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 Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:42 pm
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The ache in battered limbs started a touch earlier than Sharra had originally surmised.
Walking back to the dorms, it became increasingly less delightful to place one foot in front of the other, and the ghoul that he was so protectively transporting seemed a heavier weight as time progressed. Luckily there were a thousand other issues on his mind, and that detracted from what otherwise would have been a fixation on his injuries. It definitely did something for the urgency of their trek, mind…bruised muscles already fantasizing about the softness of cushions.
There were still very ponderous issues still hanging in the air, ones that would likely cause a restless weight if left unaddressed, and for once, Sharra was not the source of them. So it was no surprise that the Nergal’s attention slid over to the dejected fey boil, studying him for a moment before speaking.
“Hey….you know it’s because of how much you mean to us, right?” All of it. The worry, the anger…whilst not always properly expressed, the blond demon was absolutely certain of the truth of his words this time. This mess was a horrific domino effect, complex, layered emotions all toppling one by one.
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:54 pm
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"Aye." Taking a shaky breath, Marosa concentrated on putting one step in front of the other, still gingerly holding his arm - the one that had been stabbed and wrenched.
Dissipation to fix himself was off the table. When he was in this bad of condition, there was no telling how he'd come back... or even if he would.
The faerie was distraught, in pain, and terrified. It was uncharacteristic for him to be so quiet, but his golden eyes stared straight ahead, shining with unshed tears as his grip tightened on his arm, remembering the fight he'd been in.
And instead of getting better and sitting around... Marosa wanted to get stronger. To prove himself. To help others. And that... hadn't worked out at all, leaving him back to square one where he felt like a completely useless tool that couldn't really do anything for himself.
He bit his lip, closing his eyes for a brief moment as the tears finally fell.
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:21 pm
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Hadiyya had put up no resistance when Sharra had scooped her up against his chest. Crying really didn't cover the emotional break she appeared to be suffering from. The ghoul wept, one delicate hand curling tightly into the front of the nergal's shirt. For a long while she didn't hear him, or Marosa, or anything really. Her mind was a static buzzing, senses dulled by the weight of the emotions threatening to crush her, and everything that had happened in the last week. She was, understandably, at the end of her ropes. Cracked and crumbling.
The tears did slow though, Yaya quieting slowing until it wasn't immediately obvious if she was still conscious, or had finally succumbed to the exhaustion that taken hold of her. She was utterly limp in Sharra's arms. Head lulling against his chest as the boils made their slow way back to the dorms. All she wanted in that moment was the glide of silken sheets across her skin and the soft embrace of a pillow beneath her head. To fall into the sweet spell of sleep, and linger there.
For now though she was awake, and she did hear their voices, but she felt as if she were caught in some numb daze. It probably should have been alarming, but in all honesty the lack of emotion and thought came as a relief to the demon ghoul. She didn't try to fight free of it, not yet. Instead she embraced it, wrapping it around herself like a blanket on a cold day. The numbness was safety, it was easy. What waited beyond it was anything but.
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:01 pm
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The sigh that escaped the Nergal was a heavy one, exasperation lingering there despite all of his best attempts to dismiss it. Marosa had been traumatized. Stripped of limbs that he had used on a day to day basis in the most brutal way possible. Something that still caused Sharra to seethe in grief and a vengeful anger...but he had gone beyond mindless rage, as he knew from personal, horrific experience...where thoughtless actions led. He would indeed avenge what had been done to both of his beloveds, but in due time. He had all the time in the world, after all....for those sorts of machinations.
"'Rosa...." The tears were almost physically painful to witness, and he rather wished he had a hand free, just so that he could take them away for even a small moment, to put to rights just a little bit of this disaster. "You're going to have to forgive me for being overbearing....I just....you've welcomed me back and I'm not...." The weight that had been crushing at his core rose up, traitorous, to choke him, voice hitching slightly, "I'm not ready to see you beaten to a pulp again quite yet. You're very dear to me, but at least until you're well....you really shouldn't try pushing your limits. I can't....I can't do that right now. You and Yaya are....the only thing left that I have that I consider....even akin to family. And I know it's not all set right yet. Not at all. But...." His words fell away.
He didn't know what to say to make it better, what to do to mend the two that meant most to him in the world. So now he was just letting his mouth run as it would. He worried for Yaya too, spent and overwrought as she was, and he clutched her just a little closer to his chest, taking a moment to breathe. His nose dipped into ebony hair, just touching there for a precious second, a kiss to the near-comatose ghoul. This was the fall-out, and Sharra hated this more than the personal pain he had experienced in his bittersweet return to the twosome. He'd never wanted this to happen, and some part of the Nergal took personal responsibility for the djinn's fragile emotional state.
"I'm not ready to lose you. And I know she isn't either. We came very close to that and it's left us...well...jittery and trigger-happy at best." He fought for the words, still walking so close that he could lean in and touch the fey boil if he wanted.
"Love you, silly."
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:13 pm
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The gancangh said nothing, merely nodding as he listened to Sharra, feeling guiltier by the moment. Sure, he'd been through a lot of pain and failure, but it didn't compare with what Sharra had gone through with his own family. He'd forgotten that his aunts no longer existed... and he regretted not being able to ever meet them.
The hand on his arm tightened, and he leaned closer to Sharra, closing the distance. He didn't really have anything to say, but merely gave a nod in response. Flexing his arm experimentally, the faerie winced and dropped both hands, shoving them in his pockets and deciding to just deal with the pain he'd been dealt.
He could really use some coffee at the moment, and welcomed the fact that Sharra was talking - his own thoughts were devious and against him, for the moment. Of course, he didn't realize that he started mumbling to himself.
"... need to see Da'luagh."
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:00 am
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:53 am
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The blond paused at the entrance to the dormitory, waiting to see what the fey boil’s answer would be to his query before proceeding. Not that he much liked what he heard next. “Marosa.” The spiked demon’s eyes narrowed dangerously, edges of his lips twitching as though threatening to release another displeased rumble. “You don’t ******** up everything you do. That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard you say…not that I’m keeping a list, but….”
A slow breath, released out in a cathartic sigh allowed them both a few seconds of silence. “Just…I get wanting to help; having something to prove. I’m sort of an expert on having something to prove.” A wry, knowing smile schooled Sharra’s features into a gentler expression. “But…we need you. She needs you….” He loitered on that last for a moment, looking down at the silent djinn. “So at least until we’re a bit more functional you miiiiiiight want to curb the heroics. You don’t need to prove yourself to us. You’re never going to prove it to yourself either if you wind up permanently dissipated. Can’t be a badass if you’re dead.” There was a click of his tongue in chiding before he moved to study the piece of post proffered in his direction.
Oh. Well that was lovely. The demon winced, “Oh that’s grand…maybe it won’t be too awful…?” And if it was, well the gancanaugh’s two paramours would be on the other side to coddle him a bit after. “I wouldn’t let your guard down, mind.” He did growl a bit at that, “I don’t trust your dear old dad much.” Not after the whole memory incident.
Nudging the bruised and bleeding group inside, he began a beeline trek towards Hadiyya’s room. Ah Jack, he just needed to flop and not move for oh, maybe the next week.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:08 am
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Gently adjusting the exhausted ghoul to a more comfortable position amidst the covers, Sharra then situated himself right next to the faerie, “Oh yes, because that fight went so well for ME…Poof goes the Nergal, if memory serves.” Shaking his head, he then reached out, and very gently put a hand on the other boil’s knee. “You don’t just miraculously get good at fighting, ‘Rosa….and you sure as hell don’t go charging into combat to get that experience. Try sparring with me for a while maybe…you know, while we’re here to patch your bruises and pick you back up.” It was a coaxing offer, the blond’s voice low and soothing.
As Marosa continued, Sharra adjusted to sit cross-legged, pulling off one shoe and then the other, dropping them over the edge of the bed to be discarded until further notice. Wiggling into a comfortable position, his tail curled around him, the tip of it twitching faintly as bright green eyes drifted from faerie to djinn and then back again. “I figured, all things considered.” There was a quirk of lips, something very bittersweet in the statement. “I’m…very glad you had one another. I truly am. I just….” A pause, collecting his thoughts much as he had when Hadiyya had asked if he still loved them. The demon had acquired a certain reverence for what came out of his mouth, learning from those mistakes, at least. “I love you. I love her. And I want you both to be happy…and…” His brows furrowed, distress creeping quietly into the boil’s features…and he took to studying his own fingers for a few ponderous seconds.
“…I’m going to do as much as I can to make this work. I just don’t want me being here to hurt her. Not when you’ve made things so much better for her.”
Doubt hung heavy in his gaze as he fixed it on the boil opposite, his voice dropping into a husky whisper, “I care too much for the both of you to screw this up again.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:19 am
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Sharra's words to the gancanaugh would have had quite a bit of reinforcement had the djinn in his arms been in any state to provide it. Instead it felt as if their voices washed over her. Apart of the conversation, but a part from it. Even when the emphasis was placed on her. She didn't stir, barely even seemed to be breathing, until the both of them were laying her prone form on a familiar bed.
The white noise and cotton that had filled her mind began to clear as the color and glow slowly returned to dim eyes. Not the bright Caribbean she normally bore, but something far more subdued. A grey-blue with only a faint glow, dark as as the ocean when clouds stole away the sub. Her eyes had become a measuring rod for the ghoul's emotions, another mark of the control she continued to gain over her Fear.
Sharra sank down to sit beside their fey, and the djinn's head turned against the pillow, gaze focusing on the backs of both their heads. Copper curls and sheets of pale blond. Darker for the water she'd doused them with. They were all sill wet, but that was a problem she could fix, even as drained as she felt. A twitch of her fingers, and they all began to dry, quicker than they would have on their own. Banishing the moisture away.
Moving more than that took an absurd amount of effort, but Yaya couldn't just lay there listening, not when this was the topic of painful conversation. One more hard situation befalling them, one right after the next. This, at least, she had a small measure of control over. If not the boils, than her thoughts and twisted feelings.
Rising up on weak arms, she shifted until she shoulder her way to lay her upper body between them. The bend of her legs slid to spoon around the gancanaugh's hips, cool fingers gliding over his thigh to lay an arm across his lap, but her head dropped into the curve of the nergal's bent knee.
In the last week and a half the nergal had managed to redeem himself considerably in the djinn's judgmental eyes. She saw the effort he was making, heard the truth in his words when he spoke. Trust wasn't there yet, the ghoul remains guarded, but the hostility had essentially gone from her. With the cooling of those negetive feelings came the knowledge that she was standing very nearly in the same place she had stood before: to keep one was to accept both. If she didn't, if she couldn't, she feared she lose everything.
It was either a step in the right direction, or the first shallow cut in something that would sever her ties from them completely.
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