Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_sᴛʀᴏɴɢ_ᴀs_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇɴᴇss. ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ_ᴀs_ᴛʀᴜᴇ_sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ.
Masa had never really considered herself an idiot before. Sure, there were times when she'd done silly things, things that clearly lacked in common sense. And sure, there had been times when she could have thought things through more, but she'd still never really considered herself an idiot, until now.
A week ago, she'd discovered just what exactly she was, and just why she'd never really fit into her neat little family unit. Magic coursed through her blood, powerful and dangerous, making her a danger not just to herself, but to those she cared for. When she'd first realized it, she'd been washing the dishes. Such a mundane task; one mere moment of inattention and a steak knife had slice across her palm. She'd barely had time to register the pain before her hand started to glow in the water. Dumbfounded, Masa stared down at the appendage, still not quite comprehending.
For a few days, she'd been able to pretend that nothing had happened. the next time it happened, she'd been taking a bath and a maid came into the chamber unexpectedly. Steam began to rise out of her bath fast and hot, though the water was barely lukewarm now. Fast thinking had Masa knocking a pitcher of water into the coals under the bath.
After that, she was forced to admit that she didn't have a choice but to believe. She was a mage and her powers had something to do with water. Masa knew she should count herself lucky that her abilities didn't manifest themselves in some weird deformity; at least hers were easily hidden.
Or so she thought, until her Mother caught her playing the water, making it form shapes in her hands, late last night. The young woman had thought her mother would be furious! A mage in the house, in the blood line! But surprisingly, the older woman was amazingly calm, talking about hiding her abilities, never using them again. Though this sat wrong with Masa, she agreed. She wanted nothing more than to please her parents.
She'd been an idiot to think her Mother could be so kind. She'd been woken from her sleep by a hand around her arm, dragging her out of bed. Disoriented and groggy, she didn't even fully realize what was happening until they were to the front door of her parents home. Masa had never really been one to disobey her parents, but she knew this was wrong; being turned over like this, sent to prison or worse by her own parents, was just wrong, not to mention utterly, mind-numbingly, terrifying.
Not even sure herself what she was doing, she knocked over a vase of flower in the entryway and stomped on her captors foot, even as she lunged into him at the same time. Masa may not have been a skilled fighter, but she'd seen enough of the training matches at the Peace Guard HQ to pick up a thing or two. She broke free of her captor the moment he lost his balance, and in an attempt to use the water from the broken vase, ended up forming a huge cloud of mist that spilled out into the street. It wasn't quite what she'd had in mind, but she'd never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Running from the house, she'd barely made it a block before she ran into Monty. Her first instinct, as it always was with him, was to stop, to give in. But the sound of shouts from behind her spurred her forth, and she said not a word, merely kept on running past him.
o.O.o
"Isn't this exciting?"
Masa wasn't quite sure if that was the word she'd use to describe their current situation, though she supposed, given his attitude, it suited well enough. Technically speaking. To be honest, she wasn't even entirely sure why she'd gone to Tale, of all people. He was as much as Peace Guard as the rest of the people searching for her. She was sure the only thing she had going for her, as far as he was concerned, was their friendship. Not that she distrusted him, but in fact she knew him well enough to know that he rarely did anything unless there was some sort of personal gain in it for him.
His statement about turning her in himself didn't come as a surprise to her, given all she knew of him, and all the time she'd spent in his company. Masa didn't have the makings of a true Peace Guard, no matter how much her parents might wish she did. So, she tended to spend a lot of time avoiding them, or helping out around HQ in an attempt to make up for being a pitiful excuse for a Peace Guard's child. That was probably one of the few things she had in common with Tale, if you ignored the fact that he was actually able to be useful.
“Peaceguard officers, two o’clock.”
She tensed and automatically pulled the hood of her cloak down further, even as Tale stepped in front of her. Tale had been the right choice, despite his obvious sense of self-persevation above all others. He might turn her in, but at least he'd helped get her this far. "Careful isn't exactly a word you could use to describe either of us," she said, somewhat amused despite her current situation. Or at least, she tried to find the humor in this. Tale, of all people, helping her escape, and neither one of them worth anything if it came to an actual fight.
o.O.o
By the time the train started rolling, Tale was fast asleep and Masa was left to her own devices. Now that they were safe on the train, she thought it might be safe enough to take her hood off, and she sighed as the soft fabric slipped past her ears to settle around her shoulders. The guard had woken her from a sound sleep late last night, and she'd been running ever since. She was exhausted and more than anything, wish she could go back to even just yesterday, before magic had made itself known in her veins.
Before she knew it, she was crying. Nothing loud, or obnoxious, just tears rolling down her cheeks, silently choking her and her heart. She fell asleep to them and was jarred awake by the rude yelling of the Peace Guard.
"Hey. Hey, you!"
She looked to Tale, saw him staring blankly at the Guards, and frowned. Papers? Identification? Since when--ten years, then. Well, she hadn't known, and clearly Tale hadn't either. She supposed that's what happened when you rarely, (Tale) if ever (Masa), left Highmere. When the older one settled his eyes on her, she couldn't help but to flinch, her fingers knotting together under the material of her cloak.
Not sure she could even form a coherent sentence, not sure her voice wouldn't crack if she tried, Masa let Tale do all the talking. The train had been his idea anyway, though she couldn't blame him for wanting to try. Besides, who would have thought the Peace Guard would have gotten to looking for her so quickly. She'd thought her mother might try and hide the story for as long as possible, considering the illicit mid-night near arrest and the fiasco that had been.
When the younger officer said he knew she was the one, she paled, and couldn't help but to look back up at him, part fear, part frustration. They couldn't very well known she was the one they were looking for, not without papers, or at least someone to agree that she was who they thought she was, if that made any kind of sense. But Masa knew first hand, after years of watching her parents at work, that the Peace Guard often did all number of unjust things. The two walked away, but she couldn't force herself to relax.
"It's not your fault," she said to Tale. "I shouldn't have been playing with the magic in my room, of all places. I shouldn't have been playing with it at all!" And that was what frustrated her to know end. She should have just tried to ignore the magic, to pretend that it didn't exist, rather than letting her curiosity get the better of her. If she'd been able to play at normality, who knew how much time she'd have been able to buy herself.
“I’ve seen what happens…to...” He broke off. "You should fight..."
He wasn't helping, though she knew it wasn't intentional. He wasn't the only one who knew what went on down in the prisons of the Peace Guard HQ. The rumors about testing things on mages was true. But to fight? She could barely lift a weapon correctly, let alone use one effectively. And if the mess of fog from her escape in the early, early hours of the morning were any indicator, her magic wasn't going to be any different.
The screeching tore her from her thoughts, and before she could put two and two together, she watched as Tale slammed forward into the seat in front of him and went still, even as she tried to keep her own seat.
When all was said and down, she wound up on the floor, her head aching. Touching her forehead where it hurt the most, she frowned when her fingers came away wet. She must have hit it on something, but she honestly couldn't remember what. The sound of metal being ripped from the car jerked her from her dazed thoughts and Masa hurried to crouch near Tale. Whatever was ripping the train apart, it couldn't have been normal, or human even.
So, when she saw the slight woman jump up into the now open-sided train, Masa was at a loss for words. How in the world....
Her eyes widened as comprehension dawned. Mage. And she was coming right towards she and Tale. Masa might not have been much of a fighter, but she couldn't help but to be protective of the people she cared about. And Tale, despite the oddity of their friendship and current situation, was one of those people. She might even go so far as to say he was one of the only people she would protect without hesitation, now that her parents had betrayed her so violently.
A split second decision had Masa moving to the seats across from her's and Tale's, and ducking low, as the other passengers were doing. She listened as the female spoke, or rather insulted, her friend, and held herself back as irritation filtered inside her. Tale wasn't a fool; he was probably one of the most intelligent people she'd ever had the luck to meet.
Rua. A pretty name, for a pretty lady with quite an ugly personality, Masa thought, especially as the woman threatened to break Tale's kneecaps. The young, inexperienced hydromancer didn't hesitate to act then, especially as Tale spoke up about being sick. She launched from her position out of Rua's line of sight and shoved the other woman with all her might, using all of her weight and momentum to do so.
Not waiting to see where Rua landed, Masa grabbed Tale's hand and dragged him from the train. "We've got to get out of here," she said, looking around frantically. She didn't particularly care for the whole broken knee cap idea, and Tale didn't look like he was in any condition to put up much of a fight.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Oh boy. Diggory had only seen her this drunk on one other occasion, and even then she'd at least had a semblance of self-control and elegance. Now she was just...sloppy, if cheerful. Blue eyes winced when she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled herself closer, because the scent of the booze on her made it seem like she'd just left a brewery. A glance at Riley had him seeming the humor in the situation, as his brother had an amused, tolerant smirk on his handsome face.
"It's Riley," Riley said, letting her think she'd pushed him into the seat even as he sank down. No point in getting her riled up; he knew first hand how rowdy an angry, drunk woman could become, and just how much damage they could wreak, if you let them. He winced when she yelled another order of drinks to the Tender, as she was still right up in his ear. "Dar'lin, you're gonna be in a world of hurt tomorrow."
Diggory grinned at this, and sat down on her other side, effectively blocking the lascivious stares the men there had been directing at her. "Better be careful, Demi. You're brining out the southern man, now." When Joshua set down three beers, Dig nodded at him. One more drink wasn't going to make that much of a difference for her, not now.
Riley didn't expect she would remember any of what she was saying, come morning, which just made this all the more amusing. He did wonder, as Dig looked at her with bored eyes that masked concern, what had caused her to go on this tear. His attention was soon diverted though when she leaned closer to him again.
"Diggy cans be a handsful. He likes pwaying damshle in deshtress while he swaves the shinny k-night.....I needs to k-now yous there to wash his back."
Dig about choked on his beer, at that. He coughed and swallowed at the same time, causing Riley to bust out laughing even as he reached over and slapped Dig's back. She didn't know the half of it, Dig thought, exasperated and amused all at once. And, unerringly, a little pleased, too.
Riley took her hand and placed a light kiss on the back, grinning rakishly at her. "Sweetheart, I've saved that boys a** any number of times, same as he's saved mine, I 'spect. We look out for our own," he added, grinning at his brother, and let go of her hand before that brother got the urge to rid him of it.
Rolling his eyes, Dig nodded to the pile of shot glasses and empty beer bottles. "I doubt my coming back here is as big of a mistake as this will be when you wake up in the morning."
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
◢ LOCATION x Home xxx ◢ MOOD x Sated and Sleepy xxx ◢ COMPANY x Amani
God, her side ached. She wanted to crawl into a corner and lick her wounds, but now wasn't the time. Gold eyes flashed as she subdued her powers a bit, especially as Nova came to stand beside her. Nova, Alpha. There was so much there, aside from just that relationship. Nova wasn't the first Alpha Enid had worked with, and though she might have been determined that Nova be the last, there were still a sort of friendship there. As with Zohara, this was the first time Enid could remember becoming close with an Alpha...well...as close as Enid came to having friends, or being friends, with an Alpha, anyway.
But now she was just pissed, especially as Nova just ranted. Fire burned her from the inside out, propelled by the injury in her side. The Alpha should have known better than to provoke her in battle, especially with the injury making it harder to focus. If it hadn't been for Zohara interfering, Enid wasn't quite sure she would have been able to restrain herself; wasn't quite sure she would have wanted to restrain herself. Still, as it was, she ignored the silent order not to speak. "You think you're any better than me?" she demanded harshly, taking a step menacing step forward as her claws lengthened, unwillingly, to deadly talons. "You think, Nova, you're any less a slave now than I am? You think they care whether we live or die? I'm giving life to people who'd gladly take your life, or even my own, or any other thing that isn't pure hu---"
She was cut off as Zohara grabbed the back of her collar and started to drag her away. she shouted, anger over running common sense, and she turned her rant on the new hunter. Like the trained mutts we are, she correctly silently, forgetting for a moment that she was being toted around like an errant pup.
At least until her back was suddenly slammed into the nearest wall and Zohara had her arm against Enid's throat, trapping the Hunter there.
"The world has given you a s**t hand, and I can't even imagine how tough it has been on you. However, you are being rather selfish, and putting two people that care about you and your well being in a very difficult spot. Now, I really don't have time to deal with this considering I currently crystals raining down on this city."
And oh, did that hurt. So much more than a command or insult from Nova ever could. She did care about Zohara and Nova, and she probably always would, but there was only so much the young phoenix Daeve was willing to take, to do, and constantly dying so a stranger could live was nothing she wanted part in any longer.
Zohara let go, and Enid forced herself to calm down. She'd already lost her temper, and look where it had gotten her. Not to mention acting rashly; she should have just kept on running, rather than trying to get them to stop following her. Memorizing the name the General had given her, she nodded, but wasn't at all sure she would follow that order because the truth was that Enid had no idea what she wanted to do, now that she had this thing called freedom.
"Goodbye," she murmured as Zohara disappeared around the corner, forcing herself to memorize the look of sorrow in those bright blue eyes.
She couldn't bring herself to mention that she hadn't needed protection in a very long time. Not needing something but appreciating it all the same was something she'd learned from the General. Perhaps one of her only regrets to leaving was the pain she was causing those two females.
Looking down at the injury in her side, she pulled the crystal shard free of the wound, wincing as she did so. She studied it for a moment, before watching as the skin slowly started to knit itself back together again. It would be a bit before it was completely healed, a couple hours at least, but it was a start.
Now where should she start? There wasn't a doubt in her mind that other search parties had been sent out for her, so of course staying under the radar was a must. But in truth, she had no where else to go, and now idea how to spend this currency called Freedom.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Dove grey eyes grew wide at the sight of the room full of people, and her hand fisted in the skirt of the woman she stood beside even as she stepped closer to said person. Livvy had always been a shy person, especially when confronted with a stranger and though the woman who's skirts she clung to was just as much a stranger as the room full of people, at least she was a bit more familiar than the others.
What she wanted, more than anything, was to complete whatever task they wanted of her and then to return home to Mama. There was no telling how long Mama would last without Livvy there to heal the injuries her father inflicted. It didn't occur to the child that this wasn't something she should have to worry about in the first place.
The woman in the front of the room, and as was her wont, she played close attention. She might have been a child, but she was smart and knew that the more she could understand about what was going on, the faster she could return home and despite the heavy hands of her father, that was what she wanted most because that's where Mama was. Mama was all that mattered to her.
She didn't sound like a nice person, not that Livvy really knew anymore what counted as nice. Maybe it was people like Mama that were nice? Still huddling close to the woman who stood beside her, she stared at the woman talker with solemn eyes. Her words came fast and hard, but not quite as sharp as her Father's did. The child wondered if this woman, unlike Father, had the capacity to be nice, and wondered too why she seemed to dislike all the other people in the room, especially since it seemed like she'd never met any of them personally before.
The woman went on and on, and Livvy's attention drifted as she slowly started to relax. She turned her eyes from the woman to the others in the room, discounting the people dressed in suits and focusing on the younger ones. She was a little disappointed that there weren't any kids her age. Who was she supposed to play with? They all looked a bit older, and some of them were kind of rough around the edges.
One in particular caught her attention, and she stared fixedly at his blue hair. There was something about his face that was familiar to her, but she couldn't really fix on it. Her heart neatly stopped when he turned suddenly and their eyes met, and automatically she slipped further behind the woman who stood beside her and dropped her eyes, but startled more when he called her name.
Suddenly, the woman stopped speaking and was leaving the room, and the woman whom Livvy was hiding behind was leaving too. She tried to follow, still clinging to her skirts, but she was gently pulled away and left behind.
She had no more than a second to realize what was happening before she felt arms wrapping around her, and she tensed automatically, forgetting for a moment that Father wasn't there, and that he'd never embraced her to begin with. This close to him, she had no choice but to look at him and though she remained still in his hug, she looked up at his face. When recognition dawned, grey eyes, their mother's eyes, grew even wider and she clung to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding tight. "I'm okay," she mumbled, burrowing closer.
In truth, Livvy didn't know much about her brother, and remembered even less. But, he was a familiar face, and he seemed like he had more of Mama in him than of their Father. "I don't really understand what's going on, though..."
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_sᴛʀᴏɴɢ_ᴀs_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇɴᴇss. ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ_ᴀs_ᴛʀᴜᴇ_sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ.
Despite the vast amount of time she had spent in the training yards of the Peace Guard HQ, Masa had never before had a gun leveled at her. It was a distinctly terrifying feeling, but more than that, also horridly fascinating. She'd gone from being an average person, intent only on living a peaceful, quiet life, to being a fugitive, all in less than 24 hours. And now, here she stood, staring down the business end of a pistol. Her insides churned in a vigorous dance and she bit her lip, automatically taking a step back against Tale.
“Stop right there little one. That man you are taking with you is actually coming with me and my accomplice here.”
For one heart stopping moment, Masa was half-tempted to turn Tale over to this mysterious man. He wasn't the one the stranger was pointing the gun at, after all, and there wasn't a doubt in Masa's mind that Tale wouldn't hesitate as she was. Her scientist one wasn't well known for putting the well being of others before himself and he didn't generally expect others to do that for him. But still, the thought passed as quickly as it had come and though her first step closer to her friend had been accidental, the next one was intentional. She hid Tale, taller and broader shouldered than she was, as best as she was able. "You can't---
"Lower your gun, Lauter!"
Surprise had had breaking off and the water mage turned to look at the pink haired intruder. Another stranger, though from the uniform the girl was wearing, Masa assumed she was a Peace Guard, and probably a trainee, just as Masa had been only a day ago. Was this girl as unwilling as she had been? The mage doubted it, not from the look of fierce bravery, or was it desperation, that flitted across her pretty features. The girl stood no more of a chance against this person with the gun than Masa did, she was sure.
What happened next happened so quickly that Masa had no idea how to react. One moment she still faced the barrel of the gun, the next, a tall figure in a brown cloak suddenly stood before her, blocking her almost entirely from view. He said a lot of things she didn't understand, but the magic in the air intensified ten fold when he showed himself, especially when he reached down to the ground and scales seemingly appeared out of no where to coat his arm. He seemed to know the lady in red though, and that was something to be wary of. Father and daughter?
"Are you with them?" she demanded, pushing Tale back with her as she took a step away from him. Maybe that was a stupid question though, because he seemed the only one intent on even attempting to help or protect her and Tale.
Too much was happening at one time for Masa to be able to put all the pieces together, let alone for her to be able to react quickly. Added to all the people now gathered, Monty was suddenly there, clearly trying to protect the trainee. Her heart hurt a bit though at the thought that he considered her an enemy now though. She'd known him such a long time that his ideas about mages was well known and the young mage hated the idea that he now considered her an enemy.
The lady in red was back, silver eyes glinting, and she said, "Little girl, you've got a lot of guts to be pushing me around. You clearly have no idea who you're screwing with."
She withdrew needle looking blades and for a moment, Masa thought the woman was going to point them at her, but she turned them instead to Monty. "No!" she shouted, and leaving Tale to the stranger, made to run toward Monte. Freedom be damned, she didn't want him hurt! Her heart turned over at the mere thought of it, but she barely made it five feet before she tripped over her own feet, and went down hard, her boots tangling in the ends of the cloak even as the Lady ripped Monte's voulge from his hands. "Leave him alone!" Angrier than she'd ever been, more terrified to boot, she tried to scramble up but the cloak just got in the way again and fell back to her knees.
A little girl appeared out of no where, and though Masa knew close to nothing about magic, she recognized the way the wind turned up out of no where, especially with the appearance of the little girl. Whatever attention the child might have drawn though was quickly deterred by the way the train started to lift from the ground, a giant metal serpent, ready to crush them all at the Lady's whim.
"Oh god," she whispered, fingers digging into the dirt. When the male with the gun fired, his bullet whipping through the remaining survivors on the train, she felt sick. So many lives, lost. Would any of this had happened if she had let that nameless peace guard soldier take her from her home, if she hadn't begged Tale to help her escape? Tears threatened at the edges of her vision and she stifled them, shaking her head. Guilt could come later, she knew, would have to come later, in fact, because the Lady was grabbing Tale now and suddenly the train was crashing down.
She yanked the twice damned cloak off and pushed herself up, and ran. She saw Monty scoop up the pink haired girl, and glanced back only once to see the stranger, before she focused on getting the hell out of dodge. She'd never run so hard, and even as she ran, she knew she wouldn't make it. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed the water satchel at her side and ripped the top off, spilling it out around her. Nothing raced through her mind but survival, and though she had no idea where the instincts came from, she followed them.
Water splattered out on the ground around her, and closing her eyes, she followed the way her body and mind wanted her to move. It felt like she was dancing, the way her hands moved, but she didn't second guess it, especially as she felt water lick against her fingers. Her knees buckled under her, and her fingers clenched into fists and she was suddenly freezing as something cold and hard closed around her, forcing her closer to the ground. Masa could feel the water expanding as it froze, and it felt like the shell that was hugging her into the ground in protection was growing thicker and thicker, and she was growing colder and colder.
She could hear it crashing against the ground all around her, could feel the way its massive weight shook the earth, and nearly cried out when she felt and heard it crash against her little dome of ice, the only protection the inexperienced mage had. Curled up on her side, her arms covering her head, Masa prayed to all the Gods she could think of, begging them for safety, promising her life in every way possible if only she could survive this.
How long she spent there, laying under the cracking ice, she had no idea. It couldn't have been that long though, because soon the ice started to give way and Masa knew she couldn't lay there forever. Drained, she reached up to feel along the ice, tracing her fingers along the cracks that splayed out around the top of the dome. The weight felt pressed close along one half of the dome, and she wondered if it were possible to simply melt the ice and push it all to that one side to fortify her dome and then get out before the weight of the metal crushed it and her, in turn.
Amber eyes squeezed shut, her fingers moved to the side of the ice where she felt no weight pressing down and, trying to focus, she started to turn the ice back to water, following whatever instinct had saved her only moments ago. It worked at first, and the feel of fresh air on her face urged her to go faster. Doing so was a mistake, because she stopped following instinct and started trying to control the magic.
The water wouldn't follow her control and was simply soaking her as it melted down, weakening her barrier. She barely managed to scramble out of the hole she'd made before the weight of the train, long since settled in the ground, bore down on her hidey-hole, shattering the ice that had protected her.
Sprawled on the ground, Masa stared at the pile of metal and ice for a moment, trying to get her bearings, trying to get past the fact that she'd just nearly died and would have, if it weren't for her new found abilities. It wasn't until she went to stand that she noticed the sharp pain in her left shoulder. In fact, her left arm would hardly move, and even just that slight motion threatened to send her back to her knees. Her shoulder was dislocated; she really had just managed to escape with her life.
Looking around, she noted that the train formed a nearly perfect circle around her, or at least it would have, if it weren't for the way the cars lay broken and scattered. Trying to hold her arm steady, she moved to the closet one and followed it's edges, grateful the car was on its side and that she wasn't forced to look into the eyes of the dead as she lived. When she found the gap between two cars, much tighter than it should have been because of the way it had fallen, Masa forced herself through the gap, crying as the motions sent sharp shoots of pain through her.
When she finally managed to break through, she really had no strength left and she felt her knees come out from under her again. When she hit the ground, she noticed the mud that coated her skin and clothing only minutely, turning her attention to see who had survived.
A bit of a ways away, Monty looked to have dragged the trainee away, and even further, on her other side, was the stranger who had stepped in front of the gun. Dazed, and a little lost since she no longer had Tale, Masa simply sat there, looking between the two, unsure even what to do.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
She dreamt beautiful dreams, more beautiful than anything she had seen in more years than she could count. She dreamt happy dreams, full of the simple pleasure of living, a simplicity she had not experienced in more years than was fair.
When the harsh, female sound of a scream tore her from those dreams, her first instinct was to attack, and so she did. There was no hesitation as she lunged up and forward, or tried to. The moment she put weight on her right leg, it went out from under her, as if it wasn't even there to begin with.
She fell hard, but Misaki wasn't sure what stunned her more, the lack of use in her leg, or the site of herself standing there screaming like a wounded animal. On top of that, her head felt as if she'd slammed it into the ground several times, and over-all, her body just felt wrong. Closing her eyes, fearing the worst, the kitsune ran her fingers down the length of her body, and wanted to sob at the feel of everything that shouldn't be there, at the loss of the things that should.
A curse then, from Inari-sama. Had she really so wronged the God that he felt the need to add further misery to her life, to trap her in this infernal, inferior body?
And clearly the damned boy didn't understand what was happening, if his screaming was anything to go by. Scowling, she pushed herself up again, careful this time to put all of her weight on the left leg, and slapped him, though it annoyed her to leave a mark on her own face. "Be quiet!" she hissed, stepping closer to him, though it was beyond disorienting to think of her own body as a him.
Taking stock of the situation, she grabbed her arm...though she supposed it was his for the time being, and shoved him down onto the same pallet she'd laid his body out on before. Clearly, someone had to be calm in this situation and since he was going into hysteria in her body, she'd have to figure out a way out of this situation on her own.
Whatever this was, it clearly had magic, which meant the only way to undo it was by magic also. She doubted seriously her own skills were any match for the magic of a God, though. But, trapped in this pitiful male's body, she would need his help while he was trapped in hers. Scowling, she spun back around and cursed his gimp leg as she went sprawling at his feet.
"Infernal human body," she muttered, pushing herself up to sit and glare at the offending appendage for a moment, entertaining ideas of using his sword to just cut the damned thing off. Eventually, she brushed aside those thoughts and focused on him, and got lost in her own eyes, her mind going blank quite quickly
She felt disgust and arousal in equal measure, both of which she quickly tamped down on. "Listen, human. You're probably thinking I want to kill you, or eat you...or worse," she muttered, eyes flashing as she glared haughtily at him. "But you're wrong. I'm not interested in ailing little pukes like you. If I'd wanted you dead, I'd have killed you back in the field. So if you could kindly cease your hysterics and think calmly about a way to get out of this situation, I'm sure you'd like to get back to your own body, too, then that would be great."
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Hitomi Sayano
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x- INVENTORY
tab 6,750
tab Mach Bike
tab 6 Pokeballs
tab 5 Potions
tab 1 Paralyze Heal
tab 2 Greatballs
tab 1 Awakening
tab 1 Soft Sand
POKéMON
tab Manni (Mantyke) - 10/10 HP
tab Penny (Pancham) - 10/10 HP
tab Shinx - 10/10 HP
tab Magby - 10/10 HP
tab Snorunt - 10/10 HP
tab Elgyem - 10/10 HP
Emi wasn't stupid. She knew she was being ignored when Theodore turned all of his attention to the teen. Maybe that was deserved, but it still hurt. He hadn't ignored her since the the first few times they had faced each other, all those years ago. Even when he'd been angry wit her, he'd looked her in the eye.
Forcing herself to focus on Chrysanth, she barely restrained from rolling her eyes. Whether the girl was doing it intentionally or not, Emi had never been one to test her patience with self-pity. Even when she'd had every right to bathe in the stuff, she'd forced herself to put her insecurities behind her and focus on the here and now. And, when the opportunity had presented itself to rid herself of her problems, she'd leapt at it with both hands.
Maybe it was that act first, think second action that hurt Theodore the most, because it translated to a lack of trust on her part. And maybe that was true, because there was a part of her that had thought he wouldn't believe her, and she couldn't bare the idea of him thinking she was a liar. So she'd taken the cowards way out and not said anything.
Though he'd been facing the match, she blinked when he was suddenly standing directly in front of her; she'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't even seen him move.
"Not sure I'd use the word hate, but-"
He reared back, and for one heart-breaking moment, she thought he was going to hit her. She didn't move as he brought his fist swinging forward, simply closed her eyes and waited; she probably deserved to be punched, and it's not like it would be the first time, in or out of the ring. Still, there was no controlling the flinch as his fist went straight by her face and she shuddered as the wind from that quick jab kissed her cheek. Letting out a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding, Emi opened her eyes and looked up at him as she dragged his fist down the wall beside her head.
"Maybe. Certainly got some things to answer for."
Instinct reared; she reached up for him without thought, moving to touch her fingers to his cheek, but stopped just short of actual contact. Her touch was probably the last thing he wanted to take comfort from right now, even if he actually wanted it. She couldn't tell any more what he might or might not want from her. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she mumbled, dropping her hand and looking down at their feet.
True to fashion, he turned away to face the match again. As much as that slight snub hurt, he was right. This wasn't the time or the place for the conversation they needed to have, and it wasn't fair of her to tell him things he might not want to hear. By choosing to leave without telling him anything, by allowing him to think she was dead, she'd burned any bridge they might have built together.
When Emi zoned back into the battle, it was to watch the gym leader deliver the same final blow he'd dealt to her own team. If there was one thing the trainer new well, it was the bitter tang of defeat, of wondering what she could have done differently. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the younger girl she'd done alright, and offer tips if she wanted them, but then Chrysanth started going on about spirits, and girls, and not being good enough. It was all hogwash, as far as Emi was concerned. Chyrsanth wouldn't have even been there if she hadn't been good enough, but the older trainer had never really been much of one to provide motivation or cheer to others, even under this new identity.
The teen ran off and Emi stared dumbfounded as the doors slammed closed. Surely that had been a bit...over dramatic. Blue eyes slid closed on a sigh and she leaned forward from her place on the wall. "If you're going to chase after her, you'd better go now," she said finally, sliding her hands into her pockets, "but if you're not, I'm headed to the poke center to heal my pokemon if you wanted to come. If not...I guess I'll see you around."
Not sure what his response was going to be, or if he even wanted to spend any time in her company, she started towards the door. Her steps were slow though, and she was careful to give him enough time to make up his mind. If there was one thing she knew for sure about him, he'd either stop her or ignore her, and rushing him wasn't going to make a difference one way or the other.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Hitomi Sayanoxxxxxx- INVENTORY
tab 6,750
tab Mach Bike
tab 6 Pokeballs
tab 5 Potions
tab 1 Paralyze Heal
tab 2 Greatballs
tab 1 Awakening
tab 1 Soft Sand
POKéMON
tab Manni (Mantyke) - 10/10 HP
tab Penny (Pancham) - 10/10 HP
tab Shinx - 10/10 HP
tab Magby - 10/10 HP
tab Snorunt - 10/10 HP
tab Elgyem - 10/10 HP
She'd barely made it out the door before he spoke and...well, if he'd wanted to make her flinch again, he'd succeeded. She could no more keep the hurt from her eyes than she could her body from jerking at his words. "You're an a*****e," she muttered, though there wasn't any real heat in it, and stuffed her hands into her pockets, thankful for the fact that he wasn't looking at her. No doubt he already had enough ammunition to launch a full battalion against her; the last thing Emi wanted was to give him any more fuel.
She'd never led him on...at least, not intentionally. And if he thought that everything between them had been an act or a lie, then he was wrong. She'd never felt more secure, more loved or safe, than she was with him. It was why she'd been unable to tell him, because she'd been scared he'd look at her the way he was looking at her now.
Still, he had a point, as Tequilla came waddling up to her. Point or no though, she'd never particularly been one to take a punch lying down. He knew that well enough. "Not my fault you treat your pokemon like s**t," she said blithely, after giving herself a moment to compose herself. "They're bound to defect when you let them wander around poisoned or paralyzed, or what have you."
Shaking her head, she stopped, sighed, and turned to crouch before the electrabuz, who bumped into her legs with a soft squeak. "I'm not your trainer," she said, lightly petting the electric type on the head. Leaning forward to whisper in the creature's ear, she smiled slightly and spoke only loud enough for Tequilla to hear. "This guy may be a jerk and an idiot, but he'll do right by you if you give him half a chance. Though you might be the one to train him."
She squeaked in agreement and nuzzled Emi under the chin.
Smiling still, she took a moment to wipe the emotion away before she stood to face him again. "All fixed," she said quietly, and brushed past him. "Now you don't have to suffer my company anymore."
True to her word, Tequilla remained at Theo's side as the female trainer walked off, and even if she felt like crying, Emi thought she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. Still, they hadn't been apart long enough for him to have forgotten all of her tells, or her, his. He was as upset as she was, though he wasn't bothering to hide it. She felt she owed it to him to try and remain unaffected. Maybe that was what he had come to expect from her, after all.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Livvy didn't cling to her brother, as might have been her wont if she'd known him better. She hugged him back and then let go when he did, though she couldn't help the fact that he held on longer than she did. Listening to Camden as he spoke, it sounded a lot like what the lady in the skirt had said to her when she'd picked Livvy up from school. She wondered still how anyone had been able to tell that she'd been hacking souls, practicing her abilities on those souls that needed it, like Mama's did.
Something inside of her warmed when Cam said that she looked like Mama. "They didn't take her," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him to the nearest empty pile of bedding and the like. "They said that if I did what they wanted, then I could go back home and keep helping Mama."
She didn't answer his questions about Mama, thinking he would probably know how their mother was doing, alone in the presence of their father. There wasn't any point in talking about what they both already knew. Instead, she looked around the large room, observing again the people milling about, especially now that their caretakers had taken their leave.
The more she thought about it, the more disappointing it was that there weren't any other kids her age. She tugged on Cam's hand. "How come there aren't any other kids?" she demanded, a petulant frown forming on her lips. It wasn't fair. Who was she supposed to play with between whatever chores these people were going to make them do?
Easily distracted, she let go of Cam's hand and smiled hesitantly up at him. "I'll be right back. I need to use the potty."
Well used to doing for herself, she moved towards the only other door in the room, carefully side-stepping anyone who didn't see her or who might have tripped over her out of inattention. When she reached the door, she saw the blond boy from earlier, and she could hear another girls voice from behind the door. "I need to go," she told him, and knocked on the door lightly, though she was' sure if she could be heard, considering her hand barely reached the middle of the door. "Excuse me," she called, "but I need to go to."
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
If there was anything he knew about Demi, there were three things that stuck out the most. First, that she'd never really been able to handle her alcohol. He could remember any number of times in high school, before everything had gone to hell, when they'd been at a party or some kind of big gathering and they'd been drinking; three beers usually had her buzzed and four tended to tip her right over into drunk.
The second was that when she was drunk, there really wasn't any stopping her until she crashed. If you tried to take her drink away before she was ready to stop, she was as likely to bite your arm off as she was to kiss you. Which were both things she tended to do while drinking. No doubt though she had her own horror stories of what he did when he was drunk.
Third, when she was done, she was done. Like now, as she leaned against his chest. Dig knew she was probably still semi-aware of what was going on, but he doubted she'd remember much of anything, coming morning. Ignoring both the shot and the beer she'd ordered them, he nodded at Riley. "Time to go. She can sleep this off on the couch."
"Yeah," he said, grinning. "I'll bunk down with you."
Dig scooped Demi up princess style, careful not to jar her too much lest she puke on him, while Riley paid the tab. When the three stepped outside, Demi curled further into him, as the air was brisk on the skin she was baring.
Riley opened the door and Dig carefully laid her out on the backseat, only to be stopped by a cold, hard voice.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Turning around, Dig caught sight of one of the detectives from earlier in the day. He scowled. "I'm taking a friend home to let her sleep off a heavy drunk," he said.
"You really think I'm going to let the likes of you wander off with an unconscious female in your car?"
Annoyed, dancing with pissed, Dig slammed the car door closed and took a step towards the cop, or would have, if Riley hadn't held on to his arm to keep him still. "Piss off," he snarled at the cop, and climbed into the drivers seat to let Riley deal with the man.
o.O.o
Dig looked at her sprawled out on his couch. She'd already vomited a few times on the way home and once in the house. Chances were she'd gotten most of the bile out, but tomorrow was going to be one hell of a rude awakening, especially with the cop parked outside his father's house.
Shaking his head, he followed Riley to the back of the house and close the door quietly.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
tab tab ➸xxxCOMPANY peoplexxxxxxx➸xxxLOCATION placexxxxxxx➸xxxMOOD meh
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She stirred the water with the tips of her fingers, seeing, in her minds eye, the way the ripples danced back and forth along the rim of the bowl and back to her fingers. And she watched as the ripples turned to people, the solid blue of the bowl turning to scenery; there was laughter, and sunlight, and so much more, but all mere flashes, too fast to understand upon first sight. If only this had been the first time she'd seen it, if only this had been the first time she'd heard the laughter turn to screams, seen the sky turned dark.
Frustrated, Kirsikka pulled herself from the vision and slapped the bowl away, ignoring the way the porcelain shattered on the stone floors. What good were these powers when they showed nothing but partial images, nothing she could make use of, images that were almost always just enough to leave her frustrated, and always useless.
Across the room, the maid sighed and moved to clean up the mess, well aware the frustration her Lady faced after an unsuccessful vision.
Sikka frowned. "I'm sorry, Vevaldi," she said, tone soft as she forced herself to relax. Clearly now just was not the time to try and see the future.
"You should try and get some sleep, My Lady," the maid said, dropping the broken shards of pottery into the waste can by the fireplace. "You've got a long trip and a big day, tomorrow. You'll be meeting your future husband, after all."
There really wasn't a need to be reminded of the fate that awaited her in Ulenda. Sikka knew her duty and knew it well, so she hadn't bothered to put up a fuss, as her siblings had. Arranged marriage had always been in their cards, but she had perhaps always been the most ambivalent about the whole thing. This though was different; she had as much a chance of being paired with an ally as she did of being wed to an enemy, and even she was a bit nervous at such a thought.
She might not have the same blind hatred towards Comatlan and Elennria as Nylir did, but she knew enough about both kingdoms to be wary of possible matches there. Not that she would really fight such a pairing, but even she hoped there would be other matches.
Standing, she smoothed down the skirts of her night gown and counted her steps to reach the bed. She'd gotten into the habit of counting her steps after only a year or so of being blind, because she'd wanted as much as possible to take care of herself, and having to be led around, even in her own chambers, had reeked of helplessness and a lack of control.
Discarding her dressing gown, she passed it into the waiting hands of Vevaldi, and climbed under the covers.
Vividly laid the gown out at the foot of the bed, then moved to bank the fire. She knew her Lady well, and knew that under the cold, quiet facade of silence, there was worry. Silently, she banked the fire, and took to the small chamber on the other side of the room, to put herself to sleep too.
o.O.o
A perk of being blind was that she didn't have to squint when the sun was too bright; she could feel the warmth of it kissing the bare shoulders her gown exposed, caressing the smooth skin of her face, but she was not blinded by it, as others were. Her mother was amused at the fact that she would have no wrinkles around her eyes, when sh was older.
Sikka was not amused at the amount of speaking her mother was doing. The Queen persisted in repeating the same things over and over again, the same rules and guidelines she'd been hearing for the past few months, since word of the arranged marriage had first reached them. She was close to bring Queen herself too, and felt these continued reminders were unnecessary and a waste of time. "Mother," she said, voice firm. "That is enough. I know my duty well."
The Queen barely refrained from scowling; the show of displeasure would be useless against the girl. "You should know better than to interrupt someone of higher rank, when they're speaking," she said coldly.
"And you should know better than to lecture your heir for the fourth time, when it's the same information I've heard three other times. I'm blind mother, not unintelligent or deaf."
"You might try being a bit more charming, when you arrive," the Queen said finally, blue eyes snapping with temper. "Nobody wants an ice queen."
"Father did," she said coldly, then turned on her heel and allowed the footman to help her into the carriage. When the reached land, she would switch to a horse, as she'd never been able to tolerate staying in a carriage for long periods of time.
o.O.o
Ulenda was beautiful, at least according to the guard who rode at her side. She'd asked him to detail the scenery to her, and he had, to the best of his abilities. She was lucky he seemed to be a romantic at heart, because his descriptions painted imagery in her mind, almost as good as a vision.
She was impatient to arrive, to be done with the whole sordid affair...though she supposed there wasn't really anything sordid about the arrangement. As far as she was aware, everything was on the up and up, but that didn't make her any happier about the situation. Nylir and Nadia had already arrived, she knew, and as was their wants, were likely already getting to know people, though Nadia might also be off on her own, with the guard Sikka had assigned her. Sometimes her younger sister threatened to give her grey hair.
She lost track of how many hours passed before the arrived at in Inn for the night. She knew the guards were taking the journey slowly, on her account, and despite her impatience, she wasn't going to argue with that silent kindness. As much as she enjoyed, even preferred, riding a horse, to riding in a carriage, dealing with being saddle sore was not enjoyable.
When they arrived at the palace, it was a little after mid afternoon and Sikka allowed herself to be handed down from the saddle. A footman took her hand and set it carefully against his forearm; the castle staff had been trained to handle her lack of sight, apparently. She asked him a few questions about where places were in the palace grounds, but stopped when he stopped.
He let go of her hand, and before she even realized what was happening, he was gone.
For the first time in a very long while, Sikka was dumbfounded. "What...."
Nerves and discomfort kicked into high gear, making her anxious. Going to a new place was all well and good, she thought, when you could see where you were going. Empty blue eyes blinked almost owlishly and she automatically reached a hand out to balance herself as she took a careful step forward. Where in the world had that servant left her, and what was she going to do now?
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Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_sᴛʀᴏɴɢ_ᴀs_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇɴᴇss. ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ_ɪs_sᴏ_ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ_ᴀs_ᴛʀᴜᴇ_sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ.
Masa tried to scuttle away from the tall person striding towards her, but with her back already pressed against the warped remains of the train, there was no where she could go. Plus, her shoulder hurt something fierce; she'd seen enough trainees with dislocated limbs they'd gotten from doing something stupid, that she could recognize the look of her arm hanging limply by her side. She was out cold before he'd even reached her.
She woke a couple of times, though it wasn't really wakefulness, more just a passing moment of awareness. Each time, she noticed that awkward press of a shoulder into her stomach, the nauseating bounce as the male ran.
o.O.o
When she woke for the final time, there was blessed stillness. Silently, eyes still closed, she took careful stock of her body. She was sore, and her shoulder still burned like fire, but overall, the young hydrokinetic determined there wasn't anything dangerous.
Opening her eyes, she pushed herself up as carefully as possible. The room was dark, and dust settled in her nose, making her sneeze, which elicited whimper as the harsh jerk of the sneeze jarred her whole body.
She decided the first order of business, before she even tried to figure out where she was, was to try and fix her shoulder. Standing and moving about the small space, she took careful note of more dust and cobwebs. The house was either abandoned or the owner lacked skills in the cleaning department. Running the fingers of her uninjured hand/arm across a dusty table, she moved about the room slowly, making her way to the small kitchen area.
Despite the dust, there was clear quality in the house and furniture, and it was a shame the owner had let it fall to such decrepit waste.
Whiskey colored eyes studied the dark wood of the loft, and she peered curiously down the set of stairs as she approached the kitchen, but didn't wander down them yet. There were plenty of windows to offer light around the spacious area, but they were covered, and some of the furniture, couches and chairs she assumed, were draped with white clothe.
Entering the kitchen, Masa stared down at the sink. There were rust stains in the sink, probably from the occasional drip of water during however many years this place had been abandoned. She reached forward to turn the knob, but nothing came out of the faucet. Pale pink lips turned down in a pout, before she sighed. Just once, why couldn't anything be easy?
So how to summon the water? Out of nowhere, she thought of a dance she'd seen as a child when she'd been away from the city and her parents, visiting her grandmother. Only now did she recognize it for what it was; grandmama had taken her to see the mages, to watch the magic, and made Masa promise not to say anything. Even as a child, the girl wasn't a fool, and she'd kept that promise in the hopes she'd get to come and see the dancing water again.
The dancers then had pulled water out of jugs at their feet, moving their hands in an upward motion, rotating. Feeling foolish, she used her one arm and moved slowly, trying to imitate what she could only half-remember.
That foolishness lasted for a few good minutes, before the sink exploded. Literally. The faucet and knobs went flying, and she barely ducked out of the way to avoid being it by them. Water sprayed like a geyser, soaking her, and the rest of the kitchen, in seconds. The spray tapered out after several minutes, Masa standing in the midst of it to try and somehow control the water from ruining the beautiful wood, to no effect.
It was only when she went to move her previously injured arm that she noticed it didn't hurt anymore, and the young mage could only guess that the water had done what she'd hoped it would do, though at the cost of a beautiful kitchen. Deciding that her magic, otherwise ineffective, was not going to be helpful at this point in time, she set about searching the house for towels to dry up the mess.
Poking through the rooms provided a sort of outlet to the nerves she was refusing to let surface; it was always interesting to see how other people lived. She found the towels eventually, in a closet in one of the bedrooms, and dragged them back out to the kitchen to soak up the pond she'd inadvertently created.
Most of the water otherwise in the pile of towels, she let them sit on the floor in the kitchen because she hadn't found any kind of washroom for laundry while she'd been wondering.
Thinking that might be downstairs, she took the steps slowly, almost savoring the surprise of seeing what was there.
And it was a surprise, for sure. There were weapons, and tools, and uniforms. The familiar red and blue had her going cold, and forced her to remember just what it was exactly that she was hiding from. Forgetting that she'd left a mess upstairs, all thought turned to escape.
If the man who had taken her from the train wreck was a Peace Guard soldier, then chances were he'd gone to get more soldiers. She ignored the fact that he had fought with Monty, because you never new with the Peace Guard; for all she knew, he might want to turn her in for a higher price to the Commander.
She didn't hesitate to leave the house, closing the door behind her. Soaked to the skin, the snow did little good for her, but anything was better than being forced to return to Hymere, where fates likely worse than death waited for her in the dungeons. Even suicide might be a better bet than to return to be tortured, though being turned in by her own parents was a torture all its own.
Within minutes she was shivering, her teeth chattering, and wishing she'd thought to at least return inside for dry clothing. Her best bet now was to try and find shelter, somewhere she could make a fire and let her clothes dry. Then she could worry about what to do next, like trying to figure out where that Lady in Red had taken Tale.
Feigning Innocence
Blessed Lover
Hitomi Sayanoxxxxxx- INVENTORY
tab 6,750
tab Mach Bike
tab 6 Pokeballs
tab 5 Potions
tab 1 Paralyze Heal
tab 2 Greatballs
tab 1 Awakening
tab 1 Soft Sand
POKéMON
tab Manni (Mantyke) - 10/10 HP
tab Penny (Pancham) - 10/10 HP
tab Shinx - 10/10 HP
tab Magby - 10/10 HP
tab Snorunt - 10/10 HP
tab Elgyem - 10/10 HP
"Bout time!"
He might not have had a way with words, but he certainly knew how to turn them into weapons. Not that she could blame him, though. From his point of view, it probably looked like she'd turned his pokemon against him, even if that was far from the case. As she walked away, she heard Tequila squeak, and then the closure of a pokeball. Figures.
Keeping her back to him, she took a different route to the poke center. It would take longer to get there, but that didn't really matter. Maybe she'd be lucky enough not to see him again. Maybe this really would be the end for them. He'd looked at her like he hated her, after all.
She wandered for a bit, taking her time, observing the city. It looked like all the others she'd ever been in, and made her realize just how much she hated cities. There was something about them that was almost...suffocating. And maybe that something had to do with all the bad that hid in the cities, all the dark and shadows and dirt that threatened to corrupt a person, that could swallow a person whole.
It wasn't until she bumped into a person and was stumbled into a glass window front that she realized she was crying. Pale blue eyes stared at herself in dazed surprise, before Emi wiped at her cheeks with her sleeves and shook herself.
It wasn't fair; he was the only person, in a very long time, who'd been able to make her feel like this and he didn't even know it. He didn't know why she'd done what she did, and Emi could admit to her fault in that, but he at least wasn't allowed to hate her until he knew. a**!
Gritting her teeth as the tears kept coming, she stood there glaring at herself until they stopped and when someone dared to look at her in disgust, or even just to stop and see if she was okay, they were treated with the same ugly hatred she'd grown to exude from her time in the ring. Knowing this wasn't helping, she forced herself to move along, ducking her head as she walked.
By the time she reached the poke center, the sun was beginning to set. She hadn't known about the competition, but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for distraction. After she'd retrieved her pokemon, she signed up. There weren't that many people left and the name that showed up next to hers could have been a boy or a girl. Content to wait for them, she took the plate of proffered food and ate.
o.O.o
Her partner could have been worse, she told herself as she watched the sun rise the next morning. There were totally worse things than a person that was as scared of their own pokemon as they were of wild ones. And at least the male had admitted to being scared of the dark, which made it impossible for him to keep watch. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time she'd pulled an all nighter, and Emi was fairly certain it wouldn't be the last.
Yawning, she stood and stretched, before moving to wake him. She wasn't sure who was more surprise, him or her, when he jabbed out with startling first and landed a good punch square in her right eye. Instinct threatened to overwhelm, and she stepped out of range before her body could do something she'd likely regret.
"Oh my god," he he screamed, all doom and panic, "I'm sorry sorry! Are you okay? I swear, I didn't mean to do t---I don't even know---"
He was fluttering around her now, and Emi chose to be amused. Like the all-nighter, this wouldn't be her first time with a black eye, though he wouldn't know that. "It's fine. I know it was an accident. Go ahead and pack up. We need to head out now."
"Y-yeah, okay," he mumbled, face flaming as he stared at her.
"Now," she said gently, not once taking her eyes off him, though her left eye burned something fierce.
Eventually, they got going. Emi wished there was a bag of ice handy, but that would be hard to find on the road like this. The kid turned out to not be much for conversation, and she was fine with that. When he'd been in the mood to talk yesterday, all she'd managed to get were stammered responses and nervous looks. It would have been amusing, if they weren't the same kind of looks she'd gotten when she came out of the ring.
The morning passed a bit too slowly for her, but that was okay, she supposed. When they stopped for lunch, it was pure luck they happened across a camp site that looked like it had just been vacated. "C'mon," she called to her partner. "We'll have a hot meal this time." Distracted, she didn't notice that he was standing over by the cliff, nor the way he was staring down it so fixedly.
"EMI!" he shouted, startling her so badly that she barely avoided pouring the hot water all over her hands.
She didn't hesitate to go to him; it was the first thing he'd really said all day, and there was such panic in it, she couldn't help but to think the worst.
There, at the bottom of the cliff, was Theo. She froze and just stared at him, and would have stayed that way if he hadn't moaned in pain. Scurrying into action, she grabbed her partners arm and shoved him down the road. "Go. Get help! The next town is only about three miles down the road!"
Like this morning, he just stood there staring, mouth open. She shoved him again. "NOW!" she shouted, shoving him again. "HURRY UP!"
He turned and ran off, and Emi hurried back to her pack. She grabbed the climbing rocks she'd gotten for the caves in the last town and secured them to the nearest tree. A little searching turned up Theo's pack. Whoever had done this must of---
Shaking her head, she dumped his belongings on the ground and hoped he carried rope. They thought too much alike, she knew, but didn't question it when she found what she needed. Taking his clips too, she secured the two ropes together before grabbing her bag and securing a harness around her hips and waste.
She propelled carefully, and when she landed at the bottom, just feet away from Theo, she nearly lost it. Oh, he was so broken. Kneeling gently next to him, unaware that she was crying, she carefully felt along his whole body, checking for broken bones. One of his ankles was in pretty bad shape, but that was fixable.
Her heart stopped though when his stopped. Trying to restrain herself, she started CPR, pressing in on his chest and breathing life into his mouth, all the while muttering about what an idiot he was. "You can't die," she ordered shakily as she pressed on his chest again and again, "You stupid idiot I love you. You aren't allowed to---"
His whole body jerked as he sucked in air, and she didn't waste time. She bandaged what injuries she could find, though some would need stitches; most careful with his head, she wrapped as much padding as she could around that.
"I love you," she said again, unaware that in this moment of panic and fear, she'd said to him now what she'd never said to him before. Stilly crying, she wrapped a harness around his hips and attached it to her own. Next came more rope to tie him to her so that he wouldn't be able to move, before she dragged him up to stand with her.
Turning him so that they were front to front, she moved back to the cliff and started to climb, only to yelp as the rope started to move up, dragging them both up. His back hit the rock wall, and she turned instinctively to take his place. She clung to him as she hadn't in a very long time, ignoring the way the rocks dug into her back and shoulders. This she could spare him, at least.
When they were finally dragged up over the edge, Emi didn't allow herself the time to lay there and catch her breath. She stared in surprise, for only a moment, at her erstwhile partner and another male, whom she could only assume had been Theo's partner, from the guilty look on his face.
"It didn't feel r-right to leave you here," her partner said quietly, not meeting her eyes.
"Help is on the way," said the other male, also looking away from her.
Carefully, she freed herself from Theo and when she was sure that he was as fine as he was going to be until help came, she approached both males. Her partner, she hugged and kissed his cheek. The other, she put on the ground. A quick uppercut to the jaw, another to his kidney, and he was bending over. She grabbed his arm, twisted it around and threw him over her shoulder. "You're a dirty coward that doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as my friends," she said coldly, before slamming her foot into his head. He was out cold.
o.O.o
The cops pieced together what happened, and Theo's partner was arrested for assault, but not before he snitched that she had assaulted him too. She was under arrest too. When they gave her a minute alone with him, she kissed took his hand and kissed the palm. "I'm sorry." The doctors weren't sure when he was going to wake up.
When she left the room, her partner was outside the doors and he made to follow her out.
"You can't," she said quietly, looking down the hall to the cops that were waiting on her. "I need a favor. Stay here and make sure he's okay. Please."
He hesitated, but nodded, and sat back down slowly. "Won't he ask about you?"
Emi shook her head. "No, probably not. I'm a ghost to him. And I'll probably be a real one, soon." Another shake of the head, and she was off, walking towards the police. She didn't fight them as the cuffed her and led her out of the health center. Nor did she fight at the police station when they ran her prints. And, hours later, when her brother walked into the room, she didn't fight when he pulled out a syringe and shot her up with the contents.