your initial shock fairly quickly, not very fazed by his appearance due to all of the crazy shit that you had seen during the past few days.

“You can’t assume that about me.”

“Do you? Is there a family to go back to?” You could feel the warm, salty tears beginning to prick at your eyes again, and suddenly you were sick and tired of crying. “Do you have any friends? Anybody at all who cares?”

“Just who the hell do you think you are, huh? Barging into my life and acting like you know everything there is to know about me? You wouldn’t even know my name had I not told you! Just shut up, I don’t want your input.”

He squatted, now only a few feet away from you, and spoke in a calm, mellow tone. “...I understand. Really, I do. I don’t have any friends either, not real ones. And my family...I haven’t seen them in years. I know what it’s like feeling alone. But, Y\n...come with me, we can help each other.” He extended his arm forward, gloved hand opening to silently invite your touch. 

You stared at it for what felt like forever, then glanced back up at him, noticing his height didn’t seem so intimidating now that he was closer to your level. “...How can I trust you?”

“I wouldn’t do anything to you. If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it, by now.” You gazed at him warily, eyebrow raised in suspicion. This guy was very random...and kind of just appeared abruptly. You had every reason not to trust him, but then again, what else did you have to lose? Nothing. “I promise, Y\n.”

You leered at his hand for several moments, mulling over your options in your head and coming to the conclusion that you didn’t care what happened to you. You just wanted the pain to stop, who cared if you died? So, releasing a breath through your nose, you slowly took hold of his hand.

“...Okay.”

The Mandalorian is so awesome.

I have spoken.

Did u just admit to being homophobic

I'm sorry, what?

This is such a creative idea and I love it—

Toby - Trust In Me

I was listening to “Trust In Me” and this idea popped into my head so why not write it for a change! 

Curse you Scarlett Johansson for inspiring me with your beautiful voice.

Summary: Toby had gotten himself lost in the forest, nothing new to the boy, but also not something great. The forest was full of dangerous creatures of all different kinds, and, well, when one takes an interest in him, will Toby make the choice to escape, or will he have to submit to his fate?

Warnings: 16+, Naga!Reader, Yandere themes, Reader is very cunning and manipulative and can read Toby like a book, and Toby allows himself to fall for it, A very passionate makeout that leads to Toby getting excited but nothing sexual happens, This could be taken as hypnotizing or Toby fully consenting of sound mind, Whichever you prefer

Toby didn’t know how long it had been since he’d gotten lost. He had been on a mission and been interrupted by some enemy killers, and as he had darted off to escape them he had ended up wandering into an area of the forest he had never been in before. Here, he was surrounded by thick, dark foliage, with no vision of the sky; just the area surrounding him. He was thankful Tim had forced him to take a flashlight with him that night because if he hadn’t he surely would’ve been in pitch black darkness.

Despite the darkness of the forest around him, it was alive with the sounds of the night. Trees and their leaves rustling, the scampering of paws across the ground, the snapping of twigs, the whistle of the wind, and Toby’s own footsteps and bated breath. He mused that it had to have at least been an hour or so since he’d gotten lost, but in some parts of the Underworld time tended to flow differently, and so he wasn’t sure anymore with no sky to go off of for indication, all he could do was continue trudging forward.

Aside from the animals scampering along the ground, Toby figured that he’d have to be alone out here; after all, he couldn’t sense any other presences, and he hadn’t seen any indications of footprints. He’d hardly noticed the own heaving in his chest, being so focused on his surroundings, it wasn’t until he caught the smell of blood in the air that he had halted, looking around for any signs of life, and yet he didn’t see anything. It wasn’t until he glanced towards the ground that he noticed the blood was pouring out of him, vines tangled around his legs, thorns stabbing into him.

As he bent down to pull them off, he noticed nearly too late what the vines were; a breed of a poisonous plant common in the Underworld, one extremely deadly to humans, and Toby had been injected with said poison. It was then that he felt the throbbing in his head, and the tiredness of his eyes set in as he struggled to remove the vines coiled around him, yet as his hands weakly grabbed at the plant, he felt himself falling to the side, his body hitting the ground with a thud, his consciousness fading.

If he’d been awake any longer, he just might have noticed the other presence that had been there all along, so close to him, so observant, he might have heard the light and airy chuckles as the being approached him, felt the touch of their skin on his body as they carried him away.

…

Eventually, Toby felt his consciousness fading back in. He expected his body to feel heavy, for his head to throb, the sign of the pain he couldn’t feel, and yet; he felt perfectly fine, minus the heaviness that remained in his eyelids. He shifted around, and realized he was not on the forest floor, but instead resting on something soft, and as he finally forced his eyes open, he realized he was resting upon a hammock. He shifted, looking over his form, and noting that the once bleeding wounds on his legs were wrapped tightly in fresh bandages.

“Ah… So you’ve finally woken up, hm? I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever wake again.” Your voice echoed around the room, light and airy, and Toby found himself looking around, trying to locate you.

“Wh-where are you?? Who a-are you?” Toby’s voice was nowhere near as intimidating as he would have hoped, but he couldn’t help the nervousness coursing through his veins. He took in the surroundings of the room he was in better and realized he was in a large, open room, one with holes of different sizes in the walls, like a tunnel system.

“I assure you, I mean you no harm, little one. I just merely brought you back to my den to patch you up, to keep you safe.” It was then that Toby heard it, nearly covered up by the resounding melody of your voice; the slithering of scales along the interior of the surrounding area.

“Can you show y-yourself?” Toby’s voice was smaller, but more even now, and he curled in on himself in the hammock, still looking around, looking in the holes to try and spot you.

“Most people don’t always like looking at us, so I thought it would be more preferred to hide away, but if you wish…” Your voice was decadent and luscious, and Toby felt himself being tugged along with every word. It was then that he looked up, noticing you perching in a hole in the ceiling above him, a soft smile upon your face, a golden shine in your eyes that vanished just as soon as it appeared.

You moved down from your spot above him, sliding down the wall to reveal your tail, and Toby felt himself swallowing nervously as he watched you. He guessed that you had to be at least 20 feet long, if not more than that; the iridescent scales making up your tail shining in a way that was almost hypnotizing as you curled around the support of the hammock, placing yourself near Toby as he crept away from you, causing you to smile, revealing the fangs hidden within your mouth.

“Don’t be scared, little one, I won’t bite… Well, unless you want me to.” You chuckled, reaching a clawed hand out, delicately holding the side of his face. “I just wanted to make sure that you would be safe, cared for…” Toby felt himself being hypnotized by your words, and he didn’t know if it was you doing it or if it was just your natural allure, but he didn’t care.

“Why would you do that for me?” His question was genuine, and it made a smile bloom on your face, one that had his heart racing, even though he knew he didn’t want it to.

“Well, what kind of creature would I be if I just left you there to die, hm? And it’s not often that humans come to my part of the woods, and, well- after being so lonely for so long, I couldn’t help but offer a helping hand.” You tenderly stroked your thumb over his cheek, and it took every fiber of Toby’s being to not lean into your touch.

“I couldn’t just leave you all alone, you know?” You adjusted yourself so that you were resting in the hammock now as well, closer to Toby, and you leaned forward a bit to glance over him. “Do you by any chance have somewhere to return to? Someone to return to?” You drew out your words, and Toby felt himself swallowing again.

“I… I do have a place to return to.” Toby looked over you, and he could sense the sadness in your form, and he can’t tell if it’s faked or real.

“And… Someone?” You put more emphasis on the word this time, and he felt his cheeks burning red.

“I do-don’t have s-someone.” He shifted nervously, and you smiled at him again, happiness seeming to radiate off of you at his answer.

“You know, you could always stay here, keep me company… It’s comfortable here, you know? And I would always take care of you, always keep you safe…” You began to drag out the end of your sentences, using the allure of your voice to your advantage, and damn, as much as Toby hated to admit it, he could feel himself falling for it, and the half-lidded look you were giving him wasn’t helping anything.

“Oh… I don’t know..” Toby chuckled a bit at the end, but as you moved closer again, he didn’t move away either. Despite the general care he received at the mansion, it had been a while since someone had doted on him like this, and… He was enjoying it.

“Calm on… You can trust in me. If I had wanted to do anything to you, wouldn’t I have already done it? After all, I discovered you unconscious, and yet I brought you back here and fixed up your wounds, even taking care of that poison for you. Would I do that if I wanted to cause harm?” You fluttered your lashes, and Toby felt like he was losing himself in the sight of you.

“I suppose not…” He couldn’t disagree with you; he was very well aware of what you were, aware that you could have killed him in an instant if you wanted to, and you hadn’t, meaning he wasn’t prey.

That thought seemed to make a realization punch Toby directly in the face, and it clicked in his mind; you didn’t choose him as prey or for a quick meal, no, you were considering him a possible mate. That had him swallowing and turning red all over again. You smiled at him, and Toby knew that you understood why he turned red, that you were aware that he had finally realized what you were aiming for.

“So…? Will you stay..?” You were practically resting against him now, your upper body hovering just barely above him. He cleared his throat, although he made no motions to move, and he seemed to be considering your offer seriously, something that made you inwardly grin.

“Although, you know… If you do make the decision to stay, you won’t be getting away from me.” That golden shimmer appeared in your eyes again,  and Toby sucked in a deep breath, before asking something that would catch even you off guard.

“Can I kiss you?” His question was innocent, and it had your eyes widening in shock, although you chuckled deeply, fluttering your lashes at him again.

“Will that help you make your decision?” You teasingly asked him, and he nodded, face and ears flushed bright red as he struggled to not avert his eyes in embarrassment. You hummed, before closing the gap between the two of you, pressing your lips to his.

The kiss started off innocent enough, slow and filled with passion, but as you worked your fingers into Toby’s hair, tugging on the strands, you felt him shiver beneath you, and as he whined into the kiss you let out a chuckle, wanting to see how else he would react. You deepened the kiss, pushing your torso firmly into his, maneuvering your tail to coil around Toby. His arms found their way to your hips, and although he was aware he was being coiled, something that could end badly, he wanted to do as you said; he wanted to trust you.

You tightened and relaxed your grip around him with your tail, binding the two of you together and finding all of the sensitive areas along his body. As you continued to kiss him he continued to get more and more worked up, and when you slipped your tongue into his mouth he practically keened, his fingers digging into your scales. After a few moments, you began to slowly pull away from him, resting your arms on his shoulders as you leaned up to glance down at him, although keeping your tail coiled around him.

“You seemed to enjoy that.” You chuckled darkly, and it sent another shiver through Toby, but; he couldn’t deny it. His hair was messy and out of place, his skin was flushed red, and it was quite obvious to you that he had definitely enjoyed it a bit more than he should have, from the hardness pressing against the start of your tail. Toby hummed beneath you, trying to catch his breath and calm his racing heartbeat.

“So, little one,” You cooed at him, leaning down to whisper into his ear, “Will you stay?” Trembles raced through him as you scraped your fangs against the nape of his neck, and he nodded weakly against you.

“I’ll do it, I’ll stay.” He couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth, that he had just decided such a thing, but at that moment the decision just felt so right, so natural, especially when he felt you smile against his neck.

When he felt you sink your fangs into him, marking him and claiming him as yours before running your tongue over the wound, Toby thought he just might faint from the pleasure you were giving him. If this was how he was going to die, he thought, well; that just might not be so bad.

A Hapless Endearment [Creepypasta x F. Reader]

Chapter 5- Shatter Me

————————————

"So you used to come here a lot, then?"

"All the time. I guess it was just the perfect place to... hang out, and not be disturbed." She shrugs, her feet dangling past the large tree branch as she gazes down idly into the wide body of water below the two of them. Its surface is glistening with sunlight, and she imagines schools of fish, small turtles, and fresh tadpoles to be swimming underneath. She had forgotten just how peaceful it was here, completely away from society, where it allows her to be alone with her thoughts.

"That's understandable. It is a nice area. Really quiet." He leans his back against the trunk of the tree, his eyes shifting up to the sky currently overcast by fluffy clouds and keeping half of his concentration directed at his task. "You liked solitude, then."

"What do you mean?" She glances at him curiously, and he meets her eyes for a short moment.

"You came here alone all the time, right? So you must've liked solitude."

"Oh, well, I mean—" She shakes her head, trying to collect her words and say them in a sensible manner. "No, I didn't come alone all the time. Mostly, I had Wyatt... with me..." Her voice lowers the more she talks, and she feels a wave of grief wash over her, once again. She knows she won't be able to successfully hide her emotions, so she turns her head away and tries to compose herself. There's a few seconds of silence before Jack speaks.

"...Wyatt?" There's a sense of recognition in his tone, and she curls her knees up and into her chest instinctively, holding back a tear. "Wyatt... Colson?" Her eyes dart to him, her expression molding into one of consternation.

"...How did you know that?" It doesn't cross her mind that murder and a disappearance draws attention from all places, and that word spreads fast. She also doesn't realize that he, among others, have been keeping tabs on mysterious and abrupt events such as that one, and he knows the names by heart.

"Uh, w-well," He replaces his startled expression with one of veracity and oblivion. "he was the guy that went missing, right? Heard it from... my mom." He seems unsure, and she furrows her eyebrows though doesn't comment on it. There are more important things to fret over.

"Yeah..." The word comes out as a mere whisper as her eyes avert down to her hands. "I guess... I guess he is."

"You were close?" he asks, leaning forward slightly. She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um, y-yeah, I mean... he was my cousin."

"Oh..." His gaze softens as he absentmindedly fiddles with a loose thread hanging from his hoodie, tilting his head to the side. "That's unfortunate... sorry." A forlorn sigh travels from between her lips before she can stop it, and she shakes her head lightly.

"Yeah, well... there's nothing you can do about it. Things happen."

"If it makes you feel any better, I lost my dad when I was just a kid." Her eyes move up to meet his curiously, and he glances down at his hands. "Car accident. It really crushed my mom, I don't think she ever got over it." Sympathy shines within her eyes, and she replies.

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"Eh, don't be. It was a long time ago, I hardly even remember the guy." Changing the subject, he leans toward her and asks another question. " Do you have any other family down here?"

"Besides my grandparents? No." A serene breath flows out of her nose as she watches the leaves in the trees rustle and feels the breeze glide through her hair, giving her an inkling of solace. "I used to have a couple of friends that I played with sometimes. Don't know where they went, though."

He nods in understanding, squinting his eyes as the sun's bright beam reflects off of the water and hits him straight in the face, screwing with his whacky sight. Perhaps this isn't the best place to be sitting at the moment. She turns her head to look at him once again, though parts her lips in concern and narrows her eyes. "Uh... you okay?" When she receives a slightly confused expression, she clarifies, growing perplexed. "Your nose? It's bleeding."

Only then does he feel the warm, sticky substance drip down slowly until it reaches his lip, and he lifts the back of his hand up to wipe it away, unintentionally smearing it across his skin. "Oh, yeah, um." He uses his sleeve to get the rest of it off his face, though it proves fruitless when even more of the liquid crimson continues to run out of his nose. "This is— I mean, it's normal."

She furrows her eyebrows suspiciously, taking notice of the sudden nervousness present in his voice. "Really? It looks kinda..."

"No, no, it's fine." He takes a Kleenex out of his pocket and presses it to his nostril in an effort to slow the bleeding as he considers the height of the tree the both of them are sat in. "But... I should get going, before my mom, uh... worries." He twists his body around until his foot is securely settled on a tree branch to his right, and he begins to climb down.

"Uh, yeah... okay." She watches him skillfully maneuver from tree branch to tree branch, never missing a beat and moving at a pace faster than she could ever dream of. She hadn't observed his actions when he first followed her up the tree, too busy focusing on not slipping and breaking her neck. Now that she's paying attention, she finds herself intrigued. "You're pretty good at that. Were there trees where you come from?" It's a bit of a strangely-worded question, though she figures it gets the point across well enough.

He jumps to the ground and looks up at her, shrugging and once again being pressured to wipe the blood away from his face. "There was a really nice one a while back, but lightning hit and destroyed it during a storm." She hums in response, realizing that he likely can't hear it from the ground due to the distance between the two of them. A faint buzzing sound erupts through her ears, and she swats at the air, her first guess being that a fly or bee found its way to her and decided to test her patience.

"You can find your way back, right?" She raises her voice, hoping that he's able to understand her. Thankfully, he nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, I'm good." The buzzing continuously grows louder, and as a result, she jerks her head from side to side, trying to get a look at whatever pesky insect decided to torment her and put a stop to it, but she fails to see anything. "Can you find your way back?" She runs a hand through her hair to see if there's something nestled inside, though to her relief, doesn't find anything.

"Nah, I came all the way out here without knowing where I was going." He releases a light chuckle, noticing her sudden change in behavior and craning his neck farther back to get a better look at her.

"Something wrong?" The buzzing only grows louder, and it becomes more difficult to hear what he's saying clearly, though she manages and presses a hand to her ear.

"I-I think it's just a bug or somethin'." As the obnoxious noise increases, a headache presents itself, and she taps her temple with the heel of her hand to get a handle on what she's hearing. At the same time, Jack's chest starts to tingle with a familiar ominous feeling and his gaze falls to the trees around him, searching for the source frantically as apprehension dawns on his face.

Thinking now would be an acceptable time to get out of the tree before she ends up falling into the water, she carefully scoots toward the trunk, hoping the sound will dissipate if she gets away from whatever's nest she mistakenly disturbed. She glances down at Jack, her vision becoming strained for unknown reasons, and lets out a startled gasp at what she sees.

His skin seems to have darkened to an unnatural tone, looking more like an ashen grey than the pale ivory that it was previously, and in place of his eyes are black, endless sockets with some type of thick substance that steadily leaks down his cheeks.

It's an alarming sight indeed, but before she can say anything about it, her vision becomes clearer and she notices that he looks just like himself, again. That was... weird. She grasps a branch, still attempting to clear the headache and unpleasant buzzing as she cautiously makes her own way down the tall tree. I must be going crazy.

Her sight is obscured once again, making her blink to try and rid herself of the blurriness. She shakes her head as the buzzing turns from bearable to unexplainably harsh, greatly disorienting her as a wave of dizziness strikes her body. Her grip tightens around the branches that are currently supporting her weight, and she leans into the tree, not willing to move and risk falling to the ground below.

"Jack... how many feet would you say I had to brave before I reach the bottom?" She only asks because she fears looking down would cause her to lose her balance. Through the thick droning, she hears only silence. Maybe he didn't hear me. "Jack?" She makes a point to speak louder to ensure that she's discerned, but still, he doesn't respond, and she bites her lip nervously. Don't tell me he left. "Jack?"

"Y-yeah, no, you're not far. Could probably jump if you wanted." Tension is released from her chest, and she wills her body to calm down. She doesn't catch how his voice wavers anxiously as he knots his eyebrows together, not looking away from the forest and what it may hold within.

She lets out a breath that she means to reassure her, though it only makes her hands shake as she every so slowly descends further down, her feet staying locked on whichever branches she blindly steps on to act as her support system. Hey, this isn't so bad. Just take it slow... and you'll be down in no time. It's a piece of cake.

But she thinks too soon, for not three seconds later, an invisible force latches itself around her shoulders, and before she can even react, she's being pushed away from the tree. Her fingers untangle themselves and her feet lose their place, shock traveling through her mind and making her briefly paralyzed. She feels her heart skip a beat as her breathing momentarily stops, eyes snapping shut and brain in a frenzy. All she can think about is hitting the ground. Smashing her head on a rock. Breaking her arm. Twisting her leg. A stick being stabbed through her back and impaling her.

The outcomes seem endless as gravity forces her body closer and closer to the ground, but instead of dying and going to heaven, she feels strong arms loop themselves under her own, not stopping her legs from colliding rather hard with the ground but cradling her torso and cushioning her head with a sturdy chest.

Her heart still runs what feels like a thousand beats per second, and the world around her slowly starts moving again. Her mind is able to comprehend what happened fairly quickly, and she cracks her eyes open, gaze moving up and landing on Jack's face, sunlight from above darkening the edges and making it seem as if he's glowing a bright yellow. She expects him to look startled, if not slightly amused, but is taken off-guard when she instead sees that a concerned, distraught expression is etched across his admittedly handsome features.

She feels something wet drip onto her cheek, just below her eye, and assumes it to be some of the blood from his nose, therefore doesn't make it her first priority to wipe it away for fear of seeming rude. His eyes nervously shift around the two of them as he hurriedly pulls her to her feet, keeping a hand on her shoulder until she's stable. Her hand grips the tree trunk as her body is hit by another overwhelming dizzy spell, content that the buzzing in her ears has stilled and mentally praying that the headache will go away.

"You okay?" She rubs the side of her head gently, trying to soothe the pain and nods.

"I think so. Thanks, Jack." With that same hand, she discreetly swipes it along her cheek, removing the blood that was oozing without much thought and glancing down at it. What she sees confuses her, and she brings her hand closer to her face to get a better look. What is now smeared across her skin is a rich, tar-like solidity, similar to what she 'saw' coming out of his eyes, or lack thereof. But that isn't possible. Maybe it's just such a deep scarlet that causes it to look unusually dark.

Feeling a bit disgusted but more so befuddled, she wipes it on the tree and gets the majority off of her hand. Who bleeds black blood? She knows for a fact that the liquid coming from his nose before looked thin and was a bright red, so what changed about it? Perhaps it's only her perception; after all, she isn't exactly in the best shape right now, mentally or physically. So she turns to ask him about that very thing, only to blink in surprise when she finds he isn't there.

She takes a couple of unsteady strides forward to see if he's hiding behind a tree, or somehow blending in incredibly well, though she isn't successful. "Jack?" She glances around, toward the trail they followed to get here, but again, she's unable to see him anywhere. "Jack!" A feeling of urgency fills her heart, urgency about what though, she hasn't a clue. He was about to leave, but she expected a goodbye of sorts, not a sudden disappearance. Besides, she would have heard him leave, right? He was just right behind her. Where could he have gone so quickly? "Jack, is this a prank?"

A brief cough exits her mouth, but she doesn't pay it any mind, too focused on finding the boy. She stumbles toward the path, bending over and rinsing the goop off of her hand in the river water beside her but being careful not to topple over into it. Another cough, this one more forced, and she clutches at her head to ease the pain each one brings. Looking down the length of the path, she sees nobody, which greatly confuses her.

"Jack! Seriously, are you hiding?" A moment later she presses her mouth into her arm to conceal the strained coughs that now steadily erupt from within and tries to catch her breath. "Jack—" This time she's cut off as another violent hack comes from her throat, leaving it scratchy and her desperate. She doubles over and shuts her eyes tightly, bearing the turmoil that her body is suddenly putting her through for unknown reasons.

Her stomach grows queasy and her head throbs, stressed tears brimming her eyes as the coughs only worsen after each second. Before she can even grasp what's happening, her legs collapse and she falls straight to the grassy terrain below, fighting for any breath of oxygen that she can possibly get only to come up empty every time. The tears now fall, streaming across the bridge of her nose all the way down to the tip before dropping.

Her fingers withdraw and clutch handfuls of dirt as her body shakes vigorously, though not from fear, merely from distress. Her mind is in a haze of agony, making her hyper-focus on one thing only; breathing. She feels as if her organs have become detached and are going to spew from her mouth any second, and a fierce burning sensation in her lungs makes her gag as stomach acid arises, dribbling down her lip. Her hacking is combined with pained sobbing, her condition only getting more gut-wrenching the longer it continues, all the while that same unpleasant buzzing never quiets and abuses her ears with its shrill pitch.

Her stomach convulses and sends half-digested food up through her body, and consequently, she retches and it gets spit right below her face. The discomfort fogging her mind begins to dissipate, and the hacking she was forced to suffer through comes to an abrupt stop, finally allowing her to suck in a deep breath of air that her body has been struggling to grasp. A few more light coughs come out of her mouth, and she rolls on her side, trying to recover as she gasps for much-needed oxygen.

Her muscles loosen themselves in relief, and she lets out a quiet cry, a mixture of both alleviation and affliction. She lays there for around five minutes, gathering her bearings and recuperating from the unforeseen exertion, before taking in a soft breath and fluttering her eyes open. The terrible droning, at once, fades away and gives her a chance to get her thoughts straight. She weakly pushes herself up, unable to stop from looking down at the pile of acid, regurgitated food, and blood laying on the grass that her body pushed out.

She gently places her hand on her sore, scratchy throat and massages it, hoping to soothe a bit of the pain, if not all of it, and trying not to have a panic attack over the fact that she nearly hacked her very own lungs out not seven minutes ago. Stray tears dribble down her warmed cheeks and she wipes saliva from her chin, finding the strength eventually to stand to her feet and begin her slow, thoughtful trek back to her grandparents' cottage.

___

His feet feel almost weightless as he runs at high speeds, far higher than what the average person could ever go, his body twisting whenever necessary to ensure he doesn’t accidentally slam into one of the hundreds of trees around him. His mask is now pushed back over his face and hiding the dark grey tone of his skin and the sharp rows of teeth in his mouth, though his empty sockets remain visible.

The tingling in his chest begins to lessen the farther away he gets from the river, but he doesn’t take it as a sign to slow down. Instead, he quickens his pace, avoiding the thick foliage, leaping over a fallen tree, and sliding down a small hill, in a hurry to make it back. He fears the worst could happen if he were to stop.

Easily navigating through the familiar forest and toward Hoody’s house, his lungs aren’t even starting to get tired and his legs aren’t yet begging for a break, only a few of the advantages of being a literal demon. Even in a rush, he still somehow manages to be stealthy, so much so that nobody could hear him unless they were listening extra closely. The area around him lacks most of its natural color through his perspective, and even a bit of its shape, but that only means his hearing, among other senses, are keener and are able to detect threats from far off.

He can see the scenery that surrounds him, though the details leave quite a bit to be desired. The black, slimy tears continuously cascade down his navy-blue mask and fall to the ground beneath his boots; it would be pointless trying to keep them at bay. He learned this long ago, and now it doesn’t even cross his mind.

Finally, the old cabin comes into view, camouflaged by weeds, low-hanging vines, and overgrown grass, making the perfect place to take residence in. He sprints until he’s at the front door, and knocks swiftly, clearly frantic and in need of attention. He knows that the man must be there, for he was the one who told Jack to report back to him when he was finished with the assigned task, and he’s been gone for several hours at this point, so he must be expecting him back soon.

To his relief, it only takes a minute before the door swings open, revealing the tall man— though shorter in comparison to Jack— clad in a mustard-brown hoodie and black and red ski mask standing in the entrance of his home sweet home. He tilts his head up at him, narrowing his eyes though it can’t be seen from behind the stretchy piece of cloth covering his face and any emotion he may otherwise show.

After a moment, he nods in silent greeting and steps to the side, giving Jack room to walk into the house as Hoody closes the door behind them. He turns to face him once again, leaning casually against the door frame and studying Jack’s body language. “What’d you find out?”

His sentence is short and straight-to-the-point, not surprising Jack in the least. Hoody was never one to stretch things out; he’d much rather just hear what needs to be said using as few words as possible. Jack allows his muscles to relax slightly, now eased by the knowledge that he’s currently in a safer area than he was previously, and quickly collects his thoughts.

“It’s worse than I thought,” he starts, voice muffled by the mask shrouding his face. “He wants her and he wants her soon. If we’re gonna do something about it we need to act quickly, otherwise, it’s a lost cause.” Hoody crosses his arms in understanding, processing the information that his trusted companion is delivering to him.

“Do you know where she lives?” Jack shakes his head.

“No, but she told me that she’s here visiting family. She’ll be leaving eventually, if she’s not gotten to, first.”

“What family?”

“Grandparents. You know that couple that got murdered a while back?” He receives a curt nod in response. “Apparently, they were her relatives. Aunt and uncle.”

“They had a kid.”

“Yeah, Wyatt Colson. Adopted. He was her cousin.” Jack shoves his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, waiting through a brief silence before speaking again. “They were close, she and him.”

“Did you get her name?”

“Y\n L\n.” Hoody pulls his phone out of his jeans, focusing on the screen as he scrolls his contacts and looks for one labeled ‘Ben’, clicking on it and shooting him a quick text telling him the girl’s name and to research her immediately. He gets an effortless ‘yup’ soon after, and stuffs his phone back in his pocket, turning his attention back on Jack for more information.

“How old is she?”

“Young. Only sixteen.” Jack subconsciously bounces on the heels of his shoes, though the action is barely noticeable and disregarded by Hoody, who keeps his gaze locked onto the boy’s masked face. “She was nice. Something was definitely troubling her, though. I could feel it.”

“So she’s emotionally vulnerable. That makes her easy bait.”

“Maybe. He was messing with her head, but she was trying to resist it.” Jack remembers her odd behavior before he left, and he recalls feeling pressure in his mind as she gripped at her hair. She looked distraught, though he could sense that she wasn’t giving into the fog of thoughts her mind was likely being covered in at the time. Not easily.

“What do you think about it?” he asks, and Jack considers the question a short moment.

“I think she may stand a chance. From what she told me, she seems to come from a more or less broken family. All the more fire to fuel her hate. That could be a good or a bad thing.”

“We’ll see what Ben’s results are, then make a final decision.” Jack nods, not quite wanting to just forget about her and let her fall victim to the inevitable like so many others before her. He senses potential, something that isn’t very common for them. He would be less than content to just brush her aside as if she was simply meaningless to all of them, knowing they could have helped, possibly saved a soul from eternal torment and what could be referred to as slavery.

He is well aware that it would be a big risk, bringing another person to their base after so many years of isolation, and he knows it could easily result in catastrophe. But he isn’t very doubtful about this particular case; he saw no reason to be when he was speaking with her. She seemed innocent enough, then again, it’s always the ‘innocent’ ones that end up stabbing you in the back.

All he knows is that if they’re going to do something, they need to do it soon, because she’s in immediate danger, and he has a feeling she doesn’t even realize it. She won’t until it’s too late.

___

Her eyes drift up from the dirt to the familiar cottage that she’s grown acquainted with during the past few days, and she releases a shaky breath, the action itself causing her mild pain in the back of her throat. God, water sounds so refreshing right now. She walks closer, only noticing her grandfather sitting on the porch when she reaches the gateway and avoids direct eye contact. She knows that he’s going to try and speak to her, especially considering the conversation this morning, and she wants to dodge that until she feels a bit more like herself.

She’s still totally puzzled at what happened over an hour ago and has wracked her brain for answers, only to fail each time. Maybe she just caught the stomach flu? But stomach flues make you throw up, not cough until you feel like you’ll explode at any moment. Perhaps something got caught in her throat and triggered her gag reflex? Highly doubtful. Gag reflex doesn’t work like that.

She forces a fleeting smile across her face as she draws nearer, but drops the act once she sees that his eyes are closed, his lips are parted, and soft snores exit his mouth as his head is leaned comfortably against the wall behind him. Oh good. He’s asleep.

Hopefully, she can sneak in undetected by her grandmother, who is most likely up at this point in the day and well aware of her surroundings. She steps quietly onto the porch and grips the handle of the screen door, pulling it open and cringing when it makes a long, drawn-out squeak in response. She glances at Pops in concern, shoulders relaxing when she sees him still dozed off.

Her facial expression twists into one of agitation as she opens the second door, this time with less caution, and walks inside, knowing that her Nana had to have heard that obnoxious noise. Her hearing is relatively better than her husband’s, after all. Her gaze shifts toward the living room, biting the inside of her cheek when she catches a glimpse of her grandmother sitting on the recliner beside the couch, glasses on and attention directed at the book in her hands.

She doesn’t seem to have noticed Y\n come inside, much to her relief, and she looks at the staircase directly ahead of her, glancing in-between Nana and it as she silently closes the door and wonders if she can pull this off. It’s only a few feet away, but Nana would surely see her walking and be interested in a conversation. The very thing that Y\n desperately wants to avoid for the time being.

She swallows, inwardly wincing at the discomfort that radiates from the back of her throat, and carefully moves forward, hoping beyond hope that Nana won’t spot her. “Oh, hi, Y\n.” The girl freezes, turning her gaze back toward Farrah and meeting her eyes regretfully. “You were out a while, this time. Almost five hours.”

She nods, not wanting to speak unless absolutely necessary, at least not until she gets ahold of some pain relievers. The elderly woman tilts her head forward, setting the book in her lap and giving her granddaughter her full attention.

“I didn’t know you could cook.” Y\n’s eyebrows knit together in confusion before she pieces it together in her head and allows a knowing expression to form across her face. After hearing the silence, Nana speaks, again. “It was good, Y\n. Thank you.” She hums in reply, wanting to leave it at that, however, when she starts walking up the stairs, she hears her grandmother’s voice. “Are you alright?”

She nods once more, making her exit quick and shuffling up the staircase, stopping only when she reaches her room. She grabs her bag and digs through it, eventually grasping a plastic bag filled with various medicine that she thought was appropriate to bring along with her, just in case. She pulls out the bottle labeled ‘Tylenol’ and unscrews the cap, pouring two of the red, blue, and white capsules into her palm before putting their container back into the bag.

She grabs her water bottle and, after a moment of hesitation, swallows the medicine without much trouble, taking a sip of water afterward to subdue the pain a bit. She then sits on her bed, hands tangling themselves in her hair as she tries to hold the weight of stress on her shoulders. It still feels hard for her to fully process, everything does, really. She almost wants to cry again, but refrains, mainly because it would only cause her greater physical pain, and that’s one of the last things she wants right now.

The sun shining in through her window hits her back and warms her insides, bringing her a sense of consolation. It will be okay. It has to be, right? She will get through these trials. She can handle them. Can’t she?

A quiet whimper forces itself from her mouth, and she covers her face in an effort to compose herself. Why me? Why now? She hears her phone chime from her pocket, indicating she just received a text. That’s strange. Nobody ever cares enough to text her anymore. Growing curious and wanting to focus on anything other than her pathetically devastating situation, she slides it out and presses the sleep button, quickly typing out the password and going to her messages.

Unknown number? She blinks and wipes away a tear before it’s able to fall from her eye, looking down at the glowing screen and clicking on the contact. It reads, “Yo, is this Y\n?”

“What the…” She can’t help but mutter, ignoring the twinge of pain it causes and furrowing her eyebrows in bemusement. Is it somebody from school? Her thoughts then turn to Jack, though she shakes her head in disregard, deciding that it wouldn’t be possible. We never exchanged numbers.

After staring at her phone for two minutes straight, she sends a message back, almost certain that somebody from her school somehow got her number from one of her friends. Or, well, ‘acquaintances’, at this stage in her life. “Yes… with whom am I speaking?”

She waits for a response, tapping her finger against her leg absentmindedly and gazing through the window. Her e\c eyes land on the treeline, halfway expecting to see something standing outside. It reminds her of when she awoke last night and saw that mysterious, eerie figure posing at the edge of the forest, its creepy white mask standing out in the dark of the night.

Even after several minutes, she doesn't get a response, and she comes to the conclusion that it's likely a prank, no matter how strange and abrupt it is, and tosses her phone on her bed, choosing to forget about it. A movement in the doorway draws her awareness, and she turns her head in that direction, raising her eyebrows when she sees Nana standing there with a commiserate expression painted across her wrinkled features.

"Sweetheart..." Y\n cranes her neck to the side and parts her lips, beginning to feel the Tylenol take effect and lessen the aching in her throat.

"Nana?" Farrah rubs the back of her neck, almost nervously, as she walks farther into the room. "Is... something wrong?"

"Your grandpa told me what happened this morning... I'm sorry, baby." She makes her way beside Y\n, sitting on the bed and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Y\n's posture slumps as she realizes what she's referring to, and her gaze shifts down to her lap. She twiddles her fingers, sensing the tension in the air between the two of them. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She waits a moment, thinking over her reply. She doesn't want to worry her, besides, she's positive this has been extremely hard on Nana and Pops, much harder than it could have ever been on her. That was their daughter, their grandchild. And that, on top of already having lost their son to ridiculous family disagreements? And not having the emotional support of anybody but themselves? It makes her feel terrible for them.

"Yeah..." She clears her throat, looking anywhere in the room but Nana, and fighting the tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine. It's... fine." Her voice cracks, and she feels Farrah's fingers ghost through her hair to calm her down, console her in some way.

"Hun, if you need to talk, or anything else, you can come to me. I know it's a lot of... hard information to process, and so suddenly, too." She only nods wistfully, not even trying to mask the hurt on her face, anymore. Nana notices and gives her a quick hug before standing to her feet and exiting the room, leaving the girl sitting alone once again, with a heavy heart and an uncanny suspicion that things are about to get even more dreadful from here on out.

At Your Service (OLD)

[Ben]: Yo Masky, make me a sandwich, will ya?

[Masky]: Yo Ben, get your lazy ass up and make one yourself.

[Ben]: Well, geez, you don’t have to be rude about it.

[Y\n, literally a minute later]: Tim... I’m hungry.

[Masky]: Already rushing to the kitchen Of course, Y\n.

[Ben]: ... Scoffs

[Ben]: Now that’s favoritism.