[TRIGGER WARNING mentions of sexual assault- freya has an inner monologue about the claimers and what they tried to do]
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DARKNESS IS USUALLY a child's first fear, parents predict it before it even becomes a fact, so babies are given nightlights and quickly grow accustomed to having a glow nearby, illuminating the walls and serving as a guard against all those bad things that lurk in the shadows.
Freya Grimes was one of those bad things, and she was on a mission to stop another.
Magna's hair swished in the light breeze, slowly swaying from side to side, reflected as a silhouette on the brick wall from the dim glow of a floodlight across the street.
She had her fists clenched and something between one of them, something sharp- another undeclared knife. Her sense of direction wasn't all that great because she'd taken the wrong turn twice so far but as they say; third time lucky. The Grimes house was in her sight and she didn't hesitate to approach.
Freya silently crept up behind her, movements so slow and gentle until they weren't.
In one simultaneous jolt, Freya's fingers carded through Magna's locks and threw her against the wall. Her metal fist was pushed into the redhead's throat with maximum force, denying her airway its necessary flow of oxygen.
"You wanna take another breath?" Freya hissed into the darkness. "Drop it."
The blade clattered to the ground.
"You were lookin' for me?"
Magna wheezed desperately, lips forming words that her vocal cords couldn't verbalise.
"Yeah, you were." Freya retracted her fist slightly, allowing the smallest gap between her metal knuckles and Magna's already bruising throat. "You were gonna kill me in the middle of the night, in my own bed, in the house that my kids live in."
"You'd do the same," Magna choked out, brown irises turning glassy from the oxygen deprival.
"No, I wouldn't," Freya said firmly, untangling her hand from Magna's thick curls. "Not if I was who you claim to be- who your people claimed to be. I wouldn't jeopardise their future because of my own paranoia."
Magna blinked ferociously. "This has nothing to do with them."
"If you fly with the crows, you get shot with 'em." Freya ran her tongue across her teeth. "I would think you'd know that with your history. You've experienced prejudice, you did today. I applaud what you did before, you protected your own and maybe this. . . maybe you think this is the only way you can do that now."
"We won't survive." Magna swallowed hesitantly. "But I need them to survive."
"And I need to know that the people who live here aren't gonna try kill me in the dead of night," Freya shot back, eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. "I don't do second chances anymore. First impression sticks and if it's a bad one, you're fucked- just to be clear; it was, and you are. I'm not lettin' you stay here."
