Home Artists Posts Import Register

Content

They didn’t have to venture far beyond the impromptu field hospital for Yang to discover that what looked like regular plains sweeping across the horizon were anything but normal.  The grass wasn’t even normal grass - unless she somehow never noticed that one side of each blade was blue and the other was green, resulting in an incredible flutter of colors whenever the wind shifted.  The small shrubs and spindly trees were also new shapes splashed with new colors, though she wouldn't put it past herself to have missed the subtle details before.

But something…different…lingered in the air.  The sights, sounds, and smells combined in a familiar yet entirely new symphony.  Even the expansive forest in the distance, with massive trees and several towering mountain ranges, looked drawn from someone’s imagination.

Then there was Blake, whose cat-like ears twisted and turned with the breeze.  She held herself with a regal composure that Yang wouldn't expect to stumble across in the middle of nowhere.  Her gaze swept the scenery with intelligence and certainty that Yang recognized from a past life, very similar to soldiers scanning and analyzing a situation at all times.

“So this is Menagerie?” Yang asked after they had walked a half mile through blue-green grass that came up to her knees.

“It’s all Menagerie.”  Blake gestured to the rolling plains and the dense forest in the distance.  “Everything you see.”

“I don’t see a lot of people,” Yang commented before shooting Blake a sideways glance.  “Should you be out here all by yourself?”

“You were out here by yourself, and only one of us was bleeding to death.”

Yang bit her lip at the remark but ultimately laughed.  Blake’s ears swiveled toward the sound, and she smiled when Yang started nodding.

“Got me there.  Guess I shouldn’t question your survival skills when you’re clearly more equipped than me.”

Yang motioned to Blake’s clothing, which had subtly shifted color ever since they left the shade.  The deep black had gained a green-blue hue that subtly blended in with the grass around them.

“Meanwhile, I stick out like a sore thumb,” Yang added, playfully shaking her head at her boring jacket and pants.  While functional and sturdy, they were nothing compared to whatever Blake was wearing.

“You are pretty visible.”  Blake shot Yang a smirk before squinting toward the clouds and the mountains in the distance.  “We should be fine though.”

Yang wanted to ask why they might not be fine, but she hurried to keep up with Blake instead.

“Do you walk everywhere?” she asked, earning another amused glance.

“Of course not.”

Rather than explain, Blake motioned for Yang to follow her up the rolling hill they’d been ascending for a good while now.  Once they reached the crest of the hill, which gently sloped down to a valley below, Yang drew in a breath.

A small, incredibly blue lake sparkled in the sunshine while a herd of remarkable creatures grazed nearby.  The animals resembled horses, but their emerald-green coat almost perfectly camouflaged them amongst the lush plains of grass.  Rather than manes, they sported leaf-like extensions that fluttered whenever they shook their heads.  Their strong, muscular legs ended in hooves that splayed out in two, making them look incredibly nimble while they picked their way through the grass and stones on the lake’s bank.  But, their most fascinating features were the antler-like growths spouting from their heads, which resembled petrified wood rather than a typical deer or reindeer antler.

“What’re those?” Yang whispered while Blake motioned for her to crouch.

“Striders.”

Yang mouthed the name to herself while following Blake through the tall grass, keeping her eyes on the creatures the entire time.  At least five dozen striders grazed around the lake, pulling out clumps of grass.  As Blake led Yang closer, Yang discovered that they had striking blue eyes that scanned the horizon with intelligence and curiosity more befitting of a human than an animal.

“You ride these?”

They stood at least five hands taller than a typical horse, but Blake shrugged and said, “Of course.”  She then snuck a look at Yang, grinned at Yang’s wide-eyed expression, and added, “You said advanced military, right?”

“Yeah…why?”

Blake gave Yang an effortless, excited smile and stood up.  The nearest strider raised his head upon seeing her, but he didn’t move.  Then she stuck her thumb and index finger between her lips and whistled.

A hundred blue eyes locked onto them and then, as fluidly as the breeze changing direction, every single strider broke into a gallop.  The herd coalesced like a school of bright green fish, and it would have been fascinating to watch if they weren’t racing straight toward Yang and Blake.

“Uh…Blake?”

Yang stepped back and glanced at Blake as thundering hooves bore down on them with frightening speed.  Blake, however, calmly stood her ground.  She even sent Yang a smile before the front of the pack arrived and seamlessly flowed around them like water.

“Try not to fall off,” Blake teased before grabbing one of the creatures by the leafy mane and swinging herself onto its back.  And, just like that, she was gone, racing away while more giant creatures passed so close to Yang that she could reach out and brush their sides.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Yang knew that she had to try it too.  She aborted several attempts before pinpointing one of the creatures at the back of the pack and timing her running start with his arrival.  She grabbed the mane like Blake did, using the strong fibers to help her pull herself up onto its tall back.  Then she held on for dear life.

The strider banked right, following his herd without concern for his passenger.  Yang clung to his mane and looked up ahead, finding Blake at the front of the pack.  The herd followed her now, racing toward the forest up ahead.

And by ‘racing,’ Yang meant racing.  The strider’s long, powerful muscles charged beneath her, propelling them across the plain faster than her motorcycle could ever hope to go.  The resulting breeze whipped through her long hair, trailing it behind her like a flag.

Blake glanced over her shoulder and smiled when their eyes briefly met.  Then she prodded the herd faster - so fast that Yang yelped and doubled her grip when her green companion leaped off of the ground.  The entire herd went from galloping to leaping - each strong bound carrying them dozens and dozens of feet before they landed and launched themselves into the air again.

What would have taken hours to cross on foot disappeared in the blink of an eye.  Just when Yang started to feel settled - or less like she would fly off at any second - Blake slowed down, and the herd followed suit.  Eventually, Blake stopped and whistled again - this one softer and shorter.  Upon that cue, the striders spread apart and returned to grazing as if nothing had happened at all.

Blake, meanwhile, rode back to Yang.

“Better than walking?” she asked, already smiling.

“Are you kidding me?  That was better than…than basically anything.”  Yang glanced down when her strider shuffled to the side, probably wanting to graze like his friends.  “They’re incredible.”

“Humans don’t have striders?”

“We have horses, but horses are nowhere near as fast as these guys.”

Yang patted the strider’s antler and yelped when it suddenly reared up onto its hind legs and gave her a good shake off of him.  She landed on her butt on the ground, and Blake laughed while gracefully dismounting her own strider and offering a hand up.

“Is that how you get off a horse?”

“Not quite,” Yang groaned while Blake pulled her to her feet.  Rather than let go, however, Blake held onto her hand and looked around.  They stood at the edge of the plains now, where the soft grass gradually gave way to thicker shrubs and trees before reaching the dense forest.  Blake smiled at the forest and tugged Yang that way with an excited, “Follow me.”

Yang would have followed Blake into quicksand as long as Blake held her hand, so a dark, oppressive forest was no issue at all.  Instead, she watched in avid fascination as Blake’s outfit lost its blue hues in favor of a hunter-green, deep brown that might as well be black.

For as foreboding as the forest appeared from the outside, Yang blinked and looked around in wonder as soon as the trees enveloped them.  The canopy blocked much of the sun, but bright patches frequently filtered through, corresponding with vibrant arrays of flowers.  The trees themselves were ancient if their mammoth size was any indication.  She wouldn't be able to wrap her arms around any of them, and the majority of them would take multiple people to accomplish such a feat.

While Yang stumbled through in awe, Blake navigated between the trees as if she knew where to go.  Eventually, she reached a comparatively small tree, dropped Yang’s hand, and effortlessly pulled herself up onto the lowest branch.  Balancing on the branch like a tightrope walker, she grinned down at Yang.

“You can climb, can’t you?”

Scoffing at the tease, Yang grabbed the branch and hoisted herself up onto it.

“I’ve been climbing trees since before I could walk,” she boasted before spinning around when she realized that Blake was no longer there.  A soft whistle drew her gaze upward, where Blake now balanced between two branches without a concern in the world.

“Then try to keep up,” Blake said, flashing another smile before climbing higher.  Yang huffed and dragged herself up to another branch.  Then another, and another.  Each one moving her further and further from solid ground.

“You know -” she said as she boosted herself onto the next branch.  “When you said you’d show me around, I kind of expected a nice walk or, you know, an air-conditioned tour bus.”

“It sounds like you were expecting to be pampered.”

“I mean, I wouldn't mind.  I just got shot, you know.”

When Blake’s laughter filtered down from the leaves up above, Yang smiled and chased after her.

The higher they climbed, the louder the forest became.  Soft whoops, chirps, and a vaguely threatening rattle filled the air.  Bright colors flashed around them as birds or other flying creatures shared their space.

Blake navigated the trees as if she’d been born there, showing no fear of the height.  Yang tried not to look down because, the one time she did, her stomach lurched into her throat.  She focused on tracking Blake’s movements instead, watching Blake’s sinewy muscles flex as she easily hoisted herself through the foliage.

They were only midway up the tree when Blake calmly walked to the end of the branch and hopped to the next tree.  She then turned around and waited for Yang to follow.

Climbing a tree was one thing; jumping between trees was another.  Still, Yang tiptoed toward the end of the branch and tried not to lose the limited contents of her stomach when the branch bowed beneath her feet.

“It won’t break,” Blake assured her.

If the branch did break, Yang would fall a hundred feet to her death.  But, stupid as it might be, she trusted Blake’s knowledge.  So she took a deep breath, took two more steps, and jumped to the other tree.  Blake’s arms reached out and steadied her on the new branch.  Then she earned a bright, proud smile, as if she just accomplished something extraordinary when all she did was jump when Blake encouraged her to.

“Come on,” Blake said softly, her eyes flitting between Yang’s before she turned around and moved from their tree to the next one in the same fashion.  A hundred feet off of the ground…hopping from tree to tree as if they were monkeys rather than land-prone bipeds.  Yang made sure to use the same branches that Blake did, and they soon settled into an easy rhythm.

Despite the stomach-turning height, it was faster to traverse the forest like this than to navigate through the thick undergrowth.  At least, that was the reason Yang came up with while following Blake from one tree to the next.

“You haven’t asked,” Blake eventually said, waiting for Yang to join her in another new tree.  When Yang’s brow furrowed, Blake tilted her head and twisted one ear.

“Oh, yeah, I was going to, but -”  Yang made sure she had her balance before looking up and shrugging.  “They’re cute.”  Both of Blake’s ears flicked this time, and Yang smiled.  “Does everyone in Menagerie have them?”

Blake stared at Yang for another few seconds before carrying on.  “Not everyone,” she answered as she grabbed an upper branch to steady herself.  “But everyone has an animalistic trait of some kind.  Tails, horns, ears…”

“So you…aren’t human?”

“We’re Faunus.”

“Faunus are mostly human?”

“You mean humans are mostly Faunus,” Blake replied, glancing over her shoulder and winking at Yang before effortlessly swinging herself to another branch.

Yang chuckled and followed, enjoying the banter far more than she could even let on.  She hardly made it two steps, however, before yelping and jumping backward when a crimson bird as big as her arm landed above her with a loud flutter of wings.  Its long, deep-red feathers trailed like ribbons below it while a silver crescent moon stood out on its underbelly and enormous talons gripped the branch above her.  Silver eyes blinked at her as it tilted its head from side to side and leaned its black beak so close that she pressed her back to the tree trunk.

“Uh…is this thing going to eat me?” she asked, carefully moving her head away when it nearly smacked her with its beak.

Blake laughed and dropped down onto the branch near Yang.  There, she plucked one of the small orange fruits from the tree and offered it to the bird.  It whistled in what could only be described as delight before plucking the fruit from Blake’s fingers and flying away, its tail feathers fluttering like ribbons in the wind.  Blake watched it go before smiling at Yang.

“You’re just standing in his tree,” she explained before picking another little orange fruit and offering it to Yang.  “He likes these.”

“Is it poisonous?”

“You tell me.”  Blake took a bite before tossing the rest to Yang and finding another branch to cross.  Yang, meanwhile, scoffed before sniffing the fruit and glancing after Blake.  Considering Blake hadn’t immediately been struck dead, she took a bite and then hummed in delight.  It tasted as sweet as a nectarine but had the texture of an apricot - she finished it before following Blake further.

“Where are we going?” she asked after jumping to another tree.  The action had become so routine that her stomach forgot to be terrified by the potential drop.

“I don’t know.  Wherever.  Just wanted to show you Menagerie.”

Pausing up ahead, Blake reached out and tugged at a thick vine dangling from a branch far above them.  When it put up some resistance, she gave Yang an entirely too sexy smile while stepping off of the branch and wrapping her legs around the vine as it slowly lowered her to the forest floor.  Yang leaned forward and peered through the branches, watching Blake until she safely reached the bottom.

“You coming?” Blake called up to her, so she grinned and searched for another vine.

Several were far too loose, but eventually she tugged on one that barely budged.  Still, she pulled harder on it, putting almost her full weight into it, before taking a deep to calm her nerves.  She then wrapped her metal fingers around the living green rope and stepped off the branch.

A normal person would get some severe rope burn from using their hand to control their rapid descent to the forest floor, but she felt nothing while shooting past the leaf-filled branches like a firefighter sliding down a firepole.  The ground rushed up to meet her, but she slowed herself to a comfortable pace and landed with a grin.

Her grin disappeared when her feet landed in a pile of squishy moss that shot green spores everywhere.  Lifting up her boots, which were now covered in green goo, she wrinkled her nose and waved away the green particles in the air.

“Ugh…gross.”

“You know how to make an entrance,” Blake commented.

“I’ve been told that before.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Yang laughed, the sound echoing throughout the trees, and Blake beamed before motioning Yang after her.  Returning to solid ground, where one wrong step or slipped foot wouldn't result in almost certain death, felt surreal.  Even more surreal, however, was how different this part of the forest felt compared to where their adventure began.

Despite fewer patches of sunlight filtering through the thick canopy, the forest teemed with life.  Yang caught little more than glimpses of it - birds flying up above and smaller critters darting through the bushes - but she could feel it.  It was a sense of life so clear and vibrant that she could almost breathe it in.

More often than not, however, her gaze lingered on Blake.  Watching Blake’s graceful, lithe figure navigate through the trees, brushing aside fern-like plants that were taller than most vehicles, was dreamlike.  Maybe this was all a dream.  Maybe Yang died, and this was the after-life.  She always thought that she was destined for hell though, so being blessed with a gorgeous spirit guide was a welcome surprise.

When Blake glanced over her shoulder and, having caught Yang staring, smiled, Yang blinked, blushed, and quickly cleared her throat.

“So, uh, you come out here often?”

“Not as much anymore.”  Blake pushed a clump of dangling vines out of their path and motioned Yang past her.  On the other side, Blake fell into step beside Yang.  “My dad used to bring me out here all the time,” she added, her amber gaze trained on the ground.  “He taught me how to survive.  How to coexist with nature.”

Blake frowned at a massive blue mushroom growing from a tree trunk before shaking her head.

“‘Menagerie is all around us, Blake,” she mimicked in a man’s deep voice.  “It’s inside us.”

“Woah, Dad.”  Yang chuckled and waved her hands in front of her.  “What if I don’t want Menagerie inside me?”

“That’s exactly what I said,” Blake admitted with a cute, little smile.  “He didn’t think it was funny.”

“Pretty sure it’s against the law for dads to find that funny.”

Blake laughed - or giggled, more like - before ducking under a low-hanging branch.  Yang followed, smiling as she sent little glances Blake’s way.  As Blake let the topic fade away, and Yang didn’t want to get caught staring again, she forced her gaze to the remarkable scenery around them.  The blue mushrooms growing on the tree trunks.  The clumps of bright green moss bubbling up like bowling balls.  The rainbow of flowers in every shape and size sprouting wherever the sun allowed.

A dart of motion caught her attention then, and she briefly froze before exhaling in relief.

“Hey, little guy,” she whispered to the small lizard standing at the edge of one of the mushrooms.

It was no longer than her hand with the smoothest, most pearlescent skin she had ever seen.  She would have described it as purple, but then it turned its head and looked almost blue or green.  Its giant blue eyes looked silly in proportion to the rest of its body, especially as the vertical slits blinked at her.  A black tongue darted across its lips and eyeball, and it tilted its head to each side when she moved closer.

“You look so soft…”

She slowly reached toward it, but Blake suddenly grabbed her hand and yanked her away.

“Don’t touch that,” Blake warned, firmly shaking her head when Yang looked at her.  “Unless you don’t want to feel your hand for the next week.”

Yang’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she glanced at where the innocent-looking creature had just been.

“I like feeling my hands,” she admitted before adding, “The one I have left, at least.”

“Then let’s not touch Stunskinks…”

Blake gently took Yang’s hand and led her away.  The vaguely protective and caring gesture sent another strange thrill down Yang’s spine.  She didn’t understand why Blake seemed to have a fascination with holding her hand - Blake was probably just making sure Yang didn’t wander off and fall into a pit of lava or something - but she enjoyed it more than she would have expected.  She even intertwined their fingers and smiled when Blake looked down at their hands before glancing at her.

“How many times would I have died if you weren’t with me?”

“At least four,” Blake answered so fast that Yang laughed.  Blake ended up smiling, too, and tugged Yang through the trees.  “We use their neurotoxin in medicine,” she explained as they walked.  “Mostly in pain management, but we’ve also used it to treat neurological disorders.”

“That sounds incredible.”  Yang paused for a second before adding, “What other things do you guys have that we don’t?”

Blake drew in a deep breath and cast Yang a look, checking her interest, before launching into a list of examples that had Yang’s eyes boggling in no time.  Infinitely renewable clean energy.  Incredibly advanced healthcare with few incurable illnesses.  Guaranteed basic needs for every citizen, including food, shelter, education, and medical care.  Yang had more questions than she could count, and Blake answered as best as she could before posing some of her own.  She was equally shocked to learn more about the world beyond Menagerie’s borders.  Apparently, Menagerie’s lessons on human society focused on reasons to stay away.

Yang didn’t know how long they talked, and laughed, and shared stories about their respective worlds while picking their way through the forest.  All she knew was that there was something strangely wonderful about being around Blake.  It was almost as if they had known each other for forever even though they hardly knew each other at all.

That changed as Blake revealed more about herself through every answer, and Yang couldn't help but like what she saw.

The only thing that could snatch Yang’s attention away from Blake’s internal beauty was a rapid change in scenery.  The trees thinned first, both in size and proximity to each other.  The sun poked through more gaps in the canopy, bathing the ground in light.  That sunlight meant more flowers and more insects buzzing around.  A soft gurgling sound reached her ears.  And then, cutting through the forest like a vein, a sparkling blue river came into view.

“Wow,” she breathed out, glancing over when Blake stopped beside her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Yang stared at Blake until Blake turned to her for an answer.  “It is,” she said a little late, but Blake smiled and led them closer.

The river was around thirty feet from bank to bank and rushing with the clearest water that Yang had ever seen.  Every smooth stone at the bottom, every silver or gold fish darting back and forth, every wispy green plant could be almost perfectly seen, obstructed only by the bubbles on the water’s surface.

Yang stepped closer only to yelp when Blake suddenly covered her mouth and pulled her down to the damp ground behind a clump of thick reeds.  Blake pressed a finger to her lips and pointed across the river before removing her hand from Yang’s mouth.  Peering through the reeds, Yang felt her eyes widen when she spotted a sleek black creature crouched by the water.

It looked like a panther, except twice as large and with a few extra claws on its giant paws.  Its black coat, which was dark as night minus a golden ring of fur around its neck, shimmered in the sunlight as if it had just been brushed.  Its razor-sharp claws sank into the muddy riverbank as it lapped up water, and its giant black ears never stopped swiveling in all directions, revealing golden spots on the back of its ears that matched the golden fur around its neck.

When it suddenly froze and looked directly at them, Yang’s heart collided against her ribs.  Its eyes were the same amber as Blake’s, and it stared at the clump of reeds as if seeing right through them.  Yang didn’t move a muscle.  She didn’t even breathe until the creature turned away and, without a sound, slunk back into the forest.

Blake waited several moments after it disappeared before finally standing up.

“Prowler,” she explained while Yang more hesitantly followed.  “They won’t usually go after something our size, but you never know.  They might think you look particularly tasty.”

“I have been told I look good enough to eat.”

Yang grinned, but a shiver ran down her spine when Blake’s gaze roved from her chest to her boots and back again.

“I’d agree with that,” Blake commented before walking away, leaving Yang blushing in her wake.  Before questioning what that moment meant, Yang hurried to catch up.

“This place is incredible,” she said as they picked their way along the riverbank.  “Like something out of a fairytale.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far…”

“I would.”  Yang nodded when Blake squinted at her.  “Seriously,” she added.  “I’ve been a lot of places, and nothing comes close to this.”

She gestured around them, and Blake hummed but didn’t argue.  Yang would count that as a small win, especially when she understood how easy it was to overlook the things that were always there.  Something so special might lose its luster over time - kind of like her arm.

She glanced down and tapped the silver plate on her inner wrist, lighting up the small battery indicator.  Half charged.  The sunlight would help now.  And she could always knock her fist into a tree trunk or two if she needed to get back to full power.

“You keep doing that.”  Yang looked up as Blake tapped her own wrist like Yang just did.

“Oh, yeah.”  Yang turned over her hand and curled her fingers.  “It stores kinetic energy,” she explained, showing Blake the battery indicator.  “I can use it to…hit things harder and stuff.”

“Sounds useful for someone with your job.”

“My former job,” Yang corrected before shrugging.  “And yeah, it’s pretty…handy.”

When Yang grinned, Blake groaned and shoved her shoulder.  Yang stumbled a step to the side before laughing and nudging Blake’s shoulder in return.

The river split into two forks then, and they followed the right fork into the woods until they came across a small pool that had formed as an offshoot from the water.  The pool was so crystal clear that Yang could see all the way to the sandy bottom.

“It looks so nice…” she sighed before sniffing her shoulder and looking at the blood stain on her jacket.  “I’d kill for a bath right now.”

“Help yourself.”

“Help my-?”

That was all Yang got out before shouting when Blake planted two hands against her shoulder and shoved her into the pool.  She pointlessly flailed her arms and legs before hitting the cold water knees first.  The sudden chill sent a jolt of energy through her system, waking her up as she swam back to the surface and wiped water out of her eyes.

“What the hell?” she said while Blake laughed from dry land up above her.  Yang splashed a handful of water at her, but she moved out of the way and kept chuckling.  “What if my arm wasn’t waterproof??”

“Faunium is waterproof.”

“There’s a lot of not faunium stuff in it, you know.”

Blake’s laughter abruptly stopped, but she froze for only a second before shrugging.

“Then I’d get you a better one.”

“Right, because it’s so easy to get these,” Yang said while treading water.  “I was joking about the arm store thing, by the way.”

“I’m aware,” Blake replied, a smile tilting her lips.  “And it is easy to get something like that here.  If you know the right people.”

Yang playfully grumbled about how much of a pain that would be before devoting more focus to her current position.  She only needed to lightly kick her feet to keep her head above water, and the initial chill had faded to a pleasant cool that was working wonders on the deep knots in her muscles.

It felt heavenly.  So heavenly that she sighed and tilted her head back into the water.  Then she took a deep breath and let herself sink below the surface - only long enough to tug off her boots and kick back to the surface.  She tossed the boots at Blake one by one then floated on her back.  She could practically feel the dirt and grime washing off of her as she ran her hands through her hair, leaving her feeling refreshed and new.

“I might be a while,” she joked, sneaking a grin Blake’s way.

That grin disappeared when Blake grabbed hold of her top and pulled it over her head.  She wore a form-fitting black sports bra underneath, revealing the curve of her breasts and the extent of her smooth, flat stomach.  She tugged down her tights next, unveiling matching black panties and long, lithe legs that might as well have gone on for miles.  She knew that Yang was staring, but she just casually dropped her clothing off to the side and gracefully dove into the pool.  By the time she swam back to the surface and shook her wet hair out of her eyes, spraying droplets of water everywhere, Yang’s jaw hung open.

“You, uh, aren’t modest, are you,” Yang commented when Blake swam up to her.

“What do I have to be modest about?”

The question invited Yang to check Blake out, which she did in the most respectful yet appreciative way possible.  Liking what she found, she smiled and said, “Absolutely nothing.  You’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever met.”

It must have been Yang’s imagination that Blake blushed.  Of course, it was hard to tell when Blake rolled her eyes and then playfully shoved Yang’s head under the water.  Yang swam back to the surface and laughed.

“How are you not drowning in this?” Blake asked, her hands already pulling down the zipper of Yang’s jacket.

“I’m an above-average swimmer?”

Blake hummed and peeled the jacket off of Yang’s arms.  She then balled it up and threw it onto the bank, where it landed with a heavy thud.  Yang nearly admitted that being without the added weight was nice, but then Blake’s hands found the bottom of her shirt.

“Are you modest?” Blake asked, her amber eyes drilling into Yang’s as her fingers brushed against Yang’s stomach.

“Uh, no.  Not…usually.”

Except she felt incredibly modest with someone as gorgeous as Blake tugging her shirt over her head - that joined Yang’s jacket with another thud.  Then Blake ducked under the water, and Yang’s eyes fluttered when Blake started undoing her pants and pulling them down her legs.  By the time Blake popped back above the surface, smirking as she got rid of Yang’s pants like everything else, Yang blinked at her.

“Uh…ok.”

“‘Ok?’” Blake asked, arching her brow and then laughing.  “That’s all you have to say?”

Yang moved her mouth as if she might form words but eventually snapped her jaw shut and nodded.  Blake laughed again, her amber eyes sparkling in the sunlight reflecting off of the water.  Yang used every ounce of self-control to keep her eyes trained on Blake’s face even though she wanted nothing more than to look down, stare, gawk, and ogle.  That urge nearly became a compulsion when Blake openly let her eyes wander across Yang’s shoulders and then down her chest.

“You aren’t allergic to Hydrolynxis, are you?”

“Uh, I don’t think so?  What’s that?”

“A bacteria that lives in pools like this.  It causes hair loss and this really bad rash that will break out on your face -”

Yang didn’t even let Blake finish before swimming for the shore.  As soon as Blake started laughing, however, she realized that she’d been played.

“Oh, you asked for it now,” she teasingly warned while swimming back to Blake.

“I was just being helpful.  You seem to care about your hair.”

“Says the one with beautiful hair!” Yang pointed out before playfully splashing water at Blake.  Blake turned to the side as the water splashed against her face, then smiled and splashed Yang right back.  When she went to do it again, Yang grabbed her wrists to stop her.  Doing so brought them even closer together, both gently treading water.

Blake could pull out of Yang’s grasp if she wanted to, but she didn’t.  She stared into Yang’s eyes instead, a small smile tugging at her lips, and unknown words filtering through the air.  Yang wondered if her heart was the only one trying to escape her chest, but she lacked the courage to ask.

The moment ended too soon, with Blake glancing away before clearing her throat and asking, “Are you clean now?”

“Well, uh - yeah.  In some ways.”

Laughing again, Blake splashed another small wave of water at Yang before swimming to the bank.  Yang tried not to groan out loud when Blake pulled herself out of the pool, trails of water dripping down her lean figure while Yang’s eyes drank in every inch of tantalizingly smooth skin.  Blake glanced over her shoulder and caught Yang staring, but she just smiled before retrieving her clothes.

“Come on.  We should dry off now.”

Yang ducked her mouth under the water and blew out a big breath of bubbles before following.  Once back on land, she squeezed most of the water from her hair before attempting the same with her discarded clothes, which remained a soggy mess.

“We’ll leave them in the sun,” Blake said, motioning Yang after her.  Considering Blake’s clothes were still dry, Yang expected her to put them back on.  Instead, she slung them over one shoulder and led Yang further along the river.  Yang tried not to ogle Blake too openly as they picked their way across sand, mud, and stones alike, but she had to look at Blake in order to know where to go.  Just like Blake had to glance over her shoulder every so often to make sure Yang was still behind her.

“Perfect,” Blake said once they reached a more open section of the forest.  Sunlight poured through the break in the trees, providing for an abundance of warmth and plant life.  Blake made her way to a small grassy knoll beside the river, dropped her clothes on the ground, and unceremoniously flopped onto her back in the grass.  Yang took a little more time arranging her wet clothes in the sun before joining her.

Part of her was acutely aware of how little she was wearing, but that mattered less as the minutes ticked past and she sank further into their own private paradise.  The sun warmed their skin while the forest seemed to move around them, content to let them rest.

She might have even fallen asleep for a little while, but she jolted awake when Blake touched her shoulder.

“Sorry.”  Blake smiled apologetically but didn’t remove her hand - she traced the thin scar running across Yang’s shoulder instead.  “Where’d this come from?”

“Bar fight.”  As Yang’s heart climbed back down from her throat, she tried to ignore the way Blake hovered so close above her, blessing her with a spectacular view.  “Some jarhead pulled a knife when I told him to leave.”

“Did you win?”  When Yang arched her brow, Blake smiled and added, “Of course you did.”

“Kicked his ass and tossed him out the door, but he managed to swipe me a bit first.”  Yang scowled, still annoyed that he managed to touch her at all, but the feeling disappeared when Blake touched a thicker, rounder scar on her thigh.

“And this one?”

“Shrapnel.  Piece of wood tried to go through my leg.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”  Yang chuckled as she instinctively rubbed the scar with her left hand.  “It looked way worse than it felt.  There’s just something about having a pole sticking out of you that makes you want to panic…”

“I’d panic,” Blake admitted, her gaze traveling over Yang before landing on a series of smaller, lighter scars slashed across Yang’s ribs.  “What about these?”

Yang sucked in a breath when Blake’s cool fingers touched her side, half because it tickled and half because it made her spine tingle.

“HALO jump,” she answered in one exhale.  “It was pitch black and so damn foggy that I couldn't see a damn thing.  Nearly ended up skewered on a security gate.”

“‘HALO jump?’”

“It’s, uh  -”  Yang scrunched her nose trying to think of a simple explanation.  “Basically, we jump out of an airplane, free fall, then open a parachute as close to the ground as possible.  That way we avoid detection.”

Blake nodded slowly, her eyes already moving to the crisscross of tiny scars on Yang’s left wrist.

“That’s from when I was a kid, play fighting with Ruby,” Yang explained before Blake asked.  “She nearly fell into a huge bramble bush, so I pulled her out of the way and ended up in it myself.  Those thorns are no joke…”

Yang chuckled at the memory, but Blake’s brow pitched.

“Ruby?”

“Oh.  Yeah, that’s my little sister.  She’s the genius who made this for me.”  Yang held up her right hand and curled her fingers into a strong fist.  “Do you have any siblings?”

“No,” Blake sighed, sinking onto her shoulder while absentmindedly tracing the divots in Yang’s stomach.  “I’ve always wanted one though.  Someone to…share with.”

“That’s something only an only child would say,” Yang pointed out, chuckling softly.

“Not necessarily my things,” Blake elaborated, oblivious or unconcerned about the tendrils of thrill she was sending down Yang’s spine.  “But share…experiences, I guess.  Pressures.  Expectations.”

Yang frowned, sensing something bigger lurking behind the remark, but Blake shook her head and ran her hand down Yang’s right arm.  Yang wished that she could feel more than just the vague pressure, especially with how Blake traced every line and crevice.

“What happened?” she asked softly, and Yang sighed while staring up at the beautiful, blue sky.

“We dropped into Vacuo to rescue some diplomats.  Was supposed to be an easy mission - in and out before sunrise - but things went sideways.  Bad guys started shooting, and the evac point was compromised.”

Yang paused and rubbed her face with her left hand.  She could still faintly hear the gunfire.  Her commander ordering her to survive as if she had a choice in the matter.  The memory faded when Blake squeezed her shoulder, and she took a deep breath before continuing.

“We just got the last of ‘em in the helicopter when someone shot a damn bazooka at us.  It hit the building right beside me and…”  Yang shrugged her right shoulder to explain what happened next without launching into the dirty details.

“Did everyone make it out alive?”

“They did.”  Yang managed a small smile and nod when Blake’s hand slid into hers.  “They did.”

“You saved them.”

“My team saved them.”

Blake’s brow furrowed as she bit her bottom lip, but she eventually nodded and settled in closer.  Yang rolled onto her side to look at Blake, whose eyes swam with questions and opinions that Yang wanted to hear.  She mulled over plenty before finally asking, “What happens when the war’s over?  Do your special forces go home?”

“No,” Yang scoffed.  “There’s always another dictator or warlord causing trouble.  Always another battle.  Always another fight.”

“That’s why we’ve stayed away.”

“You’re better off for it,” Yang pointed out, but Blake’s gaze fell to the blades of grass between them.

“Maybe.  But it can be…isolating.”  Yang wanted to ask what Blake meant by that, but Blake sighed and got up.  “It’ll get dark soon,” she said, shielding her eyes to look at the sun as it dipped below the trees.  “We should find somewhere to sleep.”

“You aren’t going home?” Yang asked while getting to her feet.  Blake shook her head.

“I wouldn't make it before dark anyway.  And what am I going to do - leave you out here alone and hope you don’t die?”

“I’ve survived a lot of things, you know.”

Blake’s gaze returned to Yang, flitting from one scar to the next, before an apologetic smile tilted her lips.

“I know.  That doesn’t mean you should have to survive on your own.”

Blake briefly met Yang’s eyes before turning away and grabbing her clothing, unaware that the comment might as well have pulled Yang’s heart out of her chest and set it in the sun to warm just like their clothes.

After spending the last few years on her own, she had almost forgotten what it was like to rely on someone else.  She didn’t want to rely on anyone else anymore.  She didn’t want anyone else throwing themselves in harm’s way for her even though she would willingly do the same in reverse.  With Blake…it was similar, but it was also very different.

So she didn’t argue.  She retrieved her clothes and hummed when she found that her shirt and pants were dry and warm.  Her jacket and boots were still damp, but she could live with that.  Once she was decent, she gave Blake a thumbs up, which elicited a vaguely confused, vaguely amused smile before they returned to the forest.

Blake pulled herself up into the first big, leafy tree they came across, and Yang chuckled while following Blake back to death-defying heights.  Once they were firmly entrenched in the canopy, Blake led them from tree to tree on a mission that only she understood.

“Just curious,” Yang asked after a heart-stopping hop from one branch to another.  “Do you have a problem with the nice, solid ground?”

“That’s where the predators are.”

“Like that Prowler?”

“And worse.”

“You don’t think we could handle them?”

Balancing on a thin branch, Blake snuck Yang a smile and said, “You thought a Crescent Wing was going to eat you.”

“It put its beak right in my face!” Yang argued, only to give up and chuckle while following Blake to the next tree.  “If it’s so dangerous, why are you out here by yourself?”

“I just wanted to get away for a bit.  Explore.  Think.”

“Solve all of life’s problems?”

“Something like that.”

Blake hoisted herself up another level in the tree, then tight-rope walked her way across the swaying branch before dropping back down to the branch that Yang stood on.  The branch bowed under the added weight, making Yang’s stomach lurch, but Blake was unconcerned.  She glanced to the side before meeting Yang’s gaze, her amber eyes glinting in the fading light.

“Do you ever feel like you want to get away from it all?  Like…the world’s asking too much, and you just want to disappear into the jungle instead of dealing with it?”

“All the time,” Yang admitted softly.  “Why do you think I’m out here?  I dropped everything to chase some hopeless crusade, but it was better than feeling like the world’s crushing the life right out of me.”

Blake mulled over the response before nodding.

“My parents have a lot of expectations,” she admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and avoiding Yang’s gaze.  “They want to give me more responsibilities, but I…don’t feel ready.  I don’t feel like I know myself, let alone what I want from the world or what I can contribute to it.”

“Have you told them that?”  When Blake’s eyes returned to hers, Yang shrugged and offered a small smile.  “Maybe they’ll understand.  Maybe they’ll give you time to figure things out.  I’m sure they just want the best for you, whatever that ends up being.”

Blake bit her bottom lip before eventually smiling and leaning closer.  The branch rose as the weight shifted, sending Yang’s heart into as much disarray as Blake’s stunning proximity did.

“You give good advice for a member of the stupid forces,” Blake remarked, and Yang immediately laughed.

“Thanks.  I have my moments.”

A smile returned to Blake’s lips, and they both ended up grinning at each other before Blake’s gaze caught something above Yang’s head.

“Perfect.”  Smile brightening, she effortlessly swung her way around Yang and climbed higher into the tree.  “Come on,” she called out, prompting Yang to stop staring and climb after her.  Several trees away, they reached another tall, wide tree amidst a forest full of them.  This tree, however, had gargantuan leaves that made even its thick trunk look tiny.  And, unlike typical leaves, these bent upward like giant scoops or full-sized canoes.

“Up here,” Blake said before hoisting herself over the lip of one of the canoes and disappearing inside.  The leaf hardly bent under her weight, and the same could be said when Yang joined her.

“It’s…a leaf.”

“It’s safe,” Blake corrected while Yang looked around the large, fibrous leaf.  Its concave shape forced her and Blake close together, but it was more than large enough for two people to sleep side-by-side like in a hammock.

“I always loved camping,” Yang said right before her stomach grumbled so loud that she cringed.  Blake gave her an amused smile.

“Hungry?”

“A bit, I guess.  Can’t remember the last time I ate a full meal.”

Blake nodded and then pulled herself up to perch on the edge of the leaf.

“Be right back.  Promise you’ll stay here?”

When Blake looked at Yang, her eyes somewhere between begging and demanding, Yang’s heart thudded in her chest.  She nodded and, when Blake arched a brow, added, “Promise.”  Satisfied, Blake swung her legs out of the leaf and disappeared.  Yang heard her quietly descending through the branches, but the sounds of the forest soon took over.

Being left alone in this strange place wasn’t as concerning as she would have imagined, especially when she knew that Blake would never leave her somewhere unsafe.  How she knew that, she couldn't put into eloquent words, but she felt it deep in her heart.  So, rather than anxiously wait, she sat down and listened to the hoots and brays and subtle hisses around her.

Soft scratching noises caught her attention not much later, and Blake pulled herself back into the leaf soon after.  She then shrugged her black bag off of her shoulders, sat in front of Yang, and dumped the bag’s contents onto the leaf between them.

“Found as much as I could,” she explained while Yang studied the odd collection.  There were large, melon-shaped orbs that glowed a pockmarked silver that looked just like the moon.  Long, bamboo-like plants with tubular reeds branching off of the stalk.  Several strands of vines with blue kidney beans dangling from each papery leaf.  And several handfuls of what looked like nuts in the shape of sugar cubes.

“Dig in?” Blake offered, but Yang glanced at her and chuckled.

“You’ll have to show me how to eat this stuff,” Yang said while picking up one of the sugar cubes and rolling it between her fingers.

“Starblossoms,” Blake said before popping one in her mouth.  When Yang followed suit, Blake waited for her reaction.

It tasted like a minty cashew, so she hummed and grabbed several more.  Blake smiled and picked up the moon-like fruit next.  A knife appeared from nowhere - Yang was increasingly convinced that it was a piece of Blake’s clothing just like the medical patch - and Blake cut the orb into smaller pieces before passing one to Yang.

“Moon melons,” Blake explained, again watching Yang try the vaguely coconuyty fruit before smiling.  She worked on the bamboo-esque plant next, cutting the hollow stems into smaller pieces that tasted remarkably like corn.  The blue kidney beans were then plucked off the vines - they, disappointingly, tasted like kidney beans.

Everything was delicious, but a new type of delicious from familiar flavors being combined in unique ways.  They barely made a dent in the haul, however, before Yang couldn't eat another bite.  Blake packed the rest back into her bag before tossing it toward the far end of the leaf.  She then laid down and patted the space beside her.

“Will you be warm enough in that?”  Yang motioned to Blake’s clothing, or lack thereof.  “Because you can take my jacket -”

Blake shook her head and grabbed Yang’s hand before she took off her coat.

“You should keep that.  My clothing isn’t useless, remember?”

“It’s got little heaters in it or something?”

“Something like that,” Blake replied, her eyes sparkling as Yang finally relented and laid down beside her.

The concave leaf urged their shoulders, arms, and legs together, adding a comfortable warmth to Yang’s left side and a little flutter to her heartbeat.  The sound of insects had replaced chirping birds now that night had fallen.  But, even more remarkable than the loud collective buzzing were the clear, bright stars up above, sparkling as if they’d never known the effects of pollution.

“It’s beautiful,” Yang sighed before glancing over and finding Blake staring at her rather than skyward.  Blake smiled when Yang rolled onto her shoulder so that they could look at each other rather than the stars, but Blake’s gaze soon dropped to Yang’s arm, which she absentmindedly tapped before eventually sighing.

“I should go back tomorrow.  They’ll be looking for me.”

“It’s good to have people who care enough that they’ll look for you,” Yang pointed out.  Blake sighed again, but she met Yang’s gaze shortly after.

“Do you have someone who will look for you?”

“Ruby will check on me every week or so.  And my dad every once in a while, too.”

“...what happened to your mom?”

“Oh.”  Yang glanced down at her hands before clearing her throat and saying, “She’s been gone for a long time.”  Yang shrugged her shoulder just before Blake’s hand settled upon it.  She met Blake’s gaze and offered a small smile instead.  “Just another person in my life who went missing.  No note, no message, no body even.  Just…gone without a trace.”

“That must hurt so much.”

Blake lightly touched Yang’s heart, and Yang fought the feeling that Blake could see right through her.  She mustered a quick, “It was,” and then forced a brighter smile.  “But you should get back to your family.  Don’t want them to worry about you, even though you can obviously take care of yourself.”

“I’ll take you back to the border first.  So you can go home to your dad and sister.”

Yang should want that, but she frowned thinking about returning to her life.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Blake added as if she heard Yang’s heart protest.  “You don’t belong.”

“Does anyone really belong anywhere…?” Yang sighed before shaking the thought away.  “Thank you though.  For saving my life and showing me your home.  I’ve been a lot of places, but this one is…magical.  And you - you’re…”

She lost the nerve to pick one of the words rolling around in her head when Blake’s ears stood taller and swiveled toward her.  She smiled instead and hoped that Blake filled in the blank with something nice.

“Any chance you didn’t save me and this is all just a dream?” she joked.  Rather than laugh, however, Blake stared deep into her eyes.

“Then how would I be dreaming, too?”

Yang’s heart stuttered, and she opened her mouth only to find herself devoid of words.  Blake searched her eyes for a little longer before softly adding, “We should go to sleep,” and rolling onto her other side.

Yang gaped for several more seconds before laying on her back and sighing up at the stars.  Her heart pounded so loud that she almost couldn't hear the bugs anymore, and so many conflicting thoughts tumbled around in her head.  She should be eager to get home and resume her search for Raven.  Instead, finding Raven felt shockingly insubstantial compared to everything she experienced over the past day.  Compared to Menagerie.  Compared to Blake.

Quietly, she turned over so that she could look at Blake under the moonlight.  The silver threads in Blake’s clothing had an ethereal glow in the dark.  If Yang watched closely enough, the glow brightened and faded in a slow, constant rhythm that must match Blake’s breathing.

The longer Yang watched the steady ebb and flow, the heavier her eyelids felt.  And, well before she wanted to, she drifted off to sleep.

Comments

No comments found for this post.