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"I'm fine. Or at least, I will be."

Her curt answer belied extreme pain, but that had been the point. She had a high pain threshold, which Ice smashed into pieces whenever he so chose. The calcification to part of her blood system was a trick she had experienced before, and knew how to fix. She also knew how much it hurt to move under ones own power with it.

"This door."

Indicating the one she wishes to be deposited behind, she passed Dagoth the key to what was, in all ways, a cell. Behind the door, several men and women, who did not look pleased. Or nice.



Meanwhile, upstairs, Jan was hooking Nines up to an IV drip of vitae and cleaning up his wounds, followed by bandaging them. It was the best he could do until the kids own healing kicked in.

"I'd feel sorry for you, if you hadn't brought it on yourself."

There was no malice in the voice that appeared at his door, attached to a familiar body.
As Roan stepped inside the room, she looked grey about the edges, tired, weary perhaps. A lot had been going on while Nines slept.

"You're damn lucky to be alive, from what I hear. Care to tell me about it?"

About to snap back a rejoiner, Roan instead bit her tongue and pulled up a chair as directed.
Carefully, deliberately, she found and opened a cigarette case, snapped it shut after withdrawing one of the cancer sticks within, and set about lighting it with the same deliberate air.

Exhaling a smoke ring, she left a gaping silence between them, with the entire intention being Nines filling it.

"Except of course that it isn't. You're still here, and I could have told you Deceit wouldn't allow it... Or fall for that."

Sighing, she limited herself to saying just that, using her smoke as displacement activity to prevent herself from strangling the young idiot where he lay.

"Idiocy in pushing the button aside... why aren't you so much ash right now?"

"Desperate my cold, undead arse."

And there it was, the first crack in the dam of self restraint, which was closely followed by a cold, calmly spoken tirade. No shouting. No aggressive body language. She didn't even move from her seat. And somehow... that was worse than if she had.

"I tried being nice about it. I tried explaining a few options to you. Ok, so they weren't the glittery gold kind of options, but there WERE there. And the thanks I get for it is not only you taking off and doing something so utterly STUPID, but doing so in a manner which not only ended up in you getting seriously hurt, but me too.
You didn't stop for even a second to think about the consequences to others for your actions, whereas the entire time I've had you here, I've been thinking about how best to ensure BOTH of us come through this.

You've done precisely nothing to help yourself, or me. Effectively, you have been a pointless drain on my resources, and maybe that's my fault for being so nice to you, because I genuinely felt for your situation.
That ended last night when Ice made it quite clear that letting you work things out in your own time is not an option

If I can't help you by being your friend, then so be it. I have too much left undone to die for you, Nines. I wish it weren't the case, but wishes get us nowhere. Especially the undead.
I intend to act, and so help me you will at the very least keep out of the way by doing the bare minimum, instead of selfishly looking only to your own morbid moping.

Am I making myself clear?"

She exhaled a fifth smoke ring of the night, and tapped ash into a nearby tray. One of many dotted around the house because smoking was a common mode of stress relief for the Lady DeSeer.

"I wont babysit you anymore. It's not helping either of us. And I simply don't have time to find some gentle way to fit the words into your blockhead skull to make you understand what I mean when I talk to you.
I'm not getting any younger, and neither is Ice. I won't ever catch up to him in years, and thus, skill. Beating him is going to require more than one person, and those people are going to need brains as well as talent.

When your limbs grow back... we will end up back at square one. Be forewarned."

"What I WANT doesn't come in to it, Nines. And it's about time you grew up and learned the same applies to you until we do something about the situation.

I intend to use what I have and do the best I can. Either man up and do the same, or don't be surprised if I end up handing you over to the goat myself."

Her scowl deepened as he swept off the tirade like it was nothing. He was still acting and thinking like a human teenager. fine. Then let his human side understand what he had caused.

"Because of you, two men were arrested last night for a disturbance in the warehouse district. They will likely end up sentenced if the police find your stash of explosives all rigged up to blow. Their lives could well be ruined.
Because of you, I had half my circulatory system turned to thin layers of bone last night, which was not only excruiciating, but also caused me to have to kill three men to heal the damage. Admittedly, the men in question barely deserved to be called that considering their crimes and death sentences, but nevertheless.
Because of you, Dagoth had to help me, I was left so crippled, and in turn had more of HIS humanity stripped away in seeing what I'd been through.
Because of you, Jan spent the entire day awake, worrying, on guard outside my room and still hasn't gone to bed or eaten anything.

So no. You aren't smart, you aren't patient, you don;t have any degree of foresight... nor do you have an iota of empathy or common sense.
You might want to be a normal human again, Nines... but frankly, I don't think you deserve it."

Standing up, her anger was clearer to see with every passing minute, her words coloured with anger in her tone at last. Likely, she would regret the last sentence later, and find herself apologising, but for right now... the memory of pain from the day before was still with her, as was the memory of Nine's as he had arrived, bloody and wounded. She was mostly angry that he'd hurt himself that badly, when anyone could have seen it wouldn't help.
She was angry he didn't understand and this was even happening. And mostly... she was angry at herself for not being able to just fix things.

"You're a despicable little s**t, Nines. Even I place value on the lives of innocent bums on the street. I try not to kill when I can.

And I place Jan above everything. Because he is human, and he is mine. And YOU haven't even once mentioned your brother. Did you even think about him, when you were playing the fool last night?

If I send you to Ice, because I can't 'fix' you to a degree where we can work together... let's just say it'd be better if I killed you myself. And you're right, I'm going to get hurt. That's how Ice works, and I've already accepted it.

Maybe when I'm not so angry with you for throwing away everything you DO have last night... I'll end up doing something stupid myself. But right now, YES I'm angry and I have every right to be, you arrogant little leech.

Touched and apologetic my arse."

Stubbing out her smoke viciously, she winced involuntarily, then ruefully rubbed the shoulder of the offending arm. It would seem some damage still remained, beneath the surface. It would also seem Nine's calm and unphased demeanour was working against him, making him seem cold and uncaring despite the content of his words. Maybe that was his intent. If so... it was working.

.: You enjoy shooting your allies, and yourself in the foot, don't you? Way to ostracise the hand that feeds... :.

Roan of course did NOT hear the invasive little voice inside Nine's head. For her part, it was her turn to return to a cool, calm facade as Nine's threw his tantrum.
Opening the door, she spoke to whoever it was that was stood outside.

"Mary, would you kindly relay Nines words to the staff. Where he cannot be bothered with 'roadside lowlifes', I do not see why those who have come from such a background should care for him. His rooms are to remain untouched. Let him do his own work."
"With pleasure, ma'am."

Turning her head to look over her shoulder at Nines, her face belied her inner rage, even though her tone stayed cold and even.

"Jan means the world to me, but he would never forgive me if I killed a single person for his sake. HE is human. YOU are not.
If you have an iota of sense or decency... you will have an apology ready for my staff when you are well enough to leave your bed. In the meantime... you're on your own.

Spoiled little brat."

Turning on her heel, she marched from the room, letting the door fall shut behind her.