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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 6:43 am
Undeniably it felt good to be pampered by Porsha, but he’d rather receive such treatment under different circumstances. He smiled wanly at her while she untied his braid, and while most of his hair fell away into wavy wefts, some remained heavily tangled from days upon days of neglect. Slate settled into the bath as best he could with complaining muscles slowly simmering in the heat. Pain reminded him thoroughly of what he endured; soon it would fall to soreness as the bath mitigated his discomforts. He had Porsha to thank for that, too.
For everything, really.
Slate reached for the luffa puff and prepared it with some of the body wash that Porsha kept around. Scrubbing against the skin worked away the dirt easily and supplied him with a deep-rooted scritching that felt relieving after all the stress. He started with his arms, then worked toward his shoulders and finally his torso while Porsha finished up with his hair. „Hey,“ he started as he slowly thought back to previous events. „Why didn’t Umber show up to help? Was he busy, or did he not know?“ He didn’t expect Porsha to have all the answers about what his brother was up to, though it had surprised him that Shale wouldn’t show up to rescue him. Their falling out hadn’t been that impacting, had it? He couldn’t have driven his brother off by his failures in the Negaverse, right?
„I guess it’s really not something I should worry about right now.“ He sighed slowly, and sank back into the bath. The water line teased the edges of his hair. „I just get so tired of having to play catch-up, you know? I know I ******** up in the Negaverse, but do I still have to be punished for it?“ Slate even sure if that was related to his brother’s lack of showing up. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying now.
Perhaps it was time to turn the brain off and let it rest for a while.
Deciding against talk of the Negaverse at last, Slate offered a subject change shortly after he rinsed his arms. „Hey, uh, maybe this is kinda weird, but do you want to join me?“
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 7:51 am
While Slate worked on lathering himself up, Porsha continued on his hair. The majority of it came free of the braid fairly easily, but some was still tangled, and she had to be gentle, carefully freeing as many of the snarls as she could manage with her hands. The rest would be a job for the shampoo and a healthy application of conditioner to get the bright red back to it's usual softness. It was such a contrast to his brother's thick and unruly mane, but then again, so much about them was. She'd just finished when Slate spoke up again, asking over his brother, and Porsha was grateful that she not only knew the answer to that question, but that it was one that wouldn't cause the younger man more distress. "He doesn't know," she answered softly, taking the luffa from his hands and tapping his shoulder to get him to sit up a little. "He's been out in the woods since a couple of days before you disappeared,and we've had no means to contact him." He would have been there, had he known. Their relationship might have been strained, but she was at least sure of that. His shoulders were clean, so as he sank down a little further in the water, Po rinsed the luffa. They would probably have to replace the water when they were finished getting him all cleaned up. Give the poor guy some clean water to soak in, and let all the dirt and pain and strain just circle down the drain. More questions, and these weren't quite as easy to answer. "You've turned everything around, dedicated yourself to serving Metallia and the Negaverse, that's all you can do." She didn't think he was still being punished for past mistakes, but she understood how it weighed on his mind. Leaning over him, she lay a kiss on his cheek, then stilled as he asked if she'd like to join him. Another easy one. Porsha smiled before answering. "Let's get you all cleaned up, then I'll refresh the water and we can soak together." It sounded like a fine idea to her, all things considered. She seemed unable to go for very long without touching him, reassuring herself that he was still there. Climbing into a warm tub and lounging against him sounded like a great end to a stressful evening.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:47 pm
“Oh.“ The answer felt wan and wanting, but all others required too much energy. Craning his neck back, he rested his head against the lip of the tub. „Sounds like him.“ Another test, he imagined. Another means to train his strength. It was easier, Slate figured, than having to deal with him now.
For a time he remained silent - Porsha’s careful washing felt relieving and he found no want to disturb it. She was beautifully careful in her ministrations, and often Slate fell into a lull of listening to the scratchy luffa clear away the dirt. A nap sounded tempting, he decided. But, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to fall asleep in sewer water. Or what was essentially sewer water when Porsha was through. Yeah, maybe a bed was better. After like six showers.
Porsha had the right idea anyway. She usually did, which left him at ease. He didn’t have to think when she was around, and that felt good for the times that he doubted himself. She never let him depend on her too much - only what was necessary. Slate needed to not think for a while, and that was okay too.
Everything was okay for now.
„Okay.“ Slate pushed himself to sit upright. „Here, I’ll clean myself up. I’ve been sitting for like, ever. Moving might feel kinda good after a while.“ The imprisonment left him with a keen sense of atrophy; he was reserved about moving his arms and legs for the pain he might discover, but he understood the necessity of it. Water helped nonetheless; the weightlessness offered less of a tax on his muscles. Slate would do what he could, and Porsha would finish the rest. It was that simple.
But first… „Hey,“ Slate called to get her attention, then splashed some of the water out at his General and roommate.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:37 pm
She lay another kiss on his brow before straightening again, a comforting hand smoothing through wet hair as she offered back the luffa. HisIt didn't seem like enough, bad as it was. Like the damage should have looked worst, if only to mask the pain she knew he was feeling beneath the surface. It wasn't just physical, not even close. Fingertips stroked his nearest shoulder as the smile slipped around the edges a bit. She'd failed to keep him safe. it was something that would haunt her for some time. Weighing on every decision and choice she made from that point onward. Any one of her soldiers could have been taken, but they'd taken him, the one member of her flock that was the least combat savvy, the easiest to hurt. It couldn't stand. Porsha would find them, the ones responsible, and she would make them hurt every bit as much as the agents kept under their care. And then she would rip the seeds from their chests. She blinked as he started to sit up, snapping out of her thoughts to bring her focus back to the present. Slate needed her here and now, revenge could wait. "Alright." The hand on his shoulder slipped away, and she got to her feet finally. She'd give him a moment, get them both some ice water, then they could change out the water. Maybe she could find a few candles as well, turn the lights low. Make things as relaxing as possible... His voice called her back, and she turned automatically, brows arched as she made a curious noise. Just in time for the sprinkle of hot water to hit her in the face. "Hey!" The hand towel beside the sink fixed the problem, and she stared down at him, lips twisted and features pinched in amusement. "Watch it. Don't make me pour cold water on you while you're in there."
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:38 pm
She lay another kiss on his brow before straightening again, a comforting hand smoothing through wet hair as she offered back the luffa. HisIt didn't seem like enough, bad as it was. Like the damage should have looked worst, if only to mask the pain she knew he was feeling beneath the surface. It wasn't just physical, not even close. Fingertips stroked his nearest shoulder as the smile slipped around the edges a bit. She'd failed to keep him safe. it was something that would haunt her for some time. Weighing on every decision and choice she made from that point onward. Any one of her soldiers could have been taken, but they'd taken him, the one member of her flock that was the least combat savvy, the easiest to hurt. It couldn't stand. Porsha would find them, the ones responsible, and she would make them hurt every bit as much as the agents kept under their care. And then she would rip the seeds from their chests. She blinked as he started to sit up, snapping out of her thoughts to bring her focus back to the present. Slate needed her here and now, revenge could wait. "Alright." The hand on his shoulder slipped away, and she got to her feet finally. She'd give him a moment, get them both some ice water, then they could change out the water. Maybe she could find a few candles as well, turn the lights low. Make things as relaxing as possible... His voice called her back, and she turned automatically, brows arched as she made a curious noise. Just in time for the sprinkle of hot water to hit her in the face. "Hey!" The hand towel beside the sink fixed the problem, and she stared down at him, lips twisted and features pinched in amusement. "Watch it. Don't make me pour cold water on you while you're in there."
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:09 am
Slate only laughed at her response. It felt good to laugh; it felt healing. „I haven’t been able to do that to someone in a long time.“ The moment passed, though it did not leave him weary for it. Slate picked up the luffa and started work on his own legs as he reflected to times when he splashed his brother in those rare, inopportune moments. Porsha was the easier for it, of course, but he missed that dynamic to his relationship with his brother.
Care was taken when he reached his ankles, knowing that they were bound taut for days. Thankfully the silk left few marks of its own with the brunt of its damage done by pressure. They hurt, certainly, and the bones hardly forgave him for being pent up for so long, but they weren’t lacerated. Like his wrists, he wouldn’t be getting infections there. Given the minimal damage he came out with, his stay in the run-down jailhouse felt surreal. He knew every moment spent in there, all the psychological damage incurred, and yet in a few days at most these gestures of torment would leave him behind. The outside would no longer match the inside. Was he yearning for that?
It didn’t matter, he told himself. All that was behind him and there’s no way to revisit it but in memory. He would grow stronger from it, as his brother often reminded him. Strength was forged in the crucible of pain. And while he found the belief system bizarre and off-base, he couldn’t deny that healed scars were stronger than new skin.
His nose started to bleed, and he wiped away the wet warmth without a second thought.
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 5:11 pm
She made a face at him, hand resting on the door frame, then she was heading out towards the kitchen to grab the water she had intended to get before he'd splashed her. "I'll be right back." He would probably be fine for a moment or to, unlikely to slip beneath the surface and drown. He had better mobility than that, which was certainly a relief. The heat must have been helping to ease the pain in sore muscles. Instead of bothering with cups, she went to the fridge instead, there were bottles of water there, sports drinks. Porsha stood there for a moment wondering what Slate might want to drink before just grabbing one of each and closing the door behind herself. She go back to the bathroom just in time to see him wiping the blood from his nose, and i had her stopping in the door frame, head tipping birdlike as pale eyes narrowed. The drinks were set on the counter, a few tissues pulled free of the box, and she took a seat on the edge of the tub again. "are you alright?" Soft fingers caught his elbow, drawing his arm back so she could pat at the blood with the tissues, cleaning it away. Then his chin, tipping his head back so she could look down into his face. "You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?" Tissues resting on her lap now, she brushed his wet bangs back off his face, concern softening her features.
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