A Garden of Flowers and Bones [Lloyd Garmadon x Reader]

Chapter 3: Visitors (Prt 1)

The look on Y/N's face was priceless. It sent Beathán into a fit of laughter (or the restrained chuckles and puffs of air from his nostrils- the only way he ever truly laughed since he was so disciplined), which only served to intensify the young woman's aggravation. She ripped some stray grass out of the ground with a closed fist, and, noticing her plight, Dareth patted her shoulder.

He had told her that her shift could be covered for the day after she arrived in the late morning and had touched on the Black Annis situation, so Dareth had encouraged her to spend the rest of the day with her sister.

Y/N very rarely brought Dwyn into town. Part of the reason was because of the protections on the house, which made it the safest place for someone who kept getting repeatedly targeted by mystical child eaters. The pathway could be dangerous for Dwyn if they left town late and the damned nutters were persistent enough. Y/N certainly didn't bring her musket to town, and her crappy, unpolished sword play would be a delay of the inevitable at best, no matter what nonsense Beathán spouted to make her feel better.

Thankfully, Black Annis were nocturnal creatures and rarely ventured into the daytime, as were most Fey, so there was no physical threat right now. Except for the tangible embarrassment felt at yet another failed match. Either way, Y/N felt comfortable leaving Dwyn at home after serving the youngster some blueberry porridge for breakfast and spending the majority of the morning at her side, assessing whether she could even be left to her devices.

Dwyn had seemingly mentally recovered from the day prior. She was a happy-go-lucky kid who bounced back quickly from things that upset her, and it seemed that confirmation that her tormenter had been taken care of had given her a spring in her step.

Y/N wanted to hurry back to her as quickly as possible, but getting some training for a couple hours was important in case they were attacked directly. Besides, renewing the barrier would require her actively venturing into the forest, and she didn't want to go in there unprepared. She needed to be able to defend herself, or else Dwyn would be left alone with no guardian. The plan was to take off back home sooner rather than later.

Her foot was aching, though. Probably better to stop here.

"Heeeey, don't say that," Dareth scolded the veteran, "She's trying her best. Even if she sucks..."

From across the way, a few of her co-workers began heading towards them at a leisurely pace. Notably, Gayle was chatting lightly with Malik, who looked way better than he had the day before.

"You're both terrible," She cursed, and Beathán, being a horrible, awful person, only laughed openly in response, "You're terrible!!"

"Wow, and after the pep talk I gave you?"

"You just said I sucked, you absolute twit! What kinda pep talk is that??"

"Where is the lie, though?" Inquired Ingrid, who stopped before them.

"Oh, great. You're here, too."

As much as Ingrid was funny and relatable, when her sardonic attitude was directed to Y/N, it was infinitely less funny.

"She's just a sore loser," Still, Beathán held a hand out to her, and she took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her right foot, where she hopped for a moment before swinging her left foot forward and distributing her weight equally.

It was a weird little habit of hers. Beathán thought it was sort of cute. Like a rabbit.

She readjusted her grip on the dusty broadsword in her right hand, which was significantly weighed down. Quickly, she grasped the handle with both hands instead.