featherednutcase:

(Oops, may have forgotten to upload this one)

Your village was right
between the two warring states, so the elders quickly convened and called it a
sanctuary city, protecting those who lived there and entered it. For whatever
reason, it worked and in return the city offered to help heal the sick and
wounded from the war.

You were one of the
healers that was beginning to be run ragged from all the work you were given.
After all you had to balance yourself between the denizens, and both sides of
the war. You believed it was worth it, even if you had to hire guards. Well,
hired isn’t the right word. Sometimes soldiers lack payment so you have them
take you out to gather important herbs for salves and whatnot. Yet, balance was
important, so you either had a rakshasa and an orc or no guards at all.

Lately, you’ve not had to
rotate out your guards because the two you currently have refuse to leave your
service. You don’t mind. Fin and Squish helped you often and have even began to
try and help you gather the ingredients instead of just standing watch. They
even went out of their way to identify themselves as yours

Fin was an orc that had
lots of beads and braids on his black hair. He had scars littered all over his
body and he often wore very little, as accustomed to the orcs style. His skin
was green like the olives that once grew in the countryside.

Squish on the other hand
was very regal. He took much care in maintaining his fur and clothing in a
pristine manner. His fur was golden, and he had dark marks leading from his
eyes o his nose and little spots all over.

Together the three of you
made quite the spectacle. Your two guards fretting whenever you would lodge
yourself into tiny nooks and what not to get various herbs and once when you
came back out with a snake in your grasp. What a sight that was, you were sure
that Squish was going to pass out.

They always followed you
around and you suspected that they were trying to court you, but you could not
choose one way or the other, lest you disturb the delicate balance this city
has. So, you could not respond nor reciprocate.

Fin and Squish did not
appreciate this and sat down and talked first with each other and then you.

“Why won’t you choose?”

“You both know why.”

“Can’t you give us a
sign?”

“Squish, I would love to,
but the war…”

“It isn’t within these
walls, it isn’t between us.”

“We, being Fin and
myself, talked and we understand. We want to court you. Both of us. We want to
give ourselves to you until you can choose, until you can speak freely.”

Tears flooded your eyes
and spilled down your cheeks. “Okay.”

That was all it took and
not much changed. Yes, you would kiss their cheeks every now and again and
everything was much more comfortable, but they stayed on, guarding you as you
went about and gathered supplies and healed the feeble. You felt much better
with this resolve and didn’t want to have to choose because you didn’t know if
you could.

Everything was great,
until it wasn’t. People found out and whispered as you passed, no longer speaking
to you if they could help it. Deserters from both sides would hit on you. After
all a human is a step up in this town. You weren’t happy with the new
circumstances, but they were bearable, and you could live with them. Until you
were being chased through the woods. You tripped and scrabbled to hide within
an old burrow. Your ankle was throbbing as you watched their feet run past you.

Hours passed, and you
stayed silent in your hole. You couldn’t walk back to town, that is if you were
even welcome there anymore. Additionally, you had run quite some ways away into
no-mans-land. Which was very bad, if you didn’t have night vision.

You would occasionally
slip into a restless sleep only to wake at any little noise. Normally it was a
distant gunshot or a battle cry, but this time there was two men moving through
the leaves, whispering between them.

They stopped, and you
held your breath counting off the seconds, waiting, praying, trying to will
them away when you were finally dragged out of the burrow. You wept as they
held you by your collar.

‘This is it.’ You
thought. ‘Goodbye Fin… Squish…’

Yet, fate had deceived
you as you were maneuvered into a hug between the two and then you heard him.
“Thank goodness we found you. Fin nearly beat three men to death when they were
telling everyone how they ran you off.”

“They deserved it.”

“Doesn’t matter.” You
felt Squish turn back towards you. “Why didn’t you come back?”

“My ankle, it hurts.”

“I’m sure it does…
Its swollen and gross, and your
covered in dirt and leaves.” He pulled something from your hair to prove his
point. “Let’s go home.”