Fx Any Dream Laden Desires - Original, Fandom, and More

[FantasticalDreamer]

{ Basic Information Here }

{ About Me }

Hello Everyone! I am FantasticalDreamer, but you can call me Dream! Here are some bullet points about me!
​

I...

* Am a thirty-two year old roleplayer.

* Am in the Central Standard Time Zone. So...this may affect when I write as opposed to when you write. (You may be going to bed while I'm just getting up for the day, for example.)

* Use She/They pronouns.

* Have seventeen years of off and on roleplaying experience under my belt- I have just as much experience in writing by myself...mostly fanfiction.

* Typically use First Person POV or Third Person, Past Tense POV.

* Find myself attracted to both males and masculine female leads and will play either a female or feminine male lead characters.

* Will play extra characters of any type to help the plot moving- but it can't just be me! We're writing this together. We work together. Yes?

* Usually play more submissive characters. That's not to say I won't make them feisty as all get out or without personality, no. That won't be sacrificed just because of my preferences. Their flavor will not be sacrificed.

* Enjoy a good plot with my smut.

* Will use anime or face claims or descriptions/character sheets for my characters depending on my partner's preference.

* Will rp original settings, some fandom settings- both cannon and AU-, some cannon characters, and OCs.

* Want to discuss hard limits and triggers before we get into things, I don't want any boundaries overstepped.

* Have not roleplayed in a while, so I may be a bit rusty. I apologize in advance.

* Write quite a lot. Minimum three to four paragraphs with no clear maximum. I've written mini-novellas for posts and replies before...and I enjoy doing so.

* Will be inconsistent with my replies. I will not be on every day. I'm hoping one post minimum a week, at worst. At best? A few replies a day.


{ I Am Looking For... }
More bullet points.

* First and foremost: more Dominant partnering characters.

* Male or confident/Dominant female partnering characters.

* Plot with smut.

* A partner who can write three or four paragraphs to mini-novella type posts and one who doesn't mind me writing a lot in return. I have run people off with my lengthy responses, so it's something to think about.

* Someone to write with me, not just domineer the plot or expect me to shoulder the whole of it.

* Someone else who is like me in respect of responses. I don't expect you to reply every day, but once a week would be nice.

* If you don't want to continue rping, I am ditch friendly. I might bug you a couple of times after two weeks pass, but if you haven't said anything but are still responding to others, I'll understand what's going on. I get it. I've ghosted rps a few times, myself. Sometimes it just doesn't work out...and that's okay.

{Hard Nos }
Yup, this again.

* Yashahime

* Urine

* Feces

* Vomit in sexual situations (unless MC is pregnant and has to run to the bathroom mid romp. Just no sexualization of it, please and thanks.)

* Vore in sexual situations. Otherwise, I'm alright with it.

* Animal/Human

* Bimbofication

* Hypnosis

* One-Liners. I will drop the rp like a rock if you do this.

* Disrespecting me or my limits. I will ghost your ass if you do this.


{ General Interests }
You know the drill.

* Fantasy

*Sci-Fi

* Magical

* Supernatural Being/Mythical Beings (Brownie points if it's Supernatural or Mythical Being/Human pairing)

* Demons/Angles/Gods/Goddesses

* Modern Times

*Futuristic Escapades

* Medieval Era AU

* Apocalyptic Setting

* Zombie-Infested World

* Pirates/Vikings

* Space Pirates/Space Salvagers

* Scientific/Research/Experimentation

* Knights/Kings/Queens/Nobels/Bodyguards

* Reincarnation

* Fluff/Lighter Themes

* Cuddling

* Slow Burn

* Tattoos

* Con/Dub Con

* BDSM

* Sensory Deprivation

* Hair Pulling

* Bondage

* Toys

* Darker Themes

* Punishments

* Mafia/Yakuza

* Hero/Villain

* Sentient Creature/Human

* Psychological Torment and Issues

* Corruption

* Edging/Denial/Control

* Age Gap. Older partner/Younger 18+ Partner. I prefer playing the younger partner.

* Tragedy. I'm the freak who likes to make MC suffer. Sometimes things get better...sometimes not.

* Gore

*Feral Partner Character

* Breeding Kink

* Pregnancy/M-Preg

* Lactation

* A/B/O or Omegaverse Logistics

* Over Clothes or Clothed Petting

* Some Public Sexual Situations

* Abduction/Stockholm Syndrome

* Horror/Thriller

* Action/Adventure

* Romance/Erotic


{ Fandoms I Will RP }
Yeah, I'm this tired.

(* AU could mean inserting OCs into plot of the movie/series, putting cannon characters with different characters they are not canonically with, changing the plot/timeline of the fandom, or using the universe for our OCs and bending it a bit to our liking.

Playing cannon characters is not something I can do perfectly, and I don't expect your rendition to be perfect, either. We can edit them as needed for the rp.)


(Fandom – Characters I will play; Cannon or AU preference, if any. Favorite Pairings of the fandom.)


Inuyasha – Cannon Character: aged up Kagome or OC; Cannon or AU. Favorite Pairings: Kagome/Sesshoumaru, Kagome/Kouga, Kagome/OC, OC/OC.

The Shape of Water – OC; AU. Favorite Pairing: OC/OC Merperson

Yu Yu Hakusho – OC; Cannon or AU. Favorite Pairings: OC/Kurama, OC/Hiei, OC/OC.

Yu Yu Hakusho/Inuyasha Crossover- Kagome; AU. Favorite Pairings: Kagome/Kurama, Kagome/Hiei.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (movies 1, 3, or The Beginning) – OC; AU. Favorite Pairings: Bubba/Victim OC, Thomas Hewitt/Victim OC.

My Hero Academia – Aizawa, Toshinori, aged up Deku, aged up Eijiro, aged up fem Todoroki, Shigaraki, aged up Uraraka, aged up Tamaki, OC; Cannon or AU. Favorite Pairings: Aizawa/Toshinori, Aizawa/Mic, Aizawa/Vlad, Aizawa/OC, Aizawa/AFO, Toshinori/AFO, Deku/Bakugo, Deku/Shinso, Deku/Shigaraki, Eijiro/Bakugo, Shigaraki/Dabi, Tamaki/Mirio, Tamaki/OC, Deku/OC, Shinso/OC, Bakugo/OC, Eijiro/OC, Shigaraki/OC, Hawks/OC, Iida/OC, Fatgum/OC, Dabi/OC, Shinso/OC, Todoroki/OC, Todoroki/Sero, Todoroki/Bakugo, Mic/OC, OC/OC. Probably more. Just ask.

Spirited Away- aged up Chihiro or OC; AU. Chihiro/Haku, OC/OC.

Naruto (I've seen maybe halfway through Shippuden, so going with that knowledge)- aged up Hinata, aged up Shino, OC; AU. Hinata/Shino, Hinata/Gaara, Shino/OC, Hinata/OC, Gaara/OC, OC/OC.

Halloween (preferably 1 or Rob Zombie's first movie version)- OC; AU. Victim OC/Michael Myers.

See No Evil- OC; AU. Jacob Goodnight/Victim OC.

Repo! The Genetic Opera- aged up Shiloh, OC; AU. Shiloh/Gravedigger, OC/OC, Gravedigger/OC.

The Purge- OC; AU. OC/OC.

Jigsaw (maybe up to the next to last movie)- OC; AU. OC/OC Jigsaw apprentice/wannabe.

HellFest- OC; AU. The Other/Victim OC.

Held- OC; AU. OC/OC.

The Walking Dead- OC; AU. OC/OC.

Buffy/Angel- OC; AU. OC/OC, Spike/OC.

Alien- OC; AU. OC/OC. Xenomorph OC/Spliced Human-Xenomorph Hybrid

Predator- OC; AU. Human OC/Yautja OC, Spliced Human OC/Yautja OC

Harry Potter- OC; AU. Snape/OC, OC/OC.​

 

[FantasticalDreamer]

{ Rampant Plunnies }

(More stars equal more interest)


**** Mine.

Omega Male/Alpha Male.

I want to play an Omega male with a female reproductive organ instead of a male organ that becomes the mate of an Alpha. Maybe they are soulmates, but both are reluctant, despite their carnal desires for one another? Or maybe the Alpha decides the delicious little Omega is his, claiming him before even running it by the little feisty male that does everything in his power to deny him. Or, perhaps, we take it medieval instead of modern and have the Alpha claiming the Omega with the Omega having no say in the matter. (I.E. Omegas are sold to the Alphas, or Omegas are prostitutes, or the Omega could be royalty married off to an Alpha for peace between lands or something, or the Omega could be a ruler that gets snatched by a feral Alpha who attacks his castle and takes out everyone but him…the possibilities are endless.) This is just a burning idea I want to roleplay somehow.



*** Untouchable

MHA Fandom

OC/Shigaraki

I want to play the OC here, and they (M or F, doesn't matter which) have a quirk that is always active. At first, they thought they were quirkless…and they were okay with that. But it turned out that their quirk is Eternal Negation. From six feet away up to the OC, all quirks are rendered useless. Nothing works around them, and those with physically manifested quirks (I.E. extra arms, a tail, ears, etc.) typically cannot use their extra physical appendage(s) and/or the senses are dulled. Because of their quirk, they've hindered both heroes and villains without meaning to. Their outlook on life is a bit bleak, and they have no real interest in helping either heroes or villains.

Something happens and a follower of Shigaraki catches wind of them. (I haven't read the manga, but I've seen all of the anime so far, which would put us with the Paranormal Liberation Front.) So they decide to try and capture them and bring them in. The would-be kidnapper blunders when their quirk is negated, and they wind up talking instead. OC is curious of things and agrees to go see Shigaraki willingly. They take the OC in, OC amazed at how many heroes are on the villain's side. They've always been kind of morally gray, so it's interesting to see. When it gets to Shigaraki, the OC irks him and he tries to use his quirk on them….and fails. From here, we can decide either for my OC to stay of their own volition, or he decides to keep them and use them. I prefer for them to stay willingly, but I am willing to compromise and go darker.



**** Survivor

Predator Fandom

Female OC Human/Male OC Yautja

Storyline 1: Predator/Alien crossover. My Female OC was terminally ill and offered a deal by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation- cryogenic sleep until they found the cure for the illness and cured her. The price was steep. It would take her selling everything she owned to match the price they wanted, and time. It was likely no one she knew or loved would be around by the time the cure was found. But…she had no family. No one she loved. And a few sparse friends. She would lose them, but they weren't all that close. Less so when they found out she was dying…so…why not? What did she have to lose? Decision made, she says goodbye to the life she led and allows them to put her to sleep.

A couple of centuries later, she is re-awakened. After a little sickness they say is normal after a couple hundred years in cryo, and getting something in her belly…she realizes she feels better than she ever has. I mean, her eyes are a little light sensitive…but she swears she's seeing things in more detail. And everything seems louder? But that could be the cryo headache they warned her about. And she feels…stronger. After settling in a couple of hours and being subjected to different tests to make sure she's alright and the cure took, a rattling of wrongness settles deep in the pit of her gut. She's not sure where it came from, or why she even feels it, but it's constantly beneath the surface, itching at her skin, reminding her it's not safe here. An hour more and she realizes why. They had aliens on the ship…dangerous beasts with tough, dark shells protecting them like armor. Two mouths, sharp teeth…acidic blood. They had escaped, and it becomes an all-out war between the scientists with their military combatants and the primordial Xenomorphs that rip and tear and drag them back to the nest for their queen.

One of the scientists finally ousts everything when they hole up in a portion of the ship that appears safe. There was experimentation going on between Xenomorphs, humans, and some other alien called the Yautja. They'd successfully spliced another human woman with the Xenomorph queen cells, and she had gone into a chrysalis and metamorphosized into something more Xenomorph-like. She was producing eggs and making those creatures. Under careful watch, of course…until she'd broken her bonds and killed the human guard… And the OC? She was spliced with Yautja cells, which rapidly regenerated her body. They were natural enemies, so they thought she would recover super strong and be able to take them out. She just stares at them a moment, stupefied. Then outrage sets in and she hisses at them in a very unhuman-like way. Do they know how stupid that was?! How was she supposed to beat those big fucking beasts?!? Yeah, she feels good. But there's no way she can beat those things all by herself! That's when he tells her she's not alone. They have another Yautja onboard, a full-blooded male they'd used the DNA from to splice her. The military had freed him, they knew that much, but his whereabouts were unknown. Maybe she could use whatever she had now to try and find and team up with him? Again, he receives a seething stare as she quips that she doesn't have an alien radar.

Events unfold, and the humans around her are killed or dragged off, one by one, until she's the last one standing. (She finds out at some point that she does have superhuman strength that can rival that of the Xenomorph, and that helps in battle.) That's when he finds her. The Yautja. After she's killed a few of the Xenomorph, and very nearly shoots him. A strange feeling of knowing and familial warmth hits her in the face as he examines her a long moment. He speaks in weird clicks and growls, but she understands it perfectly. She can't replicate the language, but he seems to understand her well enough. He marks her in the acidic blood and together they defeat the Xenomorph on the ship and await the carrier coming to take them back to his clan.

Your OC could be the male here, or he could be on the rescue ship that comes about sooner, or this could all be in my opening post leading up to her meeting of him on the ship/at Yautja Prime/on another planet. (It would be shortened drastically.) Or if you have another idea to spin off of this one, let me know!



Storyline 2: My Female OC is on one of the game reserve planets for Yautja to hunt their prey. (As seen in the movie Predators.) She's not military. More of a civilian than most she's met, but no less dangerous. Before her abduction onto the planet, she was something of a serial killer. It started with her abusive husband that she beat to death and fed to the gators…then she made a business of it. She lured abusers and pedos out into her neck of the woods, hunted them down, and killed them. The gators took care of the rest. Here she can't quite do that, of course. It was a stroke of luck that she had been abducted during a hunt of her own and she was armed to the teeth, but she still had big disadvantages against the hulking Yautja. Which is why she used every trick she possibly could to pull out her wins.

Four. She'd killed a grand total of four of them and had taken a trophy from each. A mask that can help her see in the dark and through smog and such with infrared, a spear that retracts, a lightweight breast plate that helps hide her heat signature, and a pretty little wrist blade she favors. The weapons put her guns- long out of commission thanks to lack of ammo-, serrated knives, and machete to shame. She still carries her backpack, scavenging from the dead as she goes. And she still wanders, never staying in one place too long and always coating up in mud.

What she doesn't realize is that she's survived long enough that it's roused more experienced hunters' curiosity. None of the unblooded younglings can defeat her, and they see her hunt after hunt in the feed from the younger generations' masks. Some give a constant stream to their elders and teachers, and some check in with them from time to time to see how they're faring. One of the older generations (your OC) takes particular interest in her and decides to go down, either alone or with two other blooded hunters, to see if they can do the honor of taking her life. She is a worthy kill.

From here, it can go different ways. They can fight and wind up in a compromising position that leads to other things, she can inadvertently show favor to him somehow and rouse more sexual/mating interest, maybe she defeats him but can't bring herself to kill him, vice versa, he decides to try and make her part of the clan he's from after a while because he sees promise and honor in her, maybe Bad Bloods come and they wind up fighting back to back, or Xenomorphs somehow get mixed in, etc. Come at me with your ideas.




*** Treasure

Female Pirate Captain OC/Female Princess OC

I would be playing the princess, who gets abducted on her wedding day by your OC. Maybe the wedding is taking place a good bit away from the castle, which makes her easy to snatch along with some of the castle treasures, or she was travelling by carriage near to the sea when she gets snatched up along with her dowry. Either way, she ends up in your OC's arms and out of reach of a man she doesn't want to marry. Maybe she was going to ransom MC back to her parents/husband-to-be but decides not to when she sees how dead my OC's eyes get at the thought of going back. Or maybe she just wants her for herself. Sure, my OC was a bit scared to be here in the unknown with strangers, but it's better than the life she was leading. Better than the man she was supposed to marry. Maybe he's known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, and she fears him more than anything.

I don't really have a lot going for this idea, just the starting point, so come at me with your ideas. I've never done a female/female and I'd really like to try it. The thought of strong, calloused hands on soft, tender flesh just does something to me…​

 

[FantasticalDreamer]

{ Rp Samples }

Game Planet Chaos
Male Predator/Female Human
(I'm making a fanfic off of this. No, I'm not sharing the link. I want to keep my rp life and writing account seperate. Also, yes. I realize this is present tense FP POV. I'm not very good at it, and I was practicing.)



There was whistling.
​

Whistling and a dull roar in my ears, wind rushing past me in powerful gales. The sound of fabric flapping as it snapped against my skin and the distinct feeling of falling. Like in dreams, when I'm trying to get to sleep…and I feel like I'm freefalling…but the pain tells me this isn't a dream. My eyes snap open and I almost immediately regret it, blinking rapidly against the powerful winds. Eyes watering. What the hell?!?! What…where was I..? Backyard. Hiking…hunting…white light…and then…? Tornado? I turn my head to look around, but my whole body moves, too. I flip and somersault midair, stomach lurching up to my throat. Urk…

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!!!

If it was a tornado, I'd be pulled in circles.

I'm only falling down.
​

I flailed, heart starting to pound in my ears, too. Green is rapidly approaching, misty clouds whirring by. Wait…what's that? A red blinking light. My fingers, numb from the wind, dumbly find the metal piece across my chest, straps coming from it. Is…is this a parachute?!?! Please, please! For the love of God, please let this be a parachute!! I start slamming my hands into it, trying to make it release. Or…something? Isn't there usually a pull cord or something like that? I'm not complaining! I just…don't want to hit the fucking ground and die! The green gets closer. I can make out trees. Really big fucking trees. I smash it again and again and again, heart racing. The red light stopped flashing. Did I do it? Or did I fuck it up? I think I'm going to throw up…

Whoosh!

A yelp escapes my throat as I'm pulled back a bit before continuing my descent. It slowed it up a good bit, but I'm still incoming too fast! I curl into a ball and brace for impact.

Pain.

Burning, stinging. Scrapes. Bruises. I make sure my head is covered tightly, and my arms and legs take the brunt of the impacts. It feels like it goes on forever…and then…​

"Umph!" I grunt, hitting something so hard it knocks the wind from my lungs. Black stars flash behind my eyelids, and it's all finally stopped. The wind, the falling, the pain. My limbs still throb and ache, and my lungs are struggling to draw in air…but…I'm not falling. I landed. And I'm alive.

"Holy fuck…," a man hisses.

"Hey…are you okay?" Another man…with a thick accent. European, maybe. "Can you hear me?"

"Nff…yeah," I groan, managing to open my eyes. Everything's blurry at first…but the more I blink, the more everything comes into focus. It's a dense forest riddled with trees, and roots, and plants. Really exotic-looking plants, actually. And It's muggy. Really hot…like it is at home in Louisiana, in the summertime. But it's winter. It was icy. Are we in the tropics? Like…the Amazon or some shit?

"Glad to see you survived the fall," the man with the thick accent bent into view with a small smile. "Is anything broken, you think?" He's handsome. Rugged face, squared jaw, slightly bent nose like it'd been broken and healed wrong. A mess of dark hair, and nice, deep green eyes that could easily suck me in if I let them. It didn't escape my notice, though, that he was adorned in military camo with silver dog tags peeking from the front of his jacket. I better be careful with this one…

"I…don' think so," I grunted, breath finally coming back more regularly as I tested my body. I moved my joints first, followed by limbs and digits. There was soreness, but I just…got pushed off a plane or something? So that's to be expected. No broken bones. No fractures, I think. Slowly I sit up, the world tilting some as I did. His hand was on my shoulder, helping to stabilize me. I nodded my thanks, taking a deep breath and wiping at my face. It smells earthy here. Like wild, untamed land. Beautiful…dangerous. I can feel it in my bones…

"You're kinda cute," the first man commented. I peered up to find a man with blond hair in an orange jumper. Prison inmate. Blue eyes. Small tattoos all over his face. The most notable are a teardrop beneath his right eye and a snake by his left ear that coils down around his neck.

"Behave, Richard," the military man warned. "You don't appear to be military or a prisoner…but you are armed." To the teeth.

"You got a name, babe?" Richard grinned and the military man frowned, mouth open.

"Adira," I answered before any fight could start up. I have a feeling these two don't get along very well. "I was out huntin' on my five acres in Lou'siana…but the last thing I 'member is bright white light when I turned 'round. Then I'm fallin'..? What's goin' on here?"

"Well…," military man hesitated.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Richard snorted. "I was on death row. And now." He threw his arms up. Also dangerous. Noted. You looked at the other man pointedly.

"Hah…," Mr. European shook his head. "I was on covert mission in Russia when I saw the light. Soon after, I, too, was falling from the sky. I'm from Romania…name's Grigore. I thought I died…but it is not so. Pain is not something one should be able to feel after death, no?"

"Def'nly not," I agreed with a sardonic smile. He's a long way from home, too… "Are we…in the tropics, or somethin'? The Amazon? It was jus' winter in my country. Not snowin' in my neck a the woods, o' course, but definitely icy."

"Yes…that is another…issue," Grigore frowned.

"Issue!" Richard laughed.

"Whatcha mean?" I ask as I look around, brow furrowed. There're no animals here. There's a breeze rustling the trees and plants, but…it's too quiet. Not even the hum of insects can be heard. It sets my instincts off and nerves on edge…

"I don't know," he shook his head. "The magnetic field here spun my compass in circles. I…have been to the Amazon, and this…it's not it. Or any other jungle I've been to." Well…that's disturbing. And I highly doubt that there's some electromagnetic radiation affecting the compass. This place isn't nearly urban enough for that….nor is it one of the two poles.

"'S too quiet," I add on. He sits back a little and peers out at the forest. "No animals. No bugs. That could be 'cause a my crash landin'…or…a predator's in the area. I'd reckon the latter, though. Help me up?" I held out my hand and he was quick to jump up and take it, pulling me to my feet with a grunt. The weight of the sage green and black backpack on my shoulders is a bit of a relief. I didn't think too much about it before, but now I'm glad I still have it. That means I still have a couple of canteens of water, some snacks, rope, tarp, and a few other necessities. A quick check told me I still have my rifle, two pistols, two serrated pocketknives, and a machete.

"Wait…what kinda predator?" Richard asked warily.

"Don't know," I shrugged, analyzing the space. I don't see any signs of a possible large animal in the vicinity…but I'm not an expert in tracking animals native to other countries, either. Of course…it could be a small and deadly, as well… "Um…dependin' on where we are, it could be a big cat like a tiga or panther or lion…giant bug, like a centipede…uh, anaconda, black mamba, boa constricta… I really hope it's nota harpy eagle…or a black caiman. Fuckin' vicious. I can handle gators. A crock. But a caiman? That's a whole 'notha level a bad." I don't see any tracks on the forest floor. No 'S' shape slither marks. No multiple indentions of bug legs. The trees are bare of wildlife and holes that could have been made by bugs or birds. If we're dealing with an animal that can blend in…we're screwed. I'm not used to picking out animals in this sort of environment. I don't know the tells.

"The fuck is a caiman?"

"Crocodile, grows very large," Grigore stepped in.

"An excess of sixteen feet long," I nod, starting towards a slight incline in the land. Higher ground was a logical choice. The guys quickly caught on and caught up.

"And they are very territorial and have no fear of anything. An apex predator. Carnivore. They will eat anything, even their own kind," Grigore informed. Richard paled.

"You've seen one before?" I had to ask, curious. He knows a fair bit about them.

"Once in Brazil," he inclined his head. "A, um, compatriot and I…we got a little too close to its nest in passing. We split up and ran…I thought we had outrun it. It was nighttime when we regrouped, and we were trying to figure out where we were by firelight. We didn't see it because of its dark scales. Next thing I know, there's hissing…and he's screaming. It dragged him away… I took a branch from the fire and ran after, tried to beat it off. It opened its maw, but immediately launched at him again. I can still hear the cracking of his skull in its jaw." Grigore shivered, eyes haunted. Oof. Poor guy… "I ran. Ran and ran and ran until I broke into a village. They kept me safe for the night."

"Uh, yeah…I want a gun," Richard broke into the story, hand out and fingers waving. "I'm not playing footsie with the crocagators here."

"I don't trust you with a gun," Grigore flat-out denied him. Well...he is a prisoner. From death row. And his little tear drop tattoo indicates he killed a person…

"How'd ya end up in the pen?" I asked, appraising him.

"Adira, no-"

"Drugs," he volunteered the information willingly. "I was in a drug ring, a seller…and an occasional partaker. My boss was a pretty high-rankin' member of the Mafia. We were sellin' to another gang…and things went south. I always had a gun, but I'd never had to use it before. I killed three men before they could kill me... Then I hid in an office and puked my guts out. Sirens went off, pigs flooded the place, and…I got time. Boss man got out, I got blamed, and they were gonna kill me. End of story."

"So…you're tellin' me you really don't know how to use a gun," I nodded.

"I can figure it out- I did before. Point and pull the trigger."

"I'm not gettin' killed 'causea you," I huff out through my nose, pulling out one of my two serrated pocketknives. "Catch." I throw it to him, and he fumbles with it a moment before getting a good handle on it.

"The fuck is this?"

"Felix, o' course," I smirk. The blade is wicked sharp and curved inwards, with thin, warbled black ripples across the metal. It's one of my favorites.

"You named your knife?" he snickers. A bit of pride blooms in my chest, though, when he opens it up and inspects it with a hint of appreciation in his gaze.

"Damn straight. I expect 'im back afta we get outta here."

"Yeah, whatever. It's not a gun, though," he closes it, but pockets it.

"Leave these to the experts," I counter, patting the pistol strapped to my right thigh. "We ain't gonna shoot a foot off or nothin'. Sharper shootas, an' conserver of ammo. No tellin' when or if we'll be able ta get more. Best be careful with it."

"This is true," Grigore hummed with a frown.

"Fine," Richard groused.

For a while, it was quiet.​

We walked in mildly amicable silence, both Grigore and I paying more attention to our surroundings while Richard sulked. Instead of becoming more at ease…there was a growing tension inside of me. A sense of wrongness. Where are the animals? The bugs? Everything is so deserted; it almost feels like a different planet! Like we were dropped on an empty world or something… And…is it just me? Or…does it feel like the sun hasn't moved since we started travelling? Surely it's been an hour or two…but the sun is still directly overhead… Hm. I frown, walking backwards. Maybe it just feels longer than it's been? I'm not sure. I do know I'm overheating in my camo hoodie and second pair of pants. Sweating like crazy, mahogany curly hair curling more in a frizzy mess. I wipe the sweat from my face and scan the area for…something. Anything…

Wait…what's that?​

I squint at a tree. I could have sworn something moved there… I stop completely, staring at it. My heart starts to pound again, working its way up from my chest to my throat. It's hazy, almost…but I can make out a figure against the tree if I squint. Fuckin' huge. Bigger than me. Bigger than Grigore. Broad. I can't make out features….but something is there.

"There a problem, princess?" Richard sneered.

"Do you see something?"

"Dunno," I replied flippantly. In case it's sentient. This seems almost like really high-tech military shit. Something red flashes and a chill travels down my spine. It knows. I spin on my heel and jog to catch up with them. Turning your back on a predator is a mistake…but this one hasn't attacked yet. It won't. Not yet. It's watching. Waiting. I can feel it… My fingers tighten around the handle of the pistol on my right.

"What's wrong?" Grigore shoots me a curious look as I pass, glancing back.

"Don't," I whisper, not turning back but pausing. I raise my voice just a bit. "We stay togetha, and we stay close. Yes?"

"Yes," Grigore agrees, but looks confused.

"Somethin' big's back there, ain't it?"

"Shut up," I hiss softly. "He'll hear." Understanding finally dawns on him. "We go togetha. We stick close. Do you undastand?"

"Yeah."

"Good," I nod and lead them forwards, up the hill towards a far-off break in the wood.