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ghostisclearfandom: dimesion 20: escape from the bloodkeep
ship: efink/lilith
rating: m
words: 1259
notes: non-linear, for my fresh femslash salad bar (sharing a dance + dead of night), a bring her bleeding heart to me self-fill (efink kills every one of lilith's dates before they can make it to her cave), AND a lyrical title bingo fill (song with a color in the title)
There is a degree of honor that comes with being asked to spend the night with one of the Forces of Darkness' Lieutenants—an honor that Olfukh finds himself particularly worthy of.
He buffs one of his tusks with his palm as he swaggers down toward the Cavern of Spiders, so caught up in the stroking of his ego he misses the squelch of footsteps advancing from behind—the sharp jab in his back catching him so unaware he stumbles forward.
"What the—" he grumbles, turning to face his attacker. His motion is unhurried, the hit weak enough to convince him he has nothing to fear.
The earthen tunnel is almost pitch black except for the dim red cast of light illuminating the figure, coming from her staff.
It gives the woman a sickly glow, combined with the pale white of her attire, her skin, her hair—all of it dripping wet.
He falters, feet shifting backward.
"Lieutenant?"
Efink Murderdeath, soothsayer of the Forces of Darkness, her expression embodying everything her last name claims.
"Name your top twenty favorite things about Lilith," she commands, voice as low as her posture—stance wide as she brandishes her magic staff as an instrument of blunt force.
His heart sinks, "I—?"
"Now!"
The fury in her voice shakes the walls of earth surrounding them, leaves no time for argument.
“Oh, fuck—“
Neither does her staff, as she swings it into his head, its great crystal orb making impact with his skull and lashing it against the tunnel's side.
He can't hear what she says—(won't hear much of anything soon)—but she shouts something out with each of the following nineteen sickening thwacks of her staff.
.
By the time she's finished listing out her top twenty favorite things about Lilith, the orc is long dead.
Her chest heaves with the exertion of it, unused to the physicality of killing with her hands instead of her magic.
The Staff of Storms bathes the gruesome scene in red, makes the blood unremarkable in its light.
It could be anything—could be water.
Anger still burns her chest, fills her lungs—mind flashing with images of Lilith.
She bludgeons him five more times, punctuating each:
“You.
Do.
NOT.
Deserve.
HER.”
Something drips down her face and she's unsure if it's the usual water or the blood of the, effectively headless, orc before her.
“You got it dirty,” she whines, inspecting her staff with a sigh.
She shakes it once, grabs the orc by one foot, and drags him off elsewhere.
.
Years and years ago—(maybe hundreds, Efink will certainly not admit to keeping track)—shortly after Efink joins the Forces of Darkness, she's presented a choice of where to take up residence in the Bloodkeep.
She has not, in her time before defecting, been presented with much choices regarding her own life at all, which led to her now experiencing a bit of decision paralysis.
“Why not here, Efink, look!”
Lilith her new—(her only, her best)—friend points to a spot on the blueprint of the keep they've been looking over while presenting pros and cons of various spaces.
“You can fill this pool with your divination juice—“
“—Souls.”
“Yes, souls! And see, you can take this little shortcut down to visit me in the cavern.”
Efink leans into Lilith's space, eyeing the route she lined out, “Ooooh, you're right, how very convenient. Yes, I think I shall take it.”
.
“Oh, I love it!” Lilith says, scuttling with excitement into the near-barren cavern.
“To be honest, I have done absolutely nothing other than filling in the pool of souls.” She casts a glance aside, “And placing my bone on the table.”
“Well, you'll have plenty of time to fill it with trophies of our conquests, my dear.”
She places her hand on Efink's head reassuringly and Efink tilts back to look up at her, practically preening under Lilith's cold touch.
“I love this new wet look you're doing, by the way.”
Her hands briefly tangle in the sodden clumps of Efink's hair.
“Really,” Efink implores immediately, leaning closer, “You don't think it's too much?”
“No, not at all! You are owning the soaked and scary look, one hundred percent—don't you dare think otherwise!”
“Ugh, where have you been all my life, Lilith!” She takes the other woman's hands in her own, swinging them back and forth, “I wish I'd had you to keep my company at all those dreadful elven parties—we could have really torn up the non-existent dance floor!”
“Ah, I'm not much of a dancer,” Lilith laughs, and the half-hearted sound of it snaps Efink out of her daydream—nothing like the uproarious laugh Efink so loves for its loudness. “My ex-husband Petyr used to say I have eight left feet.”
“Well, fuck him! Fuck him to death and then bring him back to life and fuck him again! Forever!”
Lilith's legs stop their nervous shuffling.
Efink holds her arms up in proposal of a dance.
The two come together and Efink never felt so happy being “good” as she does now—tucked in between Lilith's tall legs and surrounded by the echo of her loud laugh in the cavern she now calls home.
They dance until the sun rises in the starless sky.
(Jessa scurries in later that day and spares a smile at sight of the pair of them, sprawled out in an exhausted fit of giggles on the floor, before dragging her mother back home.)
.
“There, there,” Efink says, stroking Lilith's elbow (in lieu of her shoulder, which she can't reach with the both of them standing up).
“I just don't understand, Efink!”
“There's nothing to understand, darling, these people are simply imbeciles.”
“Something is clearly wrong with me—not one person will even show up to a date with me!”
“Take that back—there's never been anything wrong with you in your life.”
“Maybe it's because I'm a single mother.”
“Each and every one of your thousand shadow brood are wonderful and I love them.”
“It can't be the spider thing—can it? I mean, we're evil! People in the Forces of Darkness should love spiders!”
“Exactly right and, now, look—“ Efink stops her consoling arm-stroking to take hold of Lilith's hands, “You could spend the rest of eternity trying to find some sort of flaw in yourself that drove these people away, but you'll never succeed because you are perfect and amazing and I'm not just trying to flatter you like some sort of Abaseel."
"You must accept that these people were clearly all wrong for you and, actually, your one flaw may be that you have really incredibly bad taste.”
Efink gives her friend a solemn smile—says, through gritted teeth, “I just know there's someone out there who would kill to be with you.”
Lilith lifts Efink up to wrap her in a hug, “I hope so,” she sighs, “Life would be so much easier if that person was you.”
“Wait, what the fuck?” Efink cries, tightening her grip, absolutely refusing to be put back down when Lilith tries to end the embrace, “Is that an option? Holy shit, oh my god, am I an option, Lilith?”
.
Later, Efink tells Lilith all about the date night murders she committed over a glass of red wine.
Lilith finds it exceedingly romantic.
The two wake up beside each other the next morning—Efink the first of Lilith's suitors to make it through the night alive.
ship: efink/lilith
rating: m
words: 1259
notes: non-linear, for my fresh femslash salad bar (sharing a dance + dead of night), a bring her bleeding heart to me self-fill (efink kills every one of lilith's dates before they can make it to her cave), AND a lyrical title bingo fill (song with a color in the title)
There is a degree of honor that comes with being asked to spend the night with one of the Forces of Darkness' Lieutenants—an honor that Olfukh finds himself particularly worthy of.
He buffs one of his tusks with his palm as he swaggers down toward the Cavern of Spiders, so caught up in the stroking of his ego he misses the squelch of footsteps advancing from behind—the sharp jab in his back catching him so unaware he stumbles forward.
"What the—" he grumbles, turning to face his attacker. His motion is unhurried, the hit weak enough to convince him he has nothing to fear.
The earthen tunnel is almost pitch black except for the dim red cast of light illuminating the figure, coming from her staff.
It gives the woman a sickly glow, combined with the pale white of her attire, her skin, her hair—all of it dripping wet.
He falters, feet shifting backward.
"Lieutenant?"
Efink Murderdeath, soothsayer of the Forces of Darkness, her expression embodying everything her last name claims.
"Name your top twenty favorite things about Lilith," she commands, voice as low as her posture—stance wide as she brandishes her magic staff as an instrument of blunt force.
His heart sinks, "I—?"
"Now!"
The fury in her voice shakes the walls of earth surrounding them, leaves no time for argument.
“Oh, fuck—“
Neither does her staff, as she swings it into his head, its great crystal orb making impact with his skull and lashing it against the tunnel's side.
He can't hear what she says—(won't hear much of anything soon)—but she shouts something out with each of the following nineteen sickening thwacks of her staff.
.
By the time she's finished listing out her top twenty favorite things about Lilith, the orc is long dead.
Her chest heaves with the exertion of it, unused to the physicality of killing with her hands instead of her magic.
The Staff of Storms bathes the gruesome scene in red, makes the blood unremarkable in its light.
It could be anything—could be water.
Anger still burns her chest, fills her lungs—mind flashing with images of Lilith.
She bludgeons him five more times, punctuating each:
“You.
Do.
NOT.
Deserve.
HER.”
Something drips down her face and she's unsure if it's the usual water or the blood of the, effectively headless, orc before her.
“You got it dirty,” she whines, inspecting her staff with a sigh.
She shakes it once, grabs the orc by one foot, and drags him off elsewhere.
.
Years and years ago—(maybe hundreds, Efink will certainly not admit to keeping track)—shortly after Efink joins the Forces of Darkness, she's presented a choice of where to take up residence in the Bloodkeep.
She has not, in her time before defecting, been presented with much choices regarding her own life at all, which led to her now experiencing a bit of decision paralysis.
“Why not here, Efink, look!”
Lilith her new—(her only, her best)—friend points to a spot on the blueprint of the keep they've been looking over while presenting pros and cons of various spaces.
“You can fill this pool with your divination juice—“
“—Souls.”
“Yes, souls! And see, you can take this little shortcut down to visit me in the cavern.”
Efink leans into Lilith's space, eyeing the route she lined out, “Ooooh, you're right, how very convenient. Yes, I think I shall take it.”
.
“Oh, I love it!” Lilith says, scuttling with excitement into the near-barren cavern.
“To be honest, I have done absolutely nothing other than filling in the pool of souls.” She casts a glance aside, “And placing my bone on the table.”
“Well, you'll have plenty of time to fill it with trophies of our conquests, my dear.”
She places her hand on Efink's head reassuringly and Efink tilts back to look up at her, practically preening under Lilith's cold touch.
“I love this new wet look you're doing, by the way.”
Her hands briefly tangle in the sodden clumps of Efink's hair.
“Really,” Efink implores immediately, leaning closer, “You don't think it's too much?”
“No, not at all! You are owning the soaked and scary look, one hundred percent—don't you dare think otherwise!”
“Ugh, where have you been all my life, Lilith!” She takes the other woman's hands in her own, swinging them back and forth, “I wish I'd had you to keep my company at all those dreadful elven parties—we could have really torn up the non-existent dance floor!”
“Ah, I'm not much of a dancer,” Lilith laughs, and the half-hearted sound of it snaps Efink out of her daydream—nothing like the uproarious laugh Efink so loves for its loudness. “My ex-husband Petyr used to say I have eight left feet.”
“Well, fuck him! Fuck him to death and then bring him back to life and fuck him again! Forever!”
Lilith's legs stop their nervous shuffling.
Efink holds her arms up in proposal of a dance.
The two come together and Efink never felt so happy being “good” as she does now—tucked in between Lilith's tall legs and surrounded by the echo of her loud laugh in the cavern she now calls home.
They dance until the sun rises in the starless sky.
(Jessa scurries in later that day and spares a smile at sight of the pair of them, sprawled out in an exhausted fit of giggles on the floor, before dragging her mother back home.)
.
“There, there,” Efink says, stroking Lilith's elbow (in lieu of her shoulder, which she can't reach with the both of them standing up).
“I just don't understand, Efink!”
“There's nothing to understand, darling, these people are simply imbeciles.”
“Something is clearly wrong with me—not one person will even show up to a date with me!”
“Take that back—there's never been anything wrong with you in your life.”
“Maybe it's because I'm a single mother.”
“Each and every one of your thousand shadow brood are wonderful and I love them.”
“It can't be the spider thing—can it? I mean, we're evil! People in the Forces of Darkness should love spiders!”
“Exactly right and, now, look—“ Efink stops her consoling arm-stroking to take hold of Lilith's hands, “You could spend the rest of eternity trying to find some sort of flaw in yourself that drove these people away, but you'll never succeed because you are perfect and amazing and I'm not just trying to flatter you like some sort of Abaseel."
"You must accept that these people were clearly all wrong for you and, actually, your one flaw may be that you have really incredibly bad taste.”
Efink gives her friend a solemn smile—says, through gritted teeth, “I just know there's someone out there who would kill to be with you.”
Lilith lifts Efink up to wrap her in a hug, “I hope so,” she sighs, “Life would be so much easier if that person was you.”
“Wait, what the fuck?” Efink cries, tightening her grip, absolutely refusing to be put back down when Lilith tries to end the embrace, “Is that an option? Holy shit, oh my god, am I an option, Lilith?”
.
Later, Efink tells Lilith all about the date night murders she committed over a glass of red wine.
Lilith finds it exceedingly romantic.
The two wake up beside each other the next morning—Efink the first of Lilith's suitors to make it through the night alive.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-03-01 02:15 am (UTC)"Name your top twenty favorite things about Lilith," BABE i am fucking cackling, this is the perfect funny/ominous line that fits EFTB so well, ohmygoddddd is efink saying her top twenty favorite things while she's bludgeoning him to death? *chinhands* Romance (...she was!! eeee how cute)
i Love the gruesomeness of this murder, that efink is using her hands instead of magic, so personal <3
awwww, the flashback scene of lilith suggesting a nearby room for her <3
i am grinning so hard reading their back and forth, not only do you nail their speech patterns so well that this entire fic i've been reading in their voices, but it's so *them* but even more so, eeeeeee incredible love \o/
aa the dancing bit is so cuuute
“Each and every one of your thousand shadow brood are wonderful and I love them.”
“It can't be the spider thing—can it? I mean, we're evil! People in the Forces of Darkness should love spiders!”
“Exactly right and, now, look—“ Efink stops her consoling arm-stroking to take hold of Lilith's hands, “You could spend the rest of eternity trying to find some sort of flaw in yourself that drove these people away, but you'll never succeed because you are perfect and amazing and I'm not just trying to flatter you like some sort of Abaseel." i stopped myself from quoting the entire ending, which i love each and every line of, these three bits are my absolute faves, the humor, the rightness, just perfection \o/
i always feel so blessed when you write darling, this fic is such utter decadent fun and i know i'll be rereading it forever, i'm so glad you wrote and shared this, just marvelous dear <33333
(no subject)
Date: 2025-03-01 08:11 pm (UTC)i'm so so SO happy you liked this one!! i used an orc name generator and thought 'Olfukh' was so funny kjsdnfksjdfnkdsfj i'm beyond pleased you like his romantic murdering!!! this is the first time i've ever tried to write Dark fic (feels weird to call it that when it is still also fluff ksjndfksjnd) and it was a blast!!!
always incredibly flattered when you like my dialogue as you are so very good at it!! i feel like the fact that the show is unscripted makes the character's voices so distinct and cool!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i am simply over the moon about this sweet comment and i'm so glad you liked those lines efink and lilith are so FUN!!!! as the fandom is so small i really feel like it's the two of us sitting on the floor together playing with Lilith and Efink barbie dolls whenever either of us post them skfkjsnkjd <3333 i will in fact be reading this comment over and over and over- thank you so very dearly from the bottom of my heart!!!! i always feel so blessed to receive an ella comment <333333333
(also did you know about Lilith's ex-husband Petyr and also that her last name is Spidersman????? 😭😭😭 reveals i absolutely did not expect when checking the wiki ksjdfksjndfksj)
(no subject)
Date: 2025-03-02 03:35 pm (UTC)'Olfukh' is such a funny name and perfect for a doomed orc, and the little foreshadowing of 'ohfuck' ehehe
it's a fluffy dark fic! cozy and warm and feeding the flames of evil, which is just so well suited to efink/lilith (and eftb in general) <3
...i did not realize that was her ex-husband's name! i've visited that wiki so many times and completely glossed over his existence lmao "Erika confirmed on the Dropout Discord that Lilith's canonical surname is Spidersman, from her first husband, Petyr, who disappeared the morning after their wedding night." and she ate him too, excellent! ahaha
they do have super distinctive voices, which you echo so perfectly it's greek myth worthy <3 i've probably said this before, but i'm absolutely thrilled to share this ship with you, and anytime you want to mash the barbie dolls together i am there \o/\o/\o/