It's been a week.
Not once has she stepped out of her shield and I haven't tried to go in. I set my own shield up within my mind to make sure she couldn't see how much I felt bad about what I had said. No matter what she's done, or what I've done.. I'd never wish death on a persons lover.
I knew how it felt to lose that person and I knew she was still suffering from that pain. Because I, seven years later, could still feel the gaping hole inside of me from losing someone I cared about. I didn't mean what I said.. I just had to make a way for her to disassociate from caring for me.
Because if she cared, then what I had to do would hurt her more than it should've. But the look on her face.. I saw the heartbreak in her eyes when I brought Vision up. When I brought up being in part of his death. That was a lie. I left The Black Order when I realized what their ultimate mission was.
Thanos concealed to me the fact that he planned to wipe out half of the population on earth and, like I said, I'd never kill an innocent. So, I backed out and found myself in hiding but it was too late. My photograph was taken while I landed with the fleet in New York and I was already posted in every law office. I was a war criminal in everyone's eyes.
But I've only killed one person in my life.. and that was my own father.
I looked down at my hands as I settle down in the cave, watching the purple hues from the balls of energy slightly overpower the blue which was odd. I've always had predominately blue energy..
Letting my hands fall, I found my eyes drifting over the half built boat that stood within the night. It still had a lot to go but with how tireless I've become, not wanting to sleep because of nightmares plaguing my dreams, I had more time to work on it.
Plus I no longer had the occasional distraction by Wanda. I was really left alone again but it felt more quiet now than how it was with myself all these years. How could there be levels of silence; and how could they be so different?
With a huff, I leaned back, my head on my backpack as I stared up at the roof of the cave and watched the flames from the fire flicker against the cave. The colors were a bright yellow with flakes of orange which instantly brought a smile to my lips.
When transformed, Kristine had yellow eyes and they could scare the hell out of me when she wanted to. But that's who she was.. a fun, goofy person who loved scaring the crap out of me. I hated it in the moment but now, all I wanted was to relive them.
I raised my hand to my head and sighed as I tried to use my own power on myself. I wanted to sleep but have memories instead of bad dreams for once this week. So, I aimed for a section of the cave that I was sure to cause a boomerang effect and once I threw the enchantment forward, the energy bounced off of the wall and flew right back toward me.
Instantly I felt it wash over my body and a feeling of floating made me reach out to grab something but I was still on a ground. Slowly, my head laid back down and I felt the most peace I've felt in years..
Y/n.. my eyes started to flutter closed, the cave slowly starting to ease itself away from me with each second. Y/n.. wake up!
I shot up, holding my chest as she laughed wholeheartedly with a wide smile. "Kris you're gonna kill me one day." I mumbled, rolling my eyes when she waved her hand and continued jumping on my bed. "How'd you get in?"
"Your sister." She said, never haunting her actions. "But I was thinking. We should run away for the day." My eyebrows furrowed when she dropped down to her knees and leaned forward, hands on either side of my head. "Do you wanna run away with me, Y/n?"
"Um.. do you know who my mother is or..?" She rolled her eyes before rolling off of the bed and starting to throw clothes at me. "We have class today."
"I know and I'm pretty much a 'straight A' student when it comes to our studies." I hummed sarcastically but raised up and started to pull on the black cargo pants, opting for a short sleeved shirt since I know it was a particularly hot day today. "And so are you," I smiled when she turned around and grabbed the bottom of my shirt about halfway of me pulling it down to do it herself. "You're gonna be in charge of this village one day and you're gonna be the best leader we've had."
"Mm that's only if being an alpha is my calling." She rolled her eyes and started to pull away but I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back. "But if it is.. you'll be by my side, right?"
Her pink lips slowly pulled into a smile before she nodded. "Well of course." She started to lean forward, her lips nearly brushing mine.
"Class time!" I jolted in shock when my door was swung open and Y/sn stood on the other side with crossed arms and a smirk. "Oh what is this? Starting on the puppy litter already?"
"Shut up." I groaned, following Kristine out of the room. "Tell mom and you'll wake up in the middle of a lake." She waved her hand and we eventually stumbled into the kitchen where my mom stood, sipping a cup of coffee. "Morning mother."
She looked up with a smile, eyes drifting to Kristine and I. "Good morning. Ready for a day of learning?" Our eyes drifted to one another's in silence, chuckling when we had the same thought. "Hey, it's going to be a good day! We'll be out in the woods to distinguish good berries from poisonous berries, learning survival skills."
"Oh I remember that lesson," My mom nodded at Y/sn with a smile. "The most boring lesson of all, I swear." That smile quickly dropped and we all laughed at the heartbroken look on her face. "You guys enjoy that. I'm going to town to pick up supplies." She pressed a kiss to my moms head, then jogged by, her hand smacking my stomach.
"Asshole." I mumbled, holding my stomach. "See you out there, mom." I said when Kristine gave me a look, her head nodding to the side.
"Okay, here's the plan." She whispered, holding my hand as we walked down the path. "I asked my brother about the lesson for today and apparently we'll be following the trail toward the west woods. That's perfect for sneaking behind the rock until they all past. Then, we run for the East end." I laughed under my breath, making her look over at me with raised eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing it's just.. when we first met, you were the nerdiest Xouthean I've ever met and now you're all 'let's sneak out of the village' and it's funny." She waved her hand as we came close for the open area where the kids met for class.
"Well that's when I was twelve. I'm a big girl now." Big girl. She turns eighteen and suddenly thinks she's a big girl. "I heard that." She whispered, nudging my shoulder as my mom walked forward with her usual authoritative but welcoming aura.
"Good to see everyone here. It's going to be a long, walking day so.. I hope you're all prepared for that." A collective of groans filled the air but she ignored it with a soft smile. "We're also going to learn to fish with sticks, a trick I was taught by Y/dn. And I assure you, you won't be groaning if you're stuck in the wilderness and need to eat."
Eventually we all started walking through the forest, leaving our little civilization. "Miss Y/ln?" Kristine said and I looked over at her when she walked closer to my mom, speaking low enough for the rest of the class not to hear. But knowing them, they wouldn't care anyways since most of them were still half asleep. "Recently I've been having trouble with some things.."
My mom looked over at her, nodding for her to continue. "Okay so, I knew we naturally have a bigger appetite but last night I ate like, an entire turkey by myself, and then about four drumsticks. And I'm also like, hearing voices in my head.. it's weird."
I smiled to myself and felt my mom look over at me at the same time, almost sensing my feelings. "Truthfully," she looked back at Kristine. "Your inner wolf is waking up, dear. It usually happens around the time you're intimate with.. a mate."
Instantly, her face flushed and I chuckled lowly while sliding my hands into my pockets. "Intimate has more than one meaning. Please tell her that before she drowns herself in embarrassment." I said while joining in on their conversation.
"True. It can be as little as sharing a mind link for the first time or as big as what you're thinking right now." Kristine covered her face with a groan at my moms words. "Don't forget to put your shield up when within your own walls, hun." My mom said, resting her hand on my shoulder with a pointed look before walking ahead of us again.
"Your mom knows?" Kristine whispered, laying against my shoulder as we stopped in front of a lake.
I shrugged and pulled her into my side. "She does. But it's okay because we're both eighteen now and can do whatever we want." I winked, chuckling when she turned her head into my shoulder to hide her face. "Did you know that in five days it'll be three years since I asked you to be my girlfriend."
"Of course I know." She said, lifting her head again. "We should do something special." And I did have something special planned. A, bending on one knee, holding a ring, something special. I know we were eighteen but, according to my mom, this was the age that most teenagers got married when she was my age. Then again, she was eighteen probably three hundred years ago so.. things were different then.
But I didn't care. I knew Kristine was meant to be my wife. I could feel it and we always had the connection my dad spoke of with our kind. Of course I had the witch side of me from my mom and they didn't have mates, but my dad said our kind would feel a deep pain when we couldn't be with our mates. And that's how you knew they were your 'person.' I felt that with her.
So, on our third year, I would propose and hopefully get a yes in response.
After learning about how to use a sharpened stick to fish, we were walking down a path when I saw the large rock that marked as our entrance to the east end of our territory.
"Come on." Kristine grabbed my hand and she raised her hand, motioning me to grab her hand, so, I did. "Wait until they past the second boulder, than we run." I nodded and pressed my back against the rock before raising my hand and waving the blue strings of energy through my head so my mom wouldn't be able to hear my thoughts. "I'll never get tired of that." She whispered, smiling as she flipped my hand over. "Can you make something?"
Nodding, I looked down and focused on my hand before conjuring up the blue waves that swam around my palm before curating a small silver charm on a chain. "K and Y/initial forever." She read quietly, then smiled up at me. "No, fiveever." I chuckled before changing the four to a five, then raising up and pulling it to lock around her neck. "I'll never take it off.."
"Yeah you better not. I'm not good at conjuration but for some reason, I can make necklaces without even thinking about it." She giggled and looked down at it with a smile. "You like it?"
"Love it, make one for yourself too." I nodded and looked down at my hand as I conjured up another charm, no necklace this time. "Why no chain?"
"Because.." I slid it onto the lace of my boot, making sure it was tight. "You always hold me up.. and I'll always keep you guarded." She pouted slightly before leaning forward to connect our lips, her hands holding the side of my face.
"Y/n! Kristine!" My eyes widened as I looked up when I heard my moms loud call but a tug of my hand had me up and running.
Kristine laced our fingers together, laughing joyfully as we ran in the opposite direction of everyone else. Though it felt good to be bad, I felt happier watching her happy. My little nerd turned mischievous like me.. I love it.
We ran until we broke free from the forest and stumbled upon a road that was long as downhill. Down the hill? The town we hardly ever visited. It was mostly out of precaution because most of the kids here were from Xouthea and getting a visa from outer space was a lot harder than like a person from another country. So, we stayed a secret and away from most civilizations.
"So, what should we do?" I smiled, swinging our hands as we walked down the road. "Whatever we want."
-
"I didn't even know they made chicken that big." Kristine said as we walked back up the road from our long day. We spent most of it in the town shops and eating. She wasn't lying when she said we had a bigger appetite than before. I could eat a whole deer if I saw one walking by.
That was a joke.. we don't hunt wild gain like animals. We have morals.
"We should come back. Not soon because my moms probably gonna ground me but.. maybe go to the movie theaters? I heard they have a new movie out where people turn to wolves and vampires." She laughed deeply, her head dropping back. "Yeah it looks ridiculous."
"I saw those trailers! They turned to full wolves and were like, always shirtless. Hilarious." I nodded in agreement. Imagine if every boy at our village ran around shirtless? That would be a mess. "I like the way humans portray us though. It's cute."
"They did get one thing right.." I said, smiling when she looked over at me. "The feeling you get from finding your mate is unmatched." I threw my arm over her shoulder again and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you."
She turned and kissed my cheek back. "I love you t-" She froze suddenly and I furrowed my eyebrows at her silence, her hands reaching for my stomach.
"What?" I asked, pulling back when she gasped for air and lowered to her knees. "Kris what's going on?" I dropped to my knees and raised my hand to her head since she seemed unable to talk. Instantly, I saw flashes of fire, screaming, and smoke. "Oh my, God." I whispered and quickly raised my other hand to her head before placing a coverage over her mind and body to protect her from what would soon be reaching me.
I knew it was because I had my shield up and as soon as I put it down, I'd be able to feel what she felt. "The village." She whimpered, quickly raising up once my spell covered her enough to pull her from the trance. "Our people.."
Nodding, I raised my hand and tapped my forehead which took me right to everyone who was connected through our mind link. They were screaming for help. "Come on." I lifted up and we both ran as fast as we could through the woods, dodging each tree which was a first for me.
"Wait wait," she pulled my arm and slid us behind the tree in time to see a woman dressed in black, her hand waving above the village as she caused the main source of terror. I watched with wide eyes when she pointed her hands forward and the purple glow from her hands pulled energy from each person. "What's she doing?"
I swallowed thickly, hearing about dark magic from my mom. "Taking their power." I whispered, clutching the tree when she turned her attention to my mom who stood guard in front of all of the kids from our class.
I closed my eyes, trying to focus my attention of their talking voices. "You need to stop this." My mom said.
The lady laughed. "Oh darling, you started it. I'm just taking back what's mine."
"My brother." Kristine suddenly said, her hands dropping down as she let her nails grow. "I gotta get to him."
"Kris no.. just wait." I tried to pull her back but she ran and started screaming.
"Hey wicked witch of the west!" I held the tree tightly when her attention turned to Kristine. "I think the green looked better on you.."
The lady's eyes squinted, her hand raising and I knew what that meant. "No!" I shot forward, my jump almost a fly as I landed in front of Kristine just as I felt a blast of energy to my chest which sent me flying backwards.
But I wasn't dead.. or draining.
I raised my hands to my chest and inhaled deeply as I looked around in shock. "Well would you look at that." The lady, who was still flying, slowly dropped down to her feet and walked toward me, her hand raised at her side which seemed to keep my mom stuck in her place as she screamed for me.
I instantly backed away to hold my right arm out, keeping it in front of Kristine in protection. "Girlfriend?" The lady questioned, smirking once she stopped in front of me. "That's adorable.. makes me remember the good old days of being in love." Her eyes raised to my moms. "You remember those days, Y/mn?" My head tilted in confusion as I looked back at my mom. How'd she know..
"You need to leave." Kristine spat out and I sudden wanted to tape her mouth shut.
The lady laughed and nodded. "Oh I will. Let me just.." I felt my body lock up in place as I become paralyzed before being lifted up and slowly joining my mom who was also held back.
Now it was nothing between us and everyone else. She wasn't.. My eyes widened when the lady raised her hand and started to point her hands at everyone, my heart dropping when the energy started to be sucked from them.
Despite the feeling of being held down, I managed to press my hands against the ground, my eyes on Kristine's who watched me while dropping down to her knees. I screamed but it didn't even makes it's way to my ear, only the sound of echos and her fleeting breath.
She's dying, I thought to myself, trying to push through the energy locking me down. My muscles burned with every move I made, like an inch was a mile. I kept crawling forward, Kristine now slowly slouching over before falling to her side.
"I knew you'd be a strong one." The lady said but I ignored her and kept inching forward. But with one flick of her wrist, I was being sunk into the ground like an earthworm. "Ah ah ah." I squinted and held my hand up as a blast of heat blew against me, a clear forcefield locking me out.
I dropped slightly as a tear fell down Kristine's cheek, her lips moving enough for me to hear her whisper. "It's okay." She nodded and I saw the dust started to float from her body as she began to fade like everyone else.
My head shook. I couldn't give up. Raising my hand, I tried to use what I could of my power but the blue energy barely penetrated the lady's purple. I cried out in pain and pushed my hand as far as I could when suddenly, I was blindness by a bright snap of a light that sent me flying back once more.
The burning of my muscles was gone with that snap.. and so was everyone else. "No.." my mom whispered as she raised up and looked around but I was running for the empty space, my knees dropping where Kristine once was. But all that laid was a single chain.. the charm not attached to it. She took the charm with her..
I dropped my hands into the dirt, feeling a wave of anger and sadness and pain run through me. "Y/n.." My mom whispered but I was in my own head, wanting to snap someone neck. "I know it hurts but don't let it consume you."
My eyes closed, hands turning to fists as a deep scream left my lips. It wasn't like it was when I screamed for Kristine or how I'd scream in pain from breaking a bone. It sounded different and I could feel it. I felt a shift within me as I raised my head and shot my hands forward, a blueish purple energy leaving my hands and hitting a tree which instantly caught on fire.
"It's okay." I felt my mom wrap her arms around me and I cried. I cried harder than I've ever had because not only did I lose my home.. I lost who I once called my home. "It's okay.. I promise everything will be okay." She pressed a kiss to my head and pulled me tighter.
"My child.." I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled heavily. "You won't lose everything again." My head shook instinctively.
This isn't how the memory goes..
"Y/n look at me." Raising my head, I felt my mom hold my face as she smiled sadly at me. "Everything will be okay.. but you have to make it okay." I shook my head as she swiped her thumb under my eyes to swipe my tears away. "Look at her." I looked down at the space where Kristine was suppose to be. "Not her.." my eyes drifted up and I saw a cabin.. the cabin. "Make it okay, Y/n."
Gasping, I raised up and held my chest as my body went through a wave of static like electricity. A side effect I was not aware of..
As I held myself up, looking around the cave, I saw my fire had went out but it didn't matter because the sun was now up and the early morning birds were chirping.
I pushed myself to my feet and grabbed my shirt as I pulled it on, slowly walking out of the cave with squinted eyes. The cold was back and nippy but with my always heated skin, it was bearable. My gaze then turned to the woods where I still saw the red bubble keeping me from entering. Make that eight days..
With a sigh, I looked down at my ring and saw it glowing slightly which brought me back to the backend of my 'memory.' Was my mom really speaking with me?
I mean, I didn't know much about the afterlife, especially the afterlife with witches but.. was it possible that she could have actually spoken with me? Was that possible?
I stared at the bubble for a moment later and thought about 'making it okay' with Wanda. What I said was harsh but it needed to be said, right? It was to help her not get attached to me and vice versa.
Obviously it wasn't the truth. The only Avenger I ever wanted to hurt was her. Not that toaster of a man. I wasn't even there. I left as soon as Thanos revealed his big plan. Wipe out half the universe? I never agreed to that, so I wouldn't agree to killing Vision..
But now she believes that I did have part in it and I had no remorse. But I did, and I do.. Not like she'd care anyways. Turning around, I grabbed my stick and slowly made my way to the lake to grab myself a couple fish for breakfast. I kind of missed her little breakfast visits, now that I think about it.
Without even knowing, she seemed to always make my favorites. Especially those damn breakfast burritos.. I don't even know how she wraps it so perfectly.
I chuckled to myself at the thought of how I tried to act unaffected each time but she does make good ass food. My smile slightly dropped when I looked over my shoulder, not smelling anything but dirt, sea water, and the morning air. Without looking, I shot my stick down and felt the same puncture I've felt for the last week.. now eight days.
Fish and berries for breakfast. Again.
Well, mom was right about one thing.. I stuck this fish over the fire again and sat down on the rock, watching it cook. I'm stuck in the wilderness and need to eat. No groaning in sight.
That's when I smelled it. Mint and honey. I perked up immediately and pulled the fish from the flame so I wouldn't burn it. Internally, I felt a weird jump from within a 'she's finally coming' jump.
That's when I saw her red hair break from the trees as she walked toward the bubble that moved at her will. I smiled. "H-"
I couldn't get my words out when I saw a flash of something flying toward me. I quickly caught what she threw, my eyes drawing down to my arms where I saw a small black bag that carried a bit of weight. When I looked up, she was already turning back around and walking back through the forcefield without looking back.
That feeling from within seemed to fall as fast at it jumped. But, looking through the bag, I couldn't help but smile.
Three cans of vegetables, three cans of sliced potatoes, and.. I looked up and chuckled, my head shaking. "Very funny." I mumbled and pulled out the single bottle of water.
My moms words popped up in my head again, make it okay.. well how the hell am I suppose to do that on the outside of a bubble?
____