Shadows Within The Crowd (Jesse McCree x Reader)

~Chapter 17~

Your POV

I shifted my head down and looked at Midnight. Where her wound once was, there was only fur. No blood, not even a scar... wait no there is a small little tuff of fur that seems to be out of place in some way. And I guess she noticed my slight panic.
"It's normal don't worry. What maters is you did it. And we will begin as soon as possible, but I would like you to rest for today. I don't know what you saw but I will choose not to ask." She called out slowly while closing her eyes. She then disappeared in a puff of blue and black smoke, her body disappearing for god knows how long... she seemed to be in a hurry...
I sat their for a few seconds, my hand reaching up and resting on my chest. How could I forget that entire mission? It was one of my first... if I forgot that I wonder if I've forgotten more. Maybe it could be a side effect of me over using my power.
"Hmm?" I hummed out as Eclipse nudged my arm, a purr coming from his throat. I turned my head and looked at him, a soft smile appearing on my face as I did so. He looked at me with his purple eyes and nodded his head lightly. I let out a sigh
"Did... did dad ever have any memories issues?..." I questioned quietly, my eyes shifting to the ground as I heard him move slightly. It had been awhile sense I had asked about my father personally to him. He looked at me before talking in a breath
"Yes, he did. Sometimes it would be small things like his birthday, or a small conversation. Other and much rarer times it would be full days. It was not good when he would forget mission briefing... Why?" The male panther questioned as he licked his paw, his chest rumbling as he purred. I looked ahead before taking in a breath, my hands clenching as I did so.
"I just remembered something I thought I would never forget. Remember the Blackwatch mission with Antonio?" I questioned once more while looking at the waters surface, my reflection looking pale, but quickly regaining color as I realized. I guess I was panicking much more that I thought i was.
Eclipse nodded and looked to me for a response. I shook my head and let out a long sigh.
"I just remembered it. As if a switch went off in my brain. And... It's weird because now I wonder if I have forgotten anything else" I mumbled the last part while getting up, my hands reaching and dusting the rest of my body off. Eclipse looked at me with worry in his eyes, but I turned and smiled to him.
     "It's probably just an overuse of my power, yea? I should probably stop sending letters to Genji for a short while. He will understand. And I guess training with midnight will have to wait a little bit. Until the energy I have lost returns... heaven forbid- I've been so used to loosing it I don't realize when my tank is empty.... for summoning that is... I could probably get away with summoning a creature smaller than you and Midnight- that's for sure." I added the final part while turning my head, a slight chuckle escaping my throat. I herd him let out a chuff, before he disappeared in a puff of black and blue smoke. I guess he knew what needed to be done.
       Suddenly I noticed something- a piece of paper sticking out of one of the bags... that wasn't their before.
     Quietly, I made my way over to it and picked it up, only to smile. It was a poorly drawn image of the map- of the area we were in. It showed the lake and the layout of the land. And in a large square was empty, and it was just across the lake.
I lifted my head and looked for the clearing- only to see that there were trees and many bushes where it was. Suddenly it clicked.
     "Jesse May be good at building- but I'm very good at destroying and getting rid of stuff." I smirked while grabbing a knife from my bag. I then turned and began to my way to the other side of the lake, a soft smile on my face as I did so. First things first- get rid of the shrubs. They were small- it would be easy to cut them and then dig up the roots. But there were many of them. Only a few trees in the way. It would take awhile, probably the rest of the day if I continued with no breaks
"I can summon something small- that wont really do much to my energy. Plus with help I can get this done much quicker, a small creature that can dig Woolf help a lot. Then after some sleep and Jesse being back- maybe, just maybe I can summon something big enough to just tear the trees out of the ground." I told myself as my mind raced through all of my creatures. I need something small- but big at the same time. Not as small as a mouse but not as large as a Lion or Panther....
"Perfect" I called out as I balled my hands together, letting the black energy swell up within them. I then threw the black smoke down, watching as red, white and black fur began to form- along with a puffy tail and ears.
"Keith!" I called out happily as I felt a have of energy being dragged from my body. Luckily- it regained quickly and I was able to reach my hands out. Without warning- a large red fox jumped into my arms, yapping happily. His ears were folded back as he licked my face a few times.
     "Alright alright ya little red Demon!" I laughed out as the sneaky creature jumped from my arms, landing perfectly on his legs. He looked at me and seemed to smile, his pearly white canines showing all of their glory. I reached my hand down and began to stroke his ears, earning his head to lean into my touch.
"Its been awhile, and I need some help alright? It's right up your ally!" I smiled out, causing the Fox to jump in the air, yapping yet again. I pointed towards the bushes and such. The grass as well... we're going to have to pull up everything.
"We're working on getting all of this cleared out- except for the trees. We can't really dig those up... eheh" I chuckled out while rolling my sleeves up. I didn't have much clothing so I was trying to keep it clean... at least a little bit. I then got to my knees and began to cut the top of the bushes- leaving only the small stumps behind. Keith followed quickly- digging up the remains. Even the roots which were also pretty handy. At least I knew that nothing would grow back.

We continued like this for a few hours, taking only water breaks and possibly eating a snack or two... Well Keith would go and hunt for himself pretty quickly. Surprisingly their were plenty of mice around here. Probably wouldn't be good for crops or the house in the future but I'm sure Jesse and I could figure it out.
"Alright Keith- what do you think?" I smiled happily as I wiped my forehead with my dirty hands. After all- I doubt I could get any more dirt covered than I already was.
He looked at me and stuck out his tongue happily, his red and white tail wagging side to side calmly. For such a small creature Keith had a LOT of energy.
Everything had been dug up. Grass was cut up along with dirt and put into a pile a little ways away. Along with it were the roots and weeds- with the bushes. All that was left were the trees... and I had an easy way we could get rid of them but it would be unhealthy for me. Possibly tomorrow if my energy tank went up a little more than normal.
"Alright Keith- thank you so much for your help." I smiled with my eyes closed. I scratched under his chin, earning a... purr to come from his throat? He then vanished in a puff of black smoke, the color fading into nothingness quickly.
     I let out a tired sigh and walked to the lake, my legs feeling slightly numb from sitting on them. I looked at myself in the waters clear surface... ew
     I let out a laugh as I crouched to my knees and began washing my face, the cool water getting rid of the dirt and grime.
     I then heard a twig snap. Not thinking much of it I continued to was my face, along with my arms. I'd have to wait till later to wash the rest of my body.
    "Fu-!" I let out a yelp as I felt something large push me forward into the water, earning my whole body to be surrounded by a cool refreshment. Lifting my head up and turning around, a felt my eyes widen as I saw Hades seeming to laugh as he trotted around in a circle.
"Hades what the heck!" I laughed out while splashing water at him, my wet hair sticking to my forehead. He rose onto his back legs and jumped forward, landing in the lake near me. A mountain of water then washed over me, causing me to let out a chuckle.
      "What has gotten into you?" I smiled while reaching and holding his head on my hands. He nudged and softly nipped at my hair before letting out a snort and looking at me with a smug face. He then walked out of the water and shook his neck. He then looked at me as if to say
No one will believe you
    I could practically hear myself gasp at realization. I shook my head and let out a chuckle as I stood in the water, my whole body soaked.
     "Well it looks like you sure had fun." I heard a country accent call out. I shifted my head to the right quickly, a smile forming on my face as I did so.
"Jesse!" I happily called out while making my way out of the water, running up to him with my arms wide open. He jumped off of Rain and panic seemed to flash over his eyes
"Hold the hell on- your wet-" he called out as he waved his hands in front of him, his hat tipped as his eyes widened even more.. None the less I jumped into his arms, a laugh coming from my throat
"Don't care!" I smiled out as I kissed him on the cheek. He let out a deep chuckle, causing me to blush slightly. I leaned back and looked at him.
     "Welcome back cowboy." I spoke calmly as he smiled. I looked behind him and noticed that Rain was holding bags on her back, and to the side of her were larger bags. She's stronger than you would think....
     "Oh, is this the stuff?" I questioned out while leaving his grip, earning a wine to come from Jesse. I began to go through the stuff, noticing the food he got along with some more supplies.
     "It's gonna take awhile- hell I haven't even cleared out-" I pushed his face to the side and watched his face go into utter shock. He looked at me with his mouth slightly open and pointed again.
     "Do ya honestly think that I sat and did nothing all day?" I smiled out while shaking my head. He smirked and grabbed my waist, lifting me of the ground. I let out a chuckle as I wrapped my legs around him and leaned my forehead around his.
      "Well that sure cuts our time." He whispered, and he leaned closer. I smiled softly and closed the gap between our lips, my eyes closing in the process.
    A few seconds later, we both leaned away, smiles on both of our faces.
     "It will take while." I yet again leaned my forehead against his, my eyes gazing into his own.
     "But we will manage."

Sorry it's so short! I should have the next part out soon, but with school and everything, I'm falling behind schedule. I hope you all enjoyed the short chapter! Have a great rest of the day/night and as always- WOLF OUT!