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 Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:36 pm
Leaning over he reached into the box once she'd gotten the lid off and pulled out something in a soft purple type of fabric that seemed to whisper as it was pulled from the box. Shifting so he could use his left hand without moving it too much he displayed the gift to her, a soft purple dress with a full skirt and deep purple silk layed under it. White lace flowers were woven atop the bust and there were other white lace flowers along the edge of the dress. It was fairly nice, but it wasn't so over the top that she couldn't wear it on days that she just felt like dressing up. [The dress]
He wasn't sure if it was her size, but he'd gotten quite a few laughs out of the women at the dress shop when he was picking it out because he went around hugging the dolls modeling the dresses until he'd found one that felt about the same height, weight and general feel of Crystal, though it wasn't nearly as pleasant to hug for it had bonked him on the cheekbone with it's painfully sharp nose which had left a bruise on his tanned skin for more days than he'd have liked.
With a small smile he waited and watched to see her reaction.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:06 pm
The woman shifted to allow Qadir better movement, unable to immediately make out what the item was other than a ripple of purple that made her think of clear water. As he held it up, however, she could better see what it was, and her face showed her realization. Her expression was one of excitement, shifting to bemusement at the sight of the cloth, and melting slowly into utter surprise and wonder, which quickly was tailed by a disbelieving gasp and wide eyes. Slender fingers reached out to touch the fabric, trailing down to trace the pattern of the flowers. It was the most beautiful shades of purple she'd ever seen, and the flowers accented the dress so perfectly and fit her and her life even better; it looked as though it would flatter her form well, and she couldn't begin to express how shocked she was that a man who had met her twice could know so much about her...or that he'd do so much for her.
Withdrawing her hands, she carefully moved the box to the couch behind her, and turned to face the man next to her. She reminded herself that he was hurt as she shifted closer to him, putting her hands on either side of his head against the couch. Her eyes spoke of admiration and delight, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip as she gazed upon him. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his brow, "so very much," she moved to kiss his cheek, "Qadir." Crystal bent her elbows, careful not to put her weight on him as she placed an adoring kiss upon his lips.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:28 pm
Qadir thought she wore too much blue, though he knew she wore it to bring out the colour in her eyes, but he thought her gray eyes were beautiful no matter what shade they were and so he though purple would look simply lavishing upon her with her dark hair and the subtle gray gaze of hers. That and purple was one of his favorite colours besides gold and amber, but that hadn't been the main reason why he bought that dress for the beautiful woman.
A smile lit up his face at all the kisses and he reached out to wrap an arm about her and pull her against him, but this ended up being a bad idea because it was the last straw for the wound upon his neck and it protested with a pang of pain so bad that it forced him away from her kisses with a strangled yelp of pain and a wave of sickness that made him pass out against the couch. Worse than that though was the blood that could no longer be contained within the bandage he had placed over it and it bleed through his dark clothes, unseen because of the blending of dark colours. If at all possible he'd become something akin to 'pale' though his skin was truly only less tan than usual.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:46 pm
Crystal's smile diminished as though it never were, her own pale skin becoming flushed as the man released a noise that broke her skin into goosebumps. "Qadir!" she cried out, taking his face between her hands, completely bewildered that he had passed out cold. Did she touch him wrong? Did she make him exert himself? She started to feel frantic, guilty that she had kept him when she shouldn't have, her hands sliding from his face to his shoulders, uncertain of what to do...
...when her fingers brushed something wet. She glanced down, then looked again, staring in horror as her fingers were covered in blood. The woman carefully peeled back Qadir's jacket, all the color draining from her face as she saw mostly hidden bandages that were wet with blood that they could not contain. Crystal had never treated such wounds, but she knew she couldn't call a hospital - what would they know about vampires? - and to wait could cost the man his life. She had to do something, and keep the panic that was threatening to crawl into her throat at bay.
Snatching the dress out of his limp hands and putting it quickly on the box, she shoved everything off the couch and pressed pillows against his side to keep him from falling. "Stay with me, Qadir," she said in a trembling voice as she tried to unbutton his jacket with shaky fingers, hoping that somewhere, he could hear her. "Stay with me, help me." Swallowing hard as the jacket was undone midway, she decided to get something to clean his wounds with; she'd have to dress them, and preferrably before he bled out.
The woman bolted into the bathroom around the corner, tearing apart her cabinets until she found the gauze she was looking for, as well as two unmarked salves. She unscrewed one of the caps, fumbling with it and dropping it before it was finished, revealing a strange green substance. Crystal held it under Qadir's face, wafting it around in hopes the camphor would work. "Breathe, Qadir. Oh, God, stay with me..."
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:04 pm
The scent was horrible and penetrating to the calm darkness he'd been floating within, but it brought him back to a world of pain and blurred images, namely of a woman with dark hair leaning over him and the sensation that his shirt didn't feel quite right. It took him a moment to realize who the woman was and why his shirt felt funny, but it didn't make the blurred sight of the horrible pain go away. With a weak smile he pushed the camphor away from his face. "If you wanted me topless you should have just asked," he managed weakly and with laughter in his eyes before he let his head fall back against the couch.
He had a vague feeling of blood trickling down his chest but he couldn't think of much else besides hoping that it wasn't dripping all over her couch. He'd really feel terrible if that happened. "What happened?" He asked, closing his eyes to keep the room from spinning and hoping that when he opened them again his sight wouldn't be so badly blurred. Mostly he felt like he just wanted to go to sleep, but he knew what he needed to get done, which he also knew wasn't going to happen any time soon. He'd heal if he just rested enough, but he never seemed to actually manage that either.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:32 pm
The salve fell from her nerveless fingers as he moved, exhaling suddenly and sharply. His comment startled broken laughter out of her as she sat on the table opposite of him, suddenly feeling very heavy. "Seeing how neatly you moved around my previous questions, I didn't think you'd oblige that one." She uttered a few more choked sobs of laughter before she shook herself roughly; it wasn't time to fall apart, he still needed her.
"I kissed you and you passed out cold," she commented, standing on shaky legs and moving into the kitchen. There, she pulled out two rags and soaked them in cold water, grabbing a few more dry ones before moving back to Qadir. She leaned over him from behind the couch, pressing her lips to his forehead before putting one of the cold washcloths on his brow. "Then again, it may have something to do with this soaked bandage you neglected to tell me about, Qadir." Crystal couldn't hide the edge in her voice that expressed her displeasure and slight anger at his condition.
Walking back in front of him, she carefully pulled his jacket aside, frowning at the mess of red on his body. "I'm grateful you were here and not home," she said softly, not wanting to vocalize the consequences of him passing out while bleeding. "Don't move, just relax. I'm going to change your bandages...which means I get to see you topless after all." Crystal wasn't exactly in a joking mood, but she wanted to keep the situation light; if it got tense, she was afraid she'd break down and cry, and she didn't want to be that helpless in such a dire situation. As she started to slowly peel off the bloody gauze, she murmured, "Do you need me to get anything for you? Your pills?" She paused, then added, "Blood?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:46 pm
Qadir shifted to a more comfortable position upon the couch, though it only made his wounds yell angrily at him all at once. The others upon his body seemed to think that just become one felt like acting up all the other ones could. "Maybe I was just so happy to feel your lips again that I couldn't contain it?" he offered with as much of a jopking voice as he could muster in the amount of pain he was in. "I didn't mention it because it's not a problem. None of them are problems," the man started before realizing he'd just used the plural form for a single wound. Hopefully Crystal was too focused on him and not on whatever it was he was blathering on about.
Pushing himself up a bit, and feeling like he was about to pass out any moment, he gently pushed her hands away, not wanting her to get dirty with his silly little wound. It would heal. "I wouldn't be getting kissed at home. I'd be asleep and I'd be fine, I just over-worked myself in my excitement to be in your company once more. I'll change it myself so please don't worry about it. It looks worse than it really is." But he was lying again. In truth the wound was worse than it looked. "I don't drink blood and the pills don't help," he said, his voice carrying the hint of a chill. It never seemed to matter who the person - the mention of blood always made him offset.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:59 pm
The woman grabbed his hands, turning her steely gaze upon him. Luckily for him, she didn't register his implication. "Qadir, please don't try to make this seem any less than it is. You just...passed out on my couch, and you're dripping with blood. I may not be a doctor, nor an expert on vampires, but I do know that this needs to be tended to." Crystal squeezed his hands gently, trying to impart that her words were concern from the heart. "I know you don't like blood, my dear Qadir, but we make compromises. That's what life is, and what makes it so valuable."
Standing from the table, she carefully moved onto the couch, trying not to jar him. Her hands cupped his elbow as she pressed her cheek against his, almost nuzzling him, "Please, Qadir. Let me help you, be it a place to rest or a kiss..." ...but don't push me away, was what she wanted to say, although the words never left her lips. If he really didn't want her to try to be there for him, then she would submit to his decision, but she had to try. She swallowed down the fear that kept trying to bubble out of her, causing her to have a fine tremor down her spine. While she desperately wanted to know what happened, he already made it clear he didn't want to talk about it; she would simply offer what she could, then, for the time being.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:21 am
The man thought her speech was cute, almost touching, but she had mentioned her inexperience with vampires and that's exactly what it was. Life wasn't valuable to a vampire after so many years, it just was what it was and right now life was a pain. Qadir knew he wasn't going to die from something like this but he didn't see any way to enforce that to Crystal so that she would stop worrying about him. With a soft sigh he shifted to put his right hand over her own. "If you promise to stop worrying and you promise not to get upset then I'll tell you what happened. It's not right for me to do this and not explain, but you have to understand that I'm nervous about telling you because I don't want you to worry and I don't want you upset and most of all...I don't want you thinking I'm a bad person..." he managed, smiling slightly though his eyes held the hint of sadness.
The last thing he wanted to do was explain to her the depths of his job, but he hoped maybe he could give her just a bit of an idea and leave the rest to imagination, hopefully an imagination that would be more positive about his work than his own. Her pleading was more than he could take and after a moment he'd manage a nod for her, though it came with a wince. "I can't resist a beautiful woman but so many times. Taking advantages of all my weaknesses are you?" he asked with a short laugh and another smile. "I could really use some new bandages. Cleaning it wont help it heal so all you have to do is tape some new gauze on. Before I bleed all over you and your couch," Qadir finished, feeling sick even at the thought of his own blood pooling somewhere. Thankfully it was still containing itself within his clothes but even those weren't going to hold out much longer.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 11:37 am
Crystal listened in silence, absorbing his words and the feelings behind them. She had moved from his cheek so she could look at him, grey eyes unyielding in her concern for him. When he finished, she offered a little pout, shifting her fingers underneath his palm in an attempt to hold his hand. "Qadir, the only thing I'm thinking now is that I'm afraid to kiss you again." She grinned a little before tilting her head to the side, her expression softening, "I know you're not a bad person. I know this. Bad people don't try to keep those who care about them at an arm's length for the sake of not having them worry...bad people don't put their own well being last." Her gaze dropped to his gash, considering his earlier request. "If you will let me change your bandages, I will stop fussing over the wound."
With her free hand, she gently touched his face and tilted it to the side, so that she could better see the wound and what she was dealing with. She considered a comment on his weaknesses, but decided against it; after all, it was somewhat apparent that he and his comfort were her own. Crystal carefully slipped her hand from his face, snatching the rag that had fallen off of his brow when he sat up, placing it on the table and grabbing the other she had brought. As she reluctantly removed her hand from his, she also grabbed the gauze and a dry rag, holding the latter between her teeth while she shifted her position on the couch as such that she was practically straddling the man.
Leaning close so he wouldn't turn his head or otherwise see the extent of his bleeding, she started to peel away the old bandage, wiping away the excess blood and pressing fresh gauze in place.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:04 pm
Qadir squeezed her hand and gave another soft laugh. "It's not because you kissed me Crystal. I overexerted myself carrying the box in and then when you did kiss me I reached out to pull you against me, but that was the last straw and it aggrivated my wound. I assure you, kissing me will do nothing but make me deliriously happy." Tilting his head to the side as much as he could, and praying that his hair wasn't getting soaked in blood even though he knew it was, he let her putter over his wound. He was glad that, to her knowledge, it was the only wound he posessed. Qadir was also glad at the moment she wasn't straddling his left leg otherwise she might just find out how much worse off he truly was.
"Maybe I mentioned it before, but I'm a bit of a treasure hunter. Unlike most treasure hunters though, I hunt treasures that are guarded by magical creautres, you know, creatures of legend like myself. Usually it's not too terribly hard to get to wherever my destination is, but this last mission was guarded by a particularly tricky fellow." Qadir smiled at his words, but his face was far too sad to express much mirth. He wouldn't tell her, but he'd lost some friends to that 'tricky fellow'
She was so close to him and he wished more than anything that he could simply fall alseep, comforted by her warmth and by the smell of the flower shop that always lingered about her. But he promised he'd tell her what happened. "The guardian got word that there was a vampire helping out the group and like everyone, I have weaknesses that can be found out. There's a substance that one can coat a blade or bullet or something in that hinders a vampires healing ability and considerably drains their strength. It doesn't kill me, but it's going to keep me sick for quite a while. Drinking a lot of blood is the only thing that will speed it up." he finished, attempting to emphasize just how much blood would need to be drank and thus that any suggestion of hers along those lines would be completely undesired.
"The stupid beast even tore right through the pocket that I had your letter in...that's why I couldn't send it to you."
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:31 pm
The woman listened while she worked, eyes flitting between the gauze she was pressing to his skin and his face as he talked. She'd managed to cover most of the tear on his neck when he mentioned a 'tricky fellow.' Her grey gaze shifted to his face again, feeling her throat close at the expression he wore. Crystal sorely wanted to reach out to him, but she had to stem his bleeding first. The woman leaned over to brush her cheek against his before she continued to work, only then realizing she had to undo his shirt to finish.
Crystal carefully unbuttoned his shirt, trying not to wince at how the fabric clung to him like a second wet skin. She'd only unbuttoned a couple before she saw the tail of his bandage, trailing over his collar bone and curled under his throat. She felt her hands starting to tremble as he finished talking, feeling something pull at the edge of her mind. The flower girl shook her head and steeled her hands from shaking, finishing with the bandages on his chest (which, thankfully, didn't seem half as bad as his neck).
Her hands slid over his unmarked skin as she finished, most of the blood cleaned from it. "Why don't you take off your jacket and shirt, Qadir? I'll put some detergent on it to keep the...the stains from ruining your clothes." She exhaled softly, feeling comforted by his presence, even in the given situation. "You've been through so much, you need to rest. You can stay here...if you want, that is and...and I have some, um, shirts you can wear, because I..." Crystal felt herself blushing, and not knowing why. Was it because she was asking him to stay or because she thought it might be weird that she wore men's shirts to bed? Maybe both, but explaining it to Qadir seemed a little silly. She didn't have any pants though, and--
"...pocket?" Grey eyes turned to meet his amber ones, a slight frown on her lips as that strange tugging in her mind came to light. "Your pants pocket?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 1:00 pm
Qadir shivered lightly at the touch of her fingers against his skin and he couldn't help but to smile as he lifted his hand to cup the back of hers, giving a gentle squeeze of thanks for all her help. Her offer however startled him slightly. It certianly wasn't that he didn't wish to stay with her, but it really wouldn't be appropriate in his mind and besides, he didn't need her finding out about the other wounds that were riddled across his body. "As much as I would love to accept your offer my dear, I really don't think it would be right if I stayed. I also have things that must be attended at my house and it would be unfair of me to take care of them now that I've returned home..." he said, his voice carrying a dark sadness. That and he wasn't sure he could trust himself with such a poison still prancing through his veins.
Shifting his left leg slightly he'd smile and shake his head a little so as to not jar the bandages. "Pants pocket? Oh, nono. My leg's fine!" he hurridly explained, probably a bit too enthusiastic for his own good. "It was in my left breast pocket at the tim-" Qadir trailed off. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. Surely she'd realize that if there was a slashed up note in his left breast pocket it would mean that he'd also been injured in that area as well. "Actually. Maybe it was in my jacket pocket now that I think about it. You know, just fluttering in the wind and all."
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 1:17 pm
Crystal actually scowled at Qadir. The flower girl rarely ever made such an expression, so it ended up looking more like an overglorified pout. "Qadir." It was all that she would say. He was obviously covering something, and she didn't like that it meant that he was lying to her. However, it was not her position or place to argue with the man, least of all over how she wanted to take care of him. The frown slipped off her face, her eyes closing as weariness set in. Keeping her fear and concern so deeply buried had drained her, enough that she couldn't have fought him if she wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to make sure he would be able to heal properly, even if it meant visiting him every day...but she could not force herself on the man. It was a long moment before she opened her eyes to him again, void of anything but warmth and a bit of concern.
With a little playful hesitance, she leaned forward, placing a careful kiss upon his lips as though she were afraid he had a cut on his mouth. It was a gentle one, intended with comfort and adoration, one that kept her near by even when she pulled back a little. Crystal spoke quietly, close enough that her lips brushed his, "You're a very difficult man to care for, Qadir." She pulled back a little more, a smile dancing over her features. "If you truly must go, I will not keep you...I shouldn't have kept you to begin with. I want you to be better so that I we may dance again, for I sorely miss those arms of yours." He was free of her, now. She would not push the issue, nor would she insist upon caring for him. He was older than she could fathom, and he could take care of himself. Even though she knew these things, she couldn't stop the desire to be there for him, just in case.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 1:32 pm
Quickly, Qadir slipped his arm about Crystal's waist and pulled her against him, not letting her unstraddle herself from atop his leg or move away. "I wish I could make this easier," he managed, feeling defeated by the lithe woman in his arms. After a quick kiss he released her and shifted as if to express his desire to stand up without out-right pushing her off of him.
He felt like a terrible person at the moment. He felt terrible for just showing up at her place in the middle of the night and then having his wounds open on him when he knew full well not to exert himself. He felt worse for telling her about his job and he felt the absolute lowest when he lied to her about his wounds, but it had been important to do all of the things he had done.
Qadir smiled at her in an apologetic way, but he didn't think it would help Crystal feel any better. He really was sorry that he wasn't a more simple. He was sorry he couldn't just open up to her like that and he was sorry that he made everything so complicated, but as sorry as he was, there wasn't anything about it that he could really change.
"Can you ever forgive me?" he asked quietly, reaching up to brush a few fingers through her dark hair.
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