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 Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 8:33 am
He hadn't meant 'understand' like that; he'd just wanted to know what happened. Why was she lashing out at him? It wasn't as if this was his fault! Of course he didn't think little of her...he also didn't understand her at all at the moment. She was behaving just as nonsensically, as far as he was concerned, as she insisted this mysterious angel had been.
When she turned an icy glare on him, he didn't flinch to meet it, though his own was heated instead. He'd done nothing to deserve this abuse; he shouldn't have to take it. "Oh, you are anything but 'fine' right now, princess. I don't know what your problem is with me, but I don't need this either. I've just seen my son's best friend brought in here, unconscious and bleeding; you look like you got on the bad side of a Dragnid beast; and instead of letting me help how I can, or even telling me what the hell happened out there, you want me to go sit in my room and do nothing? Pretend I haven't seen anything?" He wadded up the cloth and flung it into the fountain as he stood abruptly, stomping one hoof solidly on the floor in frustration (which drew a few momentary stares). "That's just cold, Celestia."
"I don't know what you want anymore," he shook his head. "I don't know what you want that you think is gonna' help. Apparently you want everything and nothing at the same time. Let me know when you've finished taking leave of your senses." He needed to step away; this had gone far enough already. Angry words flying, tempers flaring...space, he needed space. A moment to collect his thoughts. Turning from the fountain, he headed across the main floor, ignoring the stares of some nearby Faun and shaking the excess water from his hands. Calm...he needed to calm and decide rationally what to do next.
"Drink. Don't care what, something strong," he muttered, sitting down and resting his head in one hand, staring at the bar. What was going on? Had the Isle gone crazy? Apparently his girlfriend had. Or was that just something all women did at some point? Ugh...but, seriously...Angels attacking Faun? He couldn't imagine it. In all his time on the Isle...never would he have imagined such a thing was possible. Of course, he knew the history he'd been taught...but that was so long ago. Surely these modern Pae'il weren't the same.
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Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:00 am
The princess hardly flinched as he lashed out, the smile all but plastered soundly to her lips. This reaction, it would be a lie to say something of this sort was unexpected. No, she'd assume something of the sort might happen as a result. Good. The added attention was something she did not care for, but if he left following it, then it was fine by her. She needed time alone to calm herself. If that meant becoming the 'bad guy,' it couldn't be helped.
Rather than talk, she silently maintained her composure until he left.
As his back disappeared, she raised a hand to softly rest the fingers on her forehead. There was a soft chuckle as she shook her head and tears started to flow; what was wrong with her? This wasn't like her. Perhaps they'd gotten too close too quickly for her to handle. Could it be that?
Smile fading, her eyes looked downward and her posture slumped. She was the worst of pae. How low she had fallen in a year's passing. Try as she might, the princess just was not meant for a normal, peaceful life. Wherever she walked, conflict seemed to inevitably ensue. And even though she knew that, even thought she understood perfectly what a burden she truly was in normal society... even so... she still didn't want to be alone.
She really is the worst.
Placing her hands to her sides, she looked over to the rag before standing up to move closer and retrieve it. Placing her hands in the water stung, but by this point all the pain was starting to blend together. Pulling her movable wing in front of her, she began to carefully wash the feathers and the scraped portions, flinching lightly each time cloth hit an exposed area. Her eyes were downcast and her front was towards the fountain, hooves resting in the water.
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:36 am
Nursing his drink quietly for a while, Faroth tried to remain focused on the burn that traced its way down to his stomach, the soothing haze it cast over his tumultuous mind. Not the urge to turn and look back towards the fountain.
Nope, don't care.
Except that you do.
Grumbling, he chased the thoughts away with another swallow. He was supposed to be calming down here, figuring out what to do next. Given that he hadn't returned yet, Faroth had to assume that either Ranuin had been allowed to stay with Moonlight...or was chased away so that the healers could do their work and was hovering outside some door somewhere waiting to hear something. Still, he supposed no news was good news in this case. If nothing else, he could go check on how things were going after a bit. It had certainly looked bad when the two of them had shown up, but what had the healers found? Sighing, Faroth looked down at his near-empty cup, tracing a finger around the rim.
"Another?"
He glanced up, seemed to consider the offer, then shook his head. No, he was trying to calm down...not fuel the opportunity to do something else stupid. "Thanks, I'm good." Not that he was 'good' exactly, but...
With no more drink to distract him for the moment, he gave in to the impulse to look over his shoulder. She was still there, at the fountain, turned away from him and apparently trying to ignore everyone else around as well while tending to her injuries. Fine, served her right for refusing his help.
You don't really think that.
But I do. She can just sit over there by herself for all I care.
But, you do care. And that's the point. So, be the bigger Pae.
Why should I? His internal voice had taken on a petulant, childish tone in the argument. His conscience had started to sound a lot like Raina as of late as well, he'd noticed.
Because you're not a complete a*****e.
No, just an incomplete one.
Stop being stupid and stalling and just suck it up.
He sighed. Laisidhiel damn it all. Waving over the Faun behind the bar with one hand, he said, "Hey, changed my mind. Bring me one more. Also..."
A few minutes later, he was crossing the main floor again with a cup in either hand. He slowed, nearing the bathing fountain, only a moment's hesitation as he took in Celestia's posture and her flinching movements before he shielded his pity with a neutral expression. Quietly, he set the steaming cup of tea beside her, then straightened up to sip his own drink. "...if that hurts half as much as it looks like it does, you might need something stronger, like mine."
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:53 pm
Absorbed in her own activities, the princess was unaware when, or if, Faroth would be returning. She had come to accept the very real possibility of him actually up and leaving until later, and so had begun entertaining what she would do after she cleaned herself off. It was probably best to go to the healers, but they needed to focus all of their energy on Moonlight at the moment. Head to her room? But... she wasn't sure she could make it there on her own.
What a stupid set of circumstances she'd gotten herself into.
When her side became warm, she looked to the cup beside her before up at the faun. Her eye averted back down towards it, her guilt at the earlier situation clearly written on her face before she set the towel down.
"Th... Thank you..." she mumbled, taking the cup into her hand and bringing it to her lips. She blew once before looking up to him. "I do not drink." The statement was soft, but firm, and at the end she felt a smile return. She gestured with her head for him to join beside her before lifting the cup to her lips to drink.
"I have not been sensible these past days. Please forgive my actions and words."
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:17 pm
Some of the tension settled from his shoulders in hearing the apology. Well, no more fighting about her behavior at least. He could at least meet her halfway then. Resting one knee on the edge of the fountain edge, Faroth set his drink aside and leaned over to pick up the second cloth he'd grabbed earlier, folding it over between his fingers. "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry about earlier. I was just...when you came in, I was so worried..." He glanced aside. "I wasn't thinking of how upset you were at the time; just about your injuries and where they came from. I didn't think that it might not be the best time for questions about what happened. I'm sorry for pushing when you had other concerns on your mind."
He glanced her over quickly; she'd done well enough for what she could reach, he supposed, but she still seemed to be having some difficulty with other areas. Was she in that much pain? He'd seen her wince earlier. He wasn't sure what to offer for that, if she didn't drink as she said. Some part of his mind followed her statement with Maybe not yet, but by the end of this, you might.
Sighing, he reached to dunk the clean cloth into the water and scrub it between his hands. "Alright, if I promise no more insensitive questions for now, can we concentrate on working together to get you taken care of first? Cleaned up at the very least, then we'll figure out what to do from there?" That said nothing about there not being questions later, but that could wait for now.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 7:25 am
Leaning over, she set the cup beside her and took his hands within her own, warmed by the tea. "Apology accepted. We were both made fools to the moment's impulse, it would seem." She was happy to put the past behind them for the time being, particularly considering the lingering worry. It was unlikely that it would pass until she was told that her niece was okay.
Though, it was nice to hear that he had been worried about her specifically and not just acting because of the situation. It made her feel special, if for a silly reason.
Nodding, she reached down for her own rag again, noticing that one of the particularly deep cuts had continued to bleed even after it was washed. It wasn't anything major, just something to note. This one would probably need to be one of the first looked at, or perhaps this nauseatingly airy headache. What was it that they called such a thing...? She couldn't remember the term. The wing could wait until later; it was unlikely that she would need to fly soon anyways.
Yawning, she reached up to rub her eye. How hadn't she noticed how tired she was becoming? After such physical and emotional energy, it wasn't surprising. Or, perhaps there was another reason for it.
No! She had to stay awake. She had to wait for her niece; had to tell her everything was okay.
But she was so sleepy... Maybe she could rest just for a little bit...
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 8:12 am
Taking the simple nod as permission enough, Faroth took the cloth in hand, prepared to help her finish cleaning herself up. He'd just started to stand when Celestia yawned, of all things, seeming to fall somewhat passive after their exchange. He wasn't sure why...but he felt suddenly uneasy. "Hey..." he reached up, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "Normally, I'd be happy to offer myself as a pillow for a nap, but we need to get you cleaned up first, okay? Stay with me here, hon..." Perhaps it was just the sudden shift that had him concerned, but he frowned and made a note to keep talking to her as he worked.
Placing one hand on an uninjured portion of her shoulder, he squeezed in a light, reassuring manner. "I'll apologize in advance; I'm sure this is gonna' hurt. But, the quicker we we do this, the quicker it's over with, 'k?" He hesitated a moment, glancing around, then decided he didn't care who was watching and leaned in to kiss her cheek before getting to work.
Brushing her long hair over one shoulder out of the way, he started with the back of her neck and shoulders, moving down to the base of the working wing that she'd already mostly taken care of herself. He kept murmuring as he worked, light touches and words to keep her interacting with him. He squeezed out the water from the cloth onto her back, watching the debris collect and run off, leaving clean fur behind. "Alright, hang with me here," he muttered before starting on her injured wing. He wasn't exactly familiar with how wings were supposed to work, but this obviously wasn't right. He tried to wipe the dirt away, especially from the scraped portions, without moving the appendage as much as possible.
While his attention and hands were focused on taking care of Celestia, his mind was preoccupied with his earlier questions. What had happened to the two Faunies out there? Of course, he wasn't completely oblivious...he knew their history, he'd heard the whispers of growing hostility, he'd just....hoped there'd not been anything substantial to it. His own experiences with the Isle residents had been basically positive...but something like this was shocking. Such open violence...
And to ones so close to him and his family...
"Alright, just about done," he murmured, rinsing some debris from a deep cut. Even if he didn't know what more to do, at least her wounds would be clean. "Still with me, Celestia?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:09 am
Jolting up, the princess shook her head lightly as she felt him touch her cheek. It was all so strange; of all the times to be tired, why now? Why was she finding it so difficult to stay awake?
Maybe just a little bit....
Oh, he was touching her shoulder now? Straining to look back at him, she nodded quietly. "I... suppose it is better that way." The words weren't coming as easily to her as sleep seemed to be trying, making holding any conversation with him difficult. She smiled at the kiss, glancing to the side only momentarily to see if any others had noticed before focusing more on the feeling of the rag on her back. Rather than converse, her words soon turned instead to crude gestures to show that she was listening, responding only when explicitly prompted.
A sharply-pitched yelp of sorts came from her as he put pressure on the wing, aggravating the injury just enough for pain to shoot up at each minor movement. Spirits be thanked for the hormones that had numbed it in the most crucial of moments after the injury, but without them, it was extremely painful to the touch.
And following the pain, there was a rush of sensation, everything seeming to dull in comparison to the light feeling filling her head. If her skin was not white to begin with, her complexion would have become incredibly pale. Had her wing hurt? Was there even anyone there anymore?
Could she sleep now?
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:43 am
"Hey! Celestia?" Frowning, Faroth snapped his fingers a couple of times near her head. He'd grown increasingly concerned by her lessening interactions with him as he'd worked. Something was definitely wrong with her, though he didn't know enough personally to know what was going on. Only...she wasn't responding as he'd expect; this was more than just being tired.
Worry had set his gut churning again, and his concern for the pain he'd inadvertently caused earlier fell behind the concern he felt for her lack of responsiveness. He shook her shoulder lightly. "Dammit, come on, Celestia, talk to me." He placed one arm around her lower back, beneath her wings, the other under her knees and lifted her enough to get her hooves back on the floor outside the fountain, though he kept the one hand behind her for support. Honestly, he was tempted to just pick her up and rush off to the healers with her...but would that only allow her to drop off completely? He felt he needed to keep her talking to him, though she'd resorted to simple gestures some time ago. Half-carrying her, half-trying to get her to use her own hooves, he started trying to coax her away from the fountain. Intentions to help her dry off forgotten, he ignored the dripping water hitting the floor and tried to get her eyes to focus on his. "Hey! Wake up, Celestia. We're getting you some help, but you got to help me here. Keep those hooves moving," he coaxed, glancing worriedly away for a moment. Just get her to the healers...surely they'd stabilized Moonlight by now, stopped the bleeding. There had to be some healers free. They'd know what was wrong, right?
o0_Daisuke_0o ((Alright now, off to the infirmary with you too, Little Miss Concussion... XD))
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:03 am
Everything seemed to come in small snippets of awareness. Wait, was he there? Oh, yes he was. Blinking, she looked at him strangely, or was she looking past him at something else. Was he there? Yes, he still was. Was he speaking? What was he saying.
Oh... They were standing up. But she didn't want to stand up; standing made her feel really dizzy and nauseated.
Walking...? But she didn't have hooves; oh, yes she did. They just didn't seem to be connected to her body at the moment.
Where were they going? Why did her head hurt? Wait, it didn't hurt anymore, or did it?
Could she sleep yet?
No?
What was she even doing here again?
How about now? Her eyes were so heavy... Could she sleep yet...? Just a few moments... That's all she really needed...teigra Guess my guesswork on what a concussion is like wasn't too bad razz I have no idea what that even entails, but it's what I was going for.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:33 pm
Faroth was carrying most of her weight at this point, her hooves trailing lightly over the ground. Laisidhiel dammit all! Giving up on the effort, he scooped her into his arms to carry her the rest of the way. Spotting a wide-eyed kid, not quite a teen, staring, he snapped, "Run ahead, tell the healers there's another one coming. Go!" He veiled his worry only long enough to see the kid scramble ahead before turning concern back to the woman in his arms. She was nearly out; he wasn't even sure if she was actually awake anymore to be honest. Even so, he muttered, "Hang on, Celestia. We're getting some help."
o0_Daisuke_0o ((*LOL* Me neither really, can't say I've ever had one. XD How about we let him drag her off to the healers for treatment off-screen then? Our two injured should be in good hands with the Tree's healers now if you wanna' wrap this one up?))
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