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❝ 𝓚𝓪𝓽𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓦𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 ❞
Age: 16 Boyfriend's Betrayal and Murder; Asterath--> Voxthain
⠀⠀⠀⠀“Vanryn!” Katniss yelped, ducking beneath a couple, hands entwined, and made a face even as she was racing to her own boyfriend at the moment. Still, they had been in her way,, and while she usually liked how thriving and busy the neon streets of Asterath were, lights aplenty and shadows to hide in, stealing her wares and giggling behind barrels and crates, right now she wanted to kick everyone aside.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Behind her back, the roses she had taken from her family’s greenhouse almost sagged in her sweaty hands. Cress was the one with the green thumb, not her, and she had had to sneak in and pluck the roses when her sister wasn’t looking, so afraid to watch her cry over pulled flowers as she was wont to do, but she needed to give this bouquet to Vanryn. Their anniversary was today, and Katniss needed to make sure it was perfect.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Up ahead, as she dodged more shoppers, a few rowdy teenagers, and what looked like shady members of Serpentine, who just looked at her before turning back to whatever drug deal was going down between the four of them, she caught sight of Vanryn’s black hair. The red and orange neon lights filtered across his pale skin like blood, and a shiver of delight ran down Katniss’s spine. In her boots, she curled her toes in delight, bouncing as she slipped easily around people, her coattails flapping as she did. Never once did the experienced thief’s arm accidentally hit someone, nor her shoulder smack into theirs. She moved with feline elegance and grace.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Vanryn!” She called again, sunshine splitting open in her chest as he looked up at his name. Sitting on the bottom of the stairs to Voxthain, his freckles popped, even as his eyes remained strangely dark. Something small sat next to him, and Katniss’s eyes lit up as she bounced towards him. Was this his gift to her? And where would they go for their anniversary? As much as Katniss adored Asterath, perhaps they should bounce up the stairs and go sit by the beach. Or in the woods, in a tree, letting leaves and branches unfurl around them into a semblance of real privacy few places could provide.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Happy Anniversary!” She screeched as she reached Vanryn and the steps. She had known he never quite liked Asterath as much as Voxthain, given the hoity-toity breed he was–Katniss adored making fun of him for it–but he was here, for her, right now, and had never failed to make her smile with glittery presents of silks the color of a sun-streaked sky dipped in blood, necklaces dripping with rubies and aquamarine-colored jewels. He had laughed at her jokes, he had let her drag him through Asterath, pointing out every sight.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀With a grin, Katniss jumped, flinging herself into Vanryn's arms. Immediately, his wrapped securely around her, a chuckle rumbling deep and warm inside his chest. “Happy Anniversary,” he replied, kissing her on the forehead, a movement so tender it made her knees weak. Screeching, she nuzzled her face against his neck and pecked a kiss back at him, the tops of her bloodred roses brushing against his shoulders.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Vanryn spun her around, sending Katniss’s hair flying; she’d curled it specifically for today, though her mad dash through Asterath had undone most of her work; strands of dark brown and the occasional streaks of pale blonde tangled before her face, and when he set her down, she pushed it aside, blood singing with glee and adrenaline. Silver hoop earrings glinted, while she had one of the necklaces he’d gifted her for their first anniversary proudly displayed over her white tank top.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Sorry I’m a mess,” she stated, breathless, before, with a flourish, she removed her bouquet of roses from behind her back. “And sorry these are, too, I got them from the greenhouse, but you cannot tell Cress! I had to steal them. I mean, not steal, it’s my family’s greenhouse, but I cannot make Cress cry, Vanryn, I just cannot, and she was adoring these roses! And as such I had to sneaky-sneak them when she had her back turned.” A bit of guilt burned deep under Katniss's diaphragm, but she pushed it away. Cress would have other roses, and truly, these were the best in all Asterath–the only ones, almost, aside from whatever was sold at that flower emporium, but screw that place, Cressy and Mom had the best green thumbs down here. Katniss, on the other hand, chuckled awkwardly as the mass she held out drooped a bit. “Sorry,” she finished lamely.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀A smile that reminded Katniss of Lantas broke across Vanryn’s face, illuminating his eyes into globes of light. Gently, he took the roses from her, bringing them to his nose and taking a sniff. “They’re beautiful, Nissa. Do not worry, I would never tell Cress. Thank you for these, and Happy Anniversary to you, too, babe.” Leaning forward, Katniss closed her eyes, giggling once, as Vanryn kissed her gently on the lips. Raising to her tiptoes, meeting his height best she could, she kissed him back, hands on his nice chest she liked to pet so much. Pleasure tingled down her spine and into her toes, stomach alight with warmth, and when she pulled back, she slipped her hand into one of his, allowing Vanryn space to set the roses down in the small basket he had next to him.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Is that for me?” She asked, peering over one side of his muscled shoulder, eyes wide, before drawing her gaze back to him. She blinked once, twice, lips pursed. “Vannie, is that my present?”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Laughlin, Vanryn nodded, squeezing her hand. “Yes, but we gotta go somewhere before I give it to you. What were you thinking?”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Deflating, Katniss nevertheless couldn’t help it as she bounced once. Going somewhere special to get a present? She wanted to do a spin, send her coattails flying again, her ragged curls bouncing. “Umm…woods or beach up in Voxthain?” She asked, running one finger up and down the vein in her boyfriend’s arm. “I don’t et to see real nature cooped up down here, you know.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"No, you do not. And how about the beach? One of the coves? I packed a picnic–”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Katniss’s scream of approval turned several heads as she released Vanryn’s hand and jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. “Yes yes yes! I love picnics!” Sitting with someone you loved, consuming food and lazily watching the waves? Letting a rare breeze blow across her face, sending her hair into her eyes? “Thank you!” Resting her head against his shoulder, Katniss kicked her feet, feeling as if she had been pumped full of air, as if she could just float away like some sort of balloon if given the chance. Vanryn was wonderful, and she could see them growing old together. Perhaps that was some sort of fantasy she was entertaining–and risking by doing so–but what was life without some risk? Some thrill? Some dreams? “Thank you,” she continued.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Vanryn smiled down at her, the edges of his lips tugging, mirroring a light sparkling in his eyes. “Always for you, Nissa. Now, shall we?”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes!” Katniss allowed him to set her down, and Vanryn snatched up his basket with one hand while he reached for her fingers with the other. With a squeal, Katniss threaded their hands together and began to tug Vanryn up the stairs to Voxthain. As she went, streaks of golden light shone into the darkness that was Asterath, natural lighting that caught on Vanryn’s inky hair and turned it to a whisper of stardust. She sighed, squeezing his hand.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I love you, Vannie,” she declared. Maybe, at sixteen, once again, one should not be proclaiming that to one’s partner, but when Vanryn looked down at her, his expression soft, she only knew he felt the same way.
—---
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Waves lapped against the shore of the beach as the morning sun rose over the horizon, casting a warm, dusty rose and soft lavender across the waves and sand. Humming, Katniss stood with her eyes closed, allowing the water, cool and refreshing, to play around her ankles, wet sand squelching between her bare toes. Her boots dangled from one hand as the wind tossed her hair around, that sea spray dusting her cheeks and nose.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀With a laugh, she opened her eyes, turning to Vanryn, watching as he struggled to get everything out. Truly, though, he had not allowed her to help, so she hadn’t, allowing him to set it all up for her if that was what he wished. “Come on,” she called over to him. “Set it up later.” She cupped her boots in her hands and threw them over towards the shore, watching as they landed about a foot away from the hungry waves.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"But–”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Vannie, please?”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Okay, fine. Hold on.” He rummaged around in the basket before removing something from it and beginning to walk over to her, kicking his shoes up as he did. Overhead, the sun pulled brighter, more fully, into the sky, and a bubble of pure laughter broke from her. Vanryn may be the son of a prominent Voxthain merchant, but the man had never once made her feel inferior like so many others had. Just stepping into the streets of Voxthain, she had realized fast how many of their powerful nobles and noble-adjacents had seen as an outsider, some dirty Asterath cave-dweller. All the better for her, she tried to convince herself, when she snatched up their things between nimble, deft fingers and charming grins.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Still, it did not make one feel wanted, or even valued. Katniss had loved the fresh air of Voxthain from time to time, adored wandering new streets, smelling fresh pastries and real fresh flowers, and wanted to bring Cress back as much as she could find. She wanted to meet and get to know all of the Voxthain citizens she possibly could. But some of them had scoffed at her.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Only Vanryn, who she had met while thieving, who had been one of the few to actually catch her, had not cared. He had been amused, thought her clever, funny, charming, and she had fallen head over heels for the man with the roguish grin and hair like a jet-black night sky in Voxthain. The rest had been history as they had shown each other around each of their cities. She had been to the upper city before, yes, but it was not the same without a guide, and seeing it with fresh eyes, looking out not only for her next targets, but at a world ripe for exploration.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀So now, when he splashed noisily through the water behind her, coming up alongside her, her grin rivalled the rising sun. “This is perfect,” she whispered. “Absolutey beautiful, and look!” Katniss held up a glistening shell, pearlescent with a magenta sheen. “Isn’t it wonderful? One of Cressy’s favorite colors. She’ll adore this.” With more love swelling in her heart with mention of her sister, Katniss’s smile softened from a dazzling grin to a very soft, almost gentle twitch of the lips. The one person she would die for. Tenderly, she placed the shell in the bag slung over her chest, cushioning it on an extra sweater inside.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"She will,” Vanryn agreed. “And I hope you’ll like this?” He hesitated before handing something out to her–a small black box, onyx in the depths of its shade. Katniss swallowed, something hungry and almost feral lighting up inside her. This seemed fancy. Maybe she could trade the box down in Asterath for something, for more flowers or jewelry for Cress, food for their family. Still, she traced a finger across the lid, the material smooth but cold beneath her skin.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Katniss glanced up once, an eyebrow cocked. “Shall I open it?”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes, silly.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀With a laugh, she kicked water up and at him, making him sputter, before she cracked the lid of the box. Immediately, a hissing sound filled the cool, calm air, and she gaped in shock as something powdery and a sickly yellow-green wafted from the confines, right into her face.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The back of Katniss’s throat began to burn as her eyes started to sting, water gathering in the backs of her lids. “Oh, gods. Oh Lantas–what the–” A cough rattled at her chest as her throat seized, beginning to get a tickle in the back of it. Panic, shock, and something else she couldn’t put her finger on roared up inside her as she dropped the onyx box, the next crest of waves taking it out to sea. With a gape, rasped and bubbling, Katniss realized she couldn’t breathe. The airways in her throat closed, clogging like an artery, and she wheezed, collapsing to her knees in the salt water. Shocks of cold water hit her, soaking through her tight jeans, but none of it did anything to jerk her from the shock in her system, the panic gathering in the pit of her stomach as she fought for breath.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀All while Vanryn stood there, pants edged with water, arms crossed over his chest. His dark eyes stared down at her, and through the wetness blurring hers, she could make out the lack of light in his, just like only about an hour ago.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Van–ryn–” She tried to choke out, wheezing as he knelt before her. His hand cupped her face, familiar, gentle, and oh-so smooth.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Lifting her head to his, he sighed, reaching out and brushing some of the hair stuck to her face behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Nissa. But this has to happen. I don’t have a choice. You were a threat, and I had to take you out.” With his other hand, he pulled open one side of his coat, revealing a glinting pin, something that looked eerily similar to a symbol she had only seen in passing once before–the Blacklights. Shock rolled through Katniss as she gaped, lips reaching, desperately trying to inhale, to grasp that fresh sea air. Her lungs burned, mouth dry and eyes watering. Her lips were steadily turning as blue as the ocean around her.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀So. He was a Blacklight, someone anti-gang, he had probably never loved her, and he–hurt stabbed, a white-hot knife slicing through and down her diaphragm, coiling into a ball of hate inside the pit of her stomach, and she let out a garble as blackness choked at the edge of her vision. Saliva bubbled at the corners of her lips and dripped down, stained a sickly yellow from whatever poison he had tricked her with, and she reached up and grasped the lapels of his jacket, ripping it open further to stare at the pin.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“F-fucker,” she managed to choke, pausing when she caught sight of something in his breast pocket. A glass bottle, something shimmering and purple inside it. Hope, an oasis in a desert. Maybe it wasn’t the antidote, but Katniss would take what she could get. Ears ringing, throat on fire, she snatched it, shoved Vanryn back as much as her weakening limbs could, and shakily removed the cork from the top of the bottle. Sweat ran down her spine and temples, sticking more of her hair to her forehead as Vanryn slipped into the waves with a splash that barely registered.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Blackness encroached, her head heady, dizzy, and she dipped the glimmering purple back between her lips, feeling it slide down her clogged throat. Her sluggish, slow heartbeat seemed to be all she could hear for a few desperate seconds, and if this didn’t work, if her burning lungs didn’t ease, she would lose Cress, and Cress…pain blossomed in Katniss’s heart, and she found herself wanting to scream at the top of her lungs, take the knife hidden in her pocket, and stab it into Vanryn for taking her from her sister. Cressy was her world, and without Katniss, what would happen to her family?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Maybe it was unreasonable, always, that Katniss even had to do any of her crimes to help them, but she was Arachniad, and she was filled with a love so deep and so pure for her parents and sister that she would never hesitate to protect them at any and all costs. So as she sat here, no regrets plagued her, no–
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Air. Air flowed into her lungs on her next attempted inhale, her heartbeat kicked up a notch, and she gasped, falling forward, panting, the cold ocean batting against her forehead and her hair, rushing over her face. It worked! It worked–
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Relief spread, tension knotted in her muscles easing, but she felt as if her limbs had been pumped with obsidian, dragging her down, and each movement as she struggled to her feet seemed to take so much out of her. Weak, unsteady, Katniss staggered, almost slipping again, as she stood up, feet squelched into the wet sand beneath her.
Across from her, Vanryn was just getting to his feet, too, and their eyes locked, his dark and empty aside from the slightly wide set of them, proof he had not expected her to find that bottle. Something hardened inside Katniss’s chest as she tightened her hand around the antidote, slipping it into her pocket. He had almost taken her from her family, from Cressy. He had been with her for two years, he had made her feel special, only to lie to her, try and murder her. Hurt flared again, sharp with lethal edges as a gap of darkness, of wallowing misery cracked inside her chest, millions of lines fracturing across her heart.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“I loved you,” she choked, and the next time the world blurred, it was from those cracked edges, and not from losing her ability to breathe. Horror, a deep ache inside her, all of it turned into a pinpoint of anger, betrayal rubbing her raw. “All the times we had. All your words, your kisses, your–everything. It was a lie. It was a fucking lie!” The scream tore from Katniss’s throat as she advanced, knees trembling as each word felt as if it were rating against shards of broken glass from the poison.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Inside her pocket, against the antidote, her hand brushed against the handle of her knife. Who was this one again? Yes, Adora. Adora came with her everywhere, and she and Katniss had been through so much together. She slipped her fingers firmly around Adora’s hilt and yanked her free. Vanryn had tasted so good when they kissed, when his cologne swam in the visions of her mind. Let’s hope he tastes good inside, too. And how pretty would his blood be? Spilling out across the sand, a bright streak echoing what she had believed they once had together? Shimmering with the newly-rising sun? Always, had she believed blood looked beautiful, a glisten of rubies wherever it lay. The urge to spill blood to see it, to make the tiniest cut in someone’s skin, even her own, had just grown over the years, and now–she craved it. The acidic smell, the tangy taste on her lips, to make him pay.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She had bared her soul to him. And now…
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“How could you do this?” She whispered.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Because I had a job, Winters,” Vanryn spat. “So maybe I liked you at first, but have you seen yourself lately?” He came closer, shaking his head, hands out, placating. “You are insane, you are a threat to Asterath, growing with each passing day. Your petty theft was one thing, but I’m sorry, you crossed a line awhile back. Bloodlust, a crazed adoration of theft, even at knifepoint, at gunpoint? Come on. I even was almost willing to throw my life away for you, but thank you for reminding me of who I really am.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Salt dripped across Katniss’s lips, stinging the cuts there, and she sniffed, nose running now with snot as she stood there, an icy chill snaking through her veins, turning her into nothing but a solid spear of hate.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“I do this to keep my family safe–”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“No, you do this because it’s fun for you.” Vanryn slipped a hand into his coat and removed a knife, shining in the now-raised sun. Against her will, Katniss perked up, licking her lips at the sight; like a beacon, she took a step closer.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Pretty thing… A carved hilt, made of…ivory? Oh, but it had her blood singing, and she shivered, eyes glinting in the light. She slipped Adora from her pocket, smirking, twisting it. “I want your knife,” she whispered. “And I want you to apologize. I-I loved you. I trusted you.” Her lips quivered, turning into a frown. Her chest split again, and she wiped her hand across her face, smearing tears over her skin. Sluggish, focused, she stepped towards him, waves crashing around her ankles.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Katniss, stop–put the knife away.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“No. I don’t want to.” She tapped it against the open palm of her other hand, eyebrows raised. “I hurt here.” She jabbed her thumb at her chest, shaking her head. “This is your fault. I–wanted a future with you.” How? How could someone do this to another person, just pretend to love them for two years, only to, this whole time, be planning to kill them? To be planning to watch them choke out on their fucking anniversary? “It was our anniversary,” she added, softer, taking another few steps. Good Lantas, would this ache, this harsh, sharp pain, ever fade? No. Not until he paid and saw the error of his ways.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Rage crackled under her skin, stealing her breath, and with a howl, Katniss lifted her hand, grasping at the blood inside Vanryn’s arteries near his heart, freezing the bloodflow. He gaped, freezing in a step towards her, before grasping at his chest with his free hand, lips gaping and eyes going wide.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“What the f-fuck–Katniss–what–”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Walking closer, she raised her brows, kneeling before him, much as he had her. Slowly, carefully, reverently, she plucked the knife from his hand and slipped Adora back into her pocket. “I like this knife,” she whispered. “Happy anniversary to me. Thank you for my present. You fucker.” Katniss positioned the cold ivory hand between both hands before she looked up at the choking, sweating Vanryn, who had fallen to his knees in the ocean. “How could you do this?!” She screamed, and dug her knife under his ribs, then expertly sliced up wards, stabbing into his heart with a sickening squelch and crunch of bone. “That is how it feels! That is how–how you–”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀As he choked and keeled over, his warm blood spilled across her hands, and she gasped, yanking the knife out. More splattered in drops across her skin, and her face tingled. Excitement and adrenaline hummed within her, a golden glow, and she slowly, carefully, ran her tongue up and over her lips, tasting his blood. Him. Katniss gasped, closing her eyes, because oh, it was acidic, warm, and–she stared down at his knife, coated as if with strawberry jam, but better. Katniss’s eyes glowed, and she brought the knife up, slowly licking the edge of it, just at the edge before the knife could slit her own tongue.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It was only when the waves crashed Vanryn’s dead body against her knee did she turn blankly. Sorrow clenched at her heart, and she ran the knife under the waves to get the rest of the blood off it. We could have had the world. Had babies together. Grown old together. But instead, he had left her high and dry…to die. He had tried to kill her on their anniversary, he had been a Sword, a Blacklight, this whole fucking time, and that pool of heartbreak, rage, and sadness, the ache of betrayal, would never go away.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀As the ocean pulled his body out to sea, she collapsed to her knees and sobbed.
