Handcuffed / Bound Together
Aug. 6th, 2013 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rekamatikName: Dead Weight
Author: Reka
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mild Adult Themes
Word Count: 1928
Fandom: original
Characters/Pairings: OMC (Conleth Emery), OFC (Acinyah), OFC (Zoe McCoy), OFC (Korya)
Summary: It's a cliffhanger, you're going to hate me.
For:![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
trope_bingo "handcuffed / bound together"
The rope used to bind her wrists to Conleth's was a crude thing. It had also been applied with some force and was currently cutting circulation off somewhat in her hands. Now, normally, she would have already been out of these ridiculous restraints and off causing her enemies enough misery to ensure she wasn't troubled again. Unfortunately those enemies had a few things that tipped the scale to their favor. One : she was literally bound to one of the very few people in the entirety of the world that it would cause her physical harm to disobey. Two : it was vitally important that the mutt did not realize this fact less he use that against her in the future. Three : the ingenious and irritating bear shifters had realized she was far from the average wolf girl and encircled her wrists with metal bracelets in addition to the ropes. Far from being decorative, they were actually quite hideous, the bracelets seemed to have some sort of dampening power on her magic that not only stifled it but twisted it back on the user. Acinyah had burn marks across her forearms to prove that fact. However most importantly was number four on her list.
And that was that she and Conleth were not the only ones within this place. Both Zoe - one of the few mortals Acinyah could tolerate, and Korya - Conleth's former mate - were within the encampment. While Korya and Acinyah shared little love lost and neither would mourn the loss of the other Acinyah could not risk Korya without also putting Zoe in danger. The warriors had been warned that their less defensible brethern would pay the cost of any defiance shown.
She knew well that Conleth was not sitting their idly. He had not made his way to Alpha of his Pack by idly contemplating and boo hooing the obstacles that came his way. Despite the collision of several extremely different opinions of her husband (anything from loathing to the fledgling's passionate love, betrayal because she knew he still sought out - or did not deny himself - the company of Korya, and disgust that she'd succumbed to a youngling's love for the man who was her enemy) she could respect that he was an experienced leader and warrior. Her utter disregard for his orders and outright defiance not withstanding of course.
"Well? What are we going to do?" Acinyah asked. She was too blood proud and foolish to keep her voice down. While there had always been much in her life to fear - even the oh so fragile mortal shifter beside her could cause her excruciating pain with a single command - the Cerberon lived and breathed pride. It was life blood to them.
"Shut up." Conleth replied. His voice was not whispered but neither did it carry. It was pitched for her ears alone. Acinyah opened her mouth to reply when one of their keepers came up and applied a boot to the side of her ribs with enough force to move her though she was firmly tied to the stake. Her earlier outburst had no doubt drawn his attention and he had taken swift action to correct her behavior. Acinyah cataloged the hurt and then dismissed it. She disobeyed Conleth's commands so regularly that the rib bruising force the bear had applied bothered her little at all. Still little was likely to happen while she still had their attention. Acinyah shut up.
At least for five minutes. Then she was talking again. This time she took somewhat more care to lower her voice and pitch it to reach the man beside her and no others. "Well? What is it? You can see the fires from here. We're running out of time."
Bears were intelligent. For shifters. They had a time honored tradition of executing the loved ones of the leaders. This served the dual purpose of disheartening the Alpha and disposing of the one most likely able to rally the troops. It was no secret to the bears that their wolf brothers mated for life. Conleth's marriage to Acinyah had been political and against the wishes of all parties involved. Excepting her father of course. The bears thus were targeting Zoe who was his sister and a healer and Korya who was his true mate. They would die once the bonfire had been built up high enough to kill. Even now Acinyah would wager that they were prepping the two women.
"I can see the fires. I can also see the five men patrolling this area, and the camp of warriors between us and them. Now shut the fuck up and let me think." Conleth's voice wasn't even all that irritated sounding. Then again even with her rather impressive ability to ruffle his Alpha calm Acinyah only rarely managed to get him to yell. Some Alpha thing about being in control meant being in command... Ridiculous. The one with the power was the one in control. That was how her people lived.
The more smoke that clouded the sky, the excited murmur of the occupants of this place, the oppressive feeling that they were looking forward to killing a girl who gave nothing but light and laughter to all those around her had Acinyah's natural impatience shining through. She wanted to be moving. She wanted to be closing the distance between herself and Zoe right now, not waiting until Conleth figured out a 'plan'. In a few moments Acinyah had made a lock jawed decision. If she stayed here at this pole because she feared a few burns and the stupid blonde who somehow had burrowed a hole into her heart suffered because of it Acinyah would likely hate herself forever.
"Fuck it." She muttered. Reaching inside herself to the place where fire lived Acinyah grabbed it. It wriggled within her control like a living beast. It was living in many ways. It grew stronger all the time and she had so little control over it at times her own power felt unruly within her breast. It slipped from her a few times until she grabbed it firmly and threw it at the ropes. Far more than she had tried before. It did the trick and seared the rope that secured her and Conleth to the pole neatly. It also left burns up past her elbows. She was free of the post but an experimental tug on her restraints showed she was still weighed down rather heavily by Conleth himself. Apparently the restraints they used to bind the two of them together were made of precious metal. What an honor. She hadn't felt it before because of the loss of circulation to her hands and the fact that she had been slightly unconscious when they'd been restrained.
She could tell the swift action irritate her fearless leader but he was not so foolish as to dismiss the opportunity. It did not take long for him to decide on a plan of action. It would have been perfect if only he moved in acceptable and predictable ways. They got in each others way as much as their enemies and at least two of the bears lived long enough to sound a roar of a call to alert their comrades of trouble. Acinyah cursed Conleth for ten different kinds of a fool and was certain he did so right back within the confines of his own mind. They started moving from stake to stake to release his warriors. Within the routine they found a balance of sorts. She was both surprised and uneasy at the ease with which they could work together.
There were only a few weapons near enough at hand and they were on the bodies of the bears. Back up would be on it's way shortly if the ground shaking lope of several oversized beasts was any indication. Conleth's people armed themselves. Together they made a beeline for the fires. The rest of those women who'd been taken would likely be put under increased guard but left alone. With the fire licking the night sky though both Zoe and Korya were likely on their way to a very horrible death.
There was resistance met along the way of course. Even with a few hundred pounds of dead weight on one arm Acinyah was still a force to be reckoned with. She was faster, stronger, trained for over two thousand years in how to fight. She could match the bears for power which was their main advantage over their natural enemies. If only Conleth did not keep getting in her way... And it was worse when he did so and she cursed at him only to find herself a hairs breath away from a massive blow from an opponent or a swipe of claws that seemed seven inches long and curved wickedly to separate meat from bone. He had a few cuts but fewer than any of the men or women who fought with him. She was unmarked except for the burns. It irked her to admit he had done a better job looking after her than she had him and Acinyah vowed mentally to do a better job as they progressed. Only so that he did not win in any category of course. Obviously it would be easier if some bear tore his head from his shoulders and ended her forced marriage.
She only contemplated it for a bit.
They were close now. Acinyah had minded her previous vow, using the strength she had to deflect some of the attacks not even Conleth could manage to evade. He was skilled enough as a warrior that he required her assistance little at all but she took pride in the fact that with her to watch his back he had not picked up even a single extra wound.
Zoe and Korya were indeed at the fire. Their chief, a bear who even as a human approached seven feet tall and looked ferocious. With him all dressed in bear skins it took a few minutes of careful study to assure herself that he was not, in fact, still in bear form. He was not though. Just huge and intimidating and holding one of the women in each hand. At the sight of Conleth's force and their slow but steady approach through his warriors the Chief took the most direct course of action. He began to drag both women towards the flame. Korya was a warrior. Acinyah saw the moment when she distracted the Chief sufficiently for him to drop Zoe to subdue her. When the Chief picked up Korya and approached the bonfire.
Conleth started forward. Passion could rule even his head and with both his sister and mate in harms way something so little as reason didn't make much of a dent in his fool head. He dragged Acinyah forward with him, their bound wrists making it more difficult for her to try to restrain him while she also kept his fool head from being dented. They were getting close when she saw the two magic users within the bears grab at their totem chains and start to chant. While she might not recognize the spell Acinyah could see magic in motion. She'd trained for three centuries to acquire that skill. She dug her feet in, slowing Conleth's forward momentum to a standstill as he struggled and cussed against her and one of his warriors tried to knock her off her balance and Zoe screamed and Korya began her descent into the flames.
Author: Reka
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mild Adult Themes
Word Count: 1928
Fandom: original
Characters/Pairings: OMC (Conleth Emery), OFC (Acinyah), OFC (Zoe McCoy), OFC (Korya)
Summary: It's a cliffhanger, you're going to hate me.
For:
trope_bingo "handcuffed / bound together"The rope used to bind her wrists to Conleth's was a crude thing. It had also been applied with some force and was currently cutting circulation off somewhat in her hands. Now, normally, she would have already been out of these ridiculous restraints and off causing her enemies enough misery to ensure she wasn't troubled again. Unfortunately those enemies had a few things that tipped the scale to their favor. One : she was literally bound to one of the very few people in the entirety of the world that it would cause her physical harm to disobey. Two : it was vitally important that the mutt did not realize this fact less he use that against her in the future. Three : the ingenious and irritating bear shifters had realized she was far from the average wolf girl and encircled her wrists with metal bracelets in addition to the ropes. Far from being decorative, they were actually quite hideous, the bracelets seemed to have some sort of dampening power on her magic that not only stifled it but twisted it back on the user. Acinyah had burn marks across her forearms to prove that fact. However most importantly was number four on her list.
And that was that she and Conleth were not the only ones within this place. Both Zoe - one of the few mortals Acinyah could tolerate, and Korya - Conleth's former mate - were within the encampment. While Korya and Acinyah shared little love lost and neither would mourn the loss of the other Acinyah could not risk Korya without also putting Zoe in danger. The warriors had been warned that their less defensible brethern would pay the cost of any defiance shown.
She knew well that Conleth was not sitting their idly. He had not made his way to Alpha of his Pack by idly contemplating and boo hooing the obstacles that came his way. Despite the collision of several extremely different opinions of her husband (anything from loathing to the fledgling's passionate love, betrayal because she knew he still sought out - or did not deny himself - the company of Korya, and disgust that she'd succumbed to a youngling's love for the man who was her enemy) she could respect that he was an experienced leader and warrior. Her utter disregard for his orders and outright defiance not withstanding of course.
"Well? What are we going to do?" Acinyah asked. She was too blood proud and foolish to keep her voice down. While there had always been much in her life to fear - even the oh so fragile mortal shifter beside her could cause her excruciating pain with a single command - the Cerberon lived and breathed pride. It was life blood to them.
"Shut up." Conleth replied. His voice was not whispered but neither did it carry. It was pitched for her ears alone. Acinyah opened her mouth to reply when one of their keepers came up and applied a boot to the side of her ribs with enough force to move her though she was firmly tied to the stake. Her earlier outburst had no doubt drawn his attention and he had taken swift action to correct her behavior. Acinyah cataloged the hurt and then dismissed it. She disobeyed Conleth's commands so regularly that the rib bruising force the bear had applied bothered her little at all. Still little was likely to happen while she still had their attention. Acinyah shut up.
At least for five minutes. Then she was talking again. This time she took somewhat more care to lower her voice and pitch it to reach the man beside her and no others. "Well? What is it? You can see the fires from here. We're running out of time."
Bears were intelligent. For shifters. They had a time honored tradition of executing the loved ones of the leaders. This served the dual purpose of disheartening the Alpha and disposing of the one most likely able to rally the troops. It was no secret to the bears that their wolf brothers mated for life. Conleth's marriage to Acinyah had been political and against the wishes of all parties involved. Excepting her father of course. The bears thus were targeting Zoe who was his sister and a healer and Korya who was his true mate. They would die once the bonfire had been built up high enough to kill. Even now Acinyah would wager that they were prepping the two women.
"I can see the fires. I can also see the five men patrolling this area, and the camp of warriors between us and them. Now shut the fuck up and let me think." Conleth's voice wasn't even all that irritated sounding. Then again even with her rather impressive ability to ruffle his Alpha calm Acinyah only rarely managed to get him to yell. Some Alpha thing about being in control meant being in command... Ridiculous. The one with the power was the one in control. That was how her people lived.
The more smoke that clouded the sky, the excited murmur of the occupants of this place, the oppressive feeling that they were looking forward to killing a girl who gave nothing but light and laughter to all those around her had Acinyah's natural impatience shining through. She wanted to be moving. She wanted to be closing the distance between herself and Zoe right now, not waiting until Conleth figured out a 'plan'. In a few moments Acinyah had made a lock jawed decision. If she stayed here at this pole because she feared a few burns and the stupid blonde who somehow had burrowed a hole into her heart suffered because of it Acinyah would likely hate herself forever.
"Fuck it." She muttered. Reaching inside herself to the place where fire lived Acinyah grabbed it. It wriggled within her control like a living beast. It was living in many ways. It grew stronger all the time and she had so little control over it at times her own power felt unruly within her breast. It slipped from her a few times until she grabbed it firmly and threw it at the ropes. Far more than she had tried before. It did the trick and seared the rope that secured her and Conleth to the pole neatly. It also left burns up past her elbows. She was free of the post but an experimental tug on her restraints showed she was still weighed down rather heavily by Conleth himself. Apparently the restraints they used to bind the two of them together were made of precious metal. What an honor. She hadn't felt it before because of the loss of circulation to her hands and the fact that she had been slightly unconscious when they'd been restrained.
She could tell the swift action irritate her fearless leader but he was not so foolish as to dismiss the opportunity. It did not take long for him to decide on a plan of action. It would have been perfect if only he moved in acceptable and predictable ways. They got in each others way as much as their enemies and at least two of the bears lived long enough to sound a roar of a call to alert their comrades of trouble. Acinyah cursed Conleth for ten different kinds of a fool and was certain he did so right back within the confines of his own mind. They started moving from stake to stake to release his warriors. Within the routine they found a balance of sorts. She was both surprised and uneasy at the ease with which they could work together.
There were only a few weapons near enough at hand and they were on the bodies of the bears. Back up would be on it's way shortly if the ground shaking lope of several oversized beasts was any indication. Conleth's people armed themselves. Together they made a beeline for the fires. The rest of those women who'd been taken would likely be put under increased guard but left alone. With the fire licking the night sky though both Zoe and Korya were likely on their way to a very horrible death.
There was resistance met along the way of course. Even with a few hundred pounds of dead weight on one arm Acinyah was still a force to be reckoned with. She was faster, stronger, trained for over two thousand years in how to fight. She could match the bears for power which was their main advantage over their natural enemies. If only Conleth did not keep getting in her way... And it was worse when he did so and she cursed at him only to find herself a hairs breath away from a massive blow from an opponent or a swipe of claws that seemed seven inches long and curved wickedly to separate meat from bone. He had a few cuts but fewer than any of the men or women who fought with him. She was unmarked except for the burns. It irked her to admit he had done a better job looking after her than she had him and Acinyah vowed mentally to do a better job as they progressed. Only so that he did not win in any category of course. Obviously it would be easier if some bear tore his head from his shoulders and ended her forced marriage.
She only contemplated it for a bit.
They were close now. Acinyah had minded her previous vow, using the strength she had to deflect some of the attacks not even Conleth could manage to evade. He was skilled enough as a warrior that he required her assistance little at all but she took pride in the fact that with her to watch his back he had not picked up even a single extra wound.
Zoe and Korya were indeed at the fire. Their chief, a bear who even as a human approached seven feet tall and looked ferocious. With him all dressed in bear skins it took a few minutes of careful study to assure herself that he was not, in fact, still in bear form. He was not though. Just huge and intimidating and holding one of the women in each hand. At the sight of Conleth's force and their slow but steady approach through his warriors the Chief took the most direct course of action. He began to drag both women towards the flame. Korya was a warrior. Acinyah saw the moment when she distracted the Chief sufficiently for him to drop Zoe to subdue her. When the Chief picked up Korya and approached the bonfire.
Conleth started forward. Passion could rule even his head and with both his sister and mate in harms way something so little as reason didn't make much of a dent in his fool head. He dragged Acinyah forward with him, their bound wrists making it more difficult for her to try to restrain him while she also kept his fool head from being dented. They were getting close when she saw the two magic users within the bears grab at their totem chains and start to chant. While she might not recognize the spell Acinyah could see magic in motion. She'd trained for three centuries to acquire that skill. She dug her feet in, slowing Conleth's forward momentum to a standstill as he struggled and cussed against her and one of his warriors tried to knock her off her balance and Zoe screamed and Korya began her descent into the flames.
