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 Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 2:59 pm
The cuffs still remained heavy and painful around her raw and bruised wrist. She was tired, dehydrated, hungry, aching. And yet she was moving, and alive. There was no lieutenants looking at her like meat and they the wolves. She would not lose her starseed, so easily grasped in Jet's hands to either him or his little friends.
She clung as much as she could to the dark jacket, even as the colorfulness of the funhouse disappeared. Even as it drifted into a horrible nightmare she was sure she would continue, day after day.
And when they were far enough away, she fell to her knees and sobbed. Because she had never let herself since the moment Jet had punished her with playing with her starseed. It was a proud, defiant moment, and it had cost her a great deal.
All of it evidence to the physical pain and wounds, all of it releasing from the emotional.
"I can't move anymore, please..." She whispered to Aurostibite, "Just...just one moment..." It was said between quiet sobs.
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:48 pm
He was angry at himself for not having managed to get her out; frustrated with his inability to do much more than watch as she'd been beaten and bruised at the hands of those that he called his allies. How much longer would she have to suffer like this?
How much more denial could he possibly put himself in?
Aurostibite guided Mintaka out of the funhouse, one hand gripping her arm to keep her steady, the other pressed gently over her own hand, which was clutching the sleeve of his jacket. They'd been walking for about ten minutes when their pace slowed; and Aurostibite's heart sank as Mintaka did, her body wracked with sobs that made his chest feel too tight.
Silently he knelt beside her, Aurostibite reaching out to place a hand on the top of her head. Without words, he slid an arm around her back and another beneath her legs, and almost effortlessly he lifted her off of her feet, cradling her in his arms as though she were something fragile and precious.
"Shhhhh," he said softly, beginning to walk again. "Do not fear, I will take you somewhere safe where you cannot be harmed."
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:18 pm
She made a small sound of protest, knowing that Auro was as troubled by the burden of her, as well as herself. Weakness was nothing new to Mintaka, she wasn't a senshi that prided herself on strength and stamina, but it still crushed her to be so pathetic.
His touch was welcomed, because she knew it would never hurt her. It was welcomed, because she needed the comfort. The familiarity.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered as she buried her face into his shoulder, and could feel tears staining his coat. The energy keeping her up was waning, and she felt the flicker of civilian to her powered form.
They had agreed not to exchange them, but she didn't have much time.
"Somewhere safe?" She breathed out, "Where....?" She didn't know if she could go anywhere after the funhouse. She wanted, needed to trust Aurostibite, but the fear and the torture she had endured made her question everything. Question him, and herself.
What about her parents? What did she tell them? She had been gone for a week. Longer? Did she just go with Auro, where ever he wanted?
She looked up into his face, the seriousness and the doubt and worry of his own features. "Okay." She whispered, and muffled the further sobs into his chest. "Okay."
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:09 pm
He didn't mind picking her up, and carrying her was no issue, half because she didn't weigh that much and half because Aurostibite was determined enough as it was to keep her safe, and that alone was the strength that he needed to hold her.
Memories and hesitations be damned, he could not simply stand idly by and watch her be hurt.
"Shhh," he said again softly, and he would have touched her hair, but instead he just carried her, grateful for the fact that both of his arms were occupied. Aurostibite's own energy supply was relatively intact, but he knew Mintaka's was not; it was important that he get her somewhere before it ran out and she powered down. They had already discussed their civilian identities beforehand; he had not thought he was ready, but now was not the time to discuss this.
Aurostibite's grip on her became a little tighter.
No answer was given, except for that, and for a brief glance downward in her direction. His steps were brisk and careful, and he took advantage of the darkness and the shadows to stay out of the line of vision of anyone who passed by. The streets were mostly empty, but it was a necessary precaution.
The apartment building where Aurostibite lived was somewhere in the midst of Destiny City, but he knew the place by heart, knew exactly where to go, which streets to take. He was there within a short amount of time, punching in the code at the door and waiting for the answering buzz that meant that the door was unlocked. Up two flights of stairs (taken at a deliberately slow pace, and the stairs were safer than the elevator, less occupied), and then he was at his room. It was a bit difficult to fumble for the key, but he managed it, and then they were finally, gratefully, inside of the apartment.
It was a simple, yet rather spacious place. The living room and kitchen were a shared area, and the living room had off-white carpeting and an L-shaped, black-leather couch, a glass-topped coffee table in front of it, a flat-screen across from that, on the wall. A small hallway led off to the bedroom and the workroom, and it was dimly lit, only a few select pieces of art hanging on the wall as decorations.
Aurostibite took a few steps over to the couch and set Mintaka slowly down onto it, careful of her injuries. He knelt beside her and reached for her wrists, to the cuffs that still remained there, a hard look in his eyes.
"Stay here," he said quietly, and stood, disappearing down the hallway.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 7:44 pm
She didn't pay attention to where they were going, to the alleys or the darkened roads. She was doing the best to just focus on keeping her appearances up, especially her powered one. Her breathing evened out at least, and the sobbing stopped, finally ceasing to quietness.
She would've thought the moment romantic, but her body ached, her heart hurt....and she was so scared for herself and for Aurostibite...What if they followed her aura to him? What if they found him with her in where ever he was taking her?
She couldn't bear what happened to her, much less what could happen to Auro.
"wait..." She didn't have much time to protest, as he made his way to an apartment complex, one she walked past many times on her way to school. He was so close..."Wait Auro..." She started to protest again. "This is..." His home, his haven. She couldn't defile it. She couldn't ruin the sanctuary it was.
But he didn't stop, and she was placed on the couch, so cooling to the flushed skin. The bruises ached almost immediately and her uniform, her senshi uniform started to fade again.
Soon enough, in only a couple of moments and after a long struggle of being stuck in the form for a weak, she was faded from Mintaka to Failyn. The cuts and bruises and the welts carried over and looked terrible against her pale white dress. It wasn't even dirty, almost pristine since she had been taken. Her feet were still decorated in the white flats. Even her hair was neatly tucked in a small bun.
Well...at least they wouldn't find her here now...She stared at the cuffs on her hands, but she couldn't leave. So whether Auro wanted or not, he would be aware of her civilian identity.
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:35 pm
He supposed he could have taken her elsewhere; could have taken her to an abandoned building, to a hospital, to anywhere other than his own house. But Aurostibite's desire to see Mintaka safe and sound was overwhelming almost every other sense inside of his mind, other than a strong prompting of self-loathing that stemmed from his inability to keep her protected and out of harm's way.
What on earth was he even doing? He wasn't supposed to have given in, he wasn't supposed to have let those feelings surface; but not only had they surfaced, they had exploded outwards, violently, and now trying to deny that he had any feelings for Mintaka was like attempting to deny that he was breathing air.
She was already a part of him, and he was terrified at what that meant.
Inside the sanctity of his work room, Aurostibite stood at his table, gloved hands clenching the edge of it as he focused on getting his bearings back. He took a few moments just to inhale and exhale, his eyes closed, his posture stiff and rigid, body aching with the effort of both carrying her up a flight of stairs and the earlier fight.
He wished it were easier (it could never be easier now).
Aurostibite opened his eyes. There were tools on his work bench; he carefully selected a set of pliers and a few other things that would help to remove the cuffs, and when he was ready, he stepped out and quietly shut the door, making his way back down the hallway.
He'd somehow known that she would not be able to keep the glamour, but seeing her sitting there, without her senshi guise, was still startling.
For several seconds, Aurostibite just stood there and stared at her, his expression inscrutable. She looked so young and so fragile; he wondered what her name was, a million questions bursting on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back and stepped towards her, silently sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.
"Give me your wrists," said Aurostibite quietly, stretching out a hand towards her. "I'll get those off of you."
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 2:19 pm
Her gaze moved from the handcuffs, where she stared at them. Heavy, mixed with the scent of metal and her blood and a weeks worth of agony and torture. She desperately wanted them off, so much she started to rub at them. The tears started again, flowing warmly down her cheeks. How long had she endured? How long could she keep enduring.
Her heart ached in a million ways.
She couldn't feel his aura, so she couldn't feel when he entered the room, but somehow...somehow she knew. She didn't look at him, ashamed for him to see her this way. Vain even, and even more ashamed that she felt that way.
She sniffed again as he came over. Her gaze drifted to his chest, to the uniform she detested, then up to the face. His handsome kind face. His sweet caring face. She stopped when she met his eyes.
"Okay." She whispered obediently, stopping her attempts to get them off and holding them out for him. "Please." Please take them off, please take them off and free her.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 3:22 pm
He hated those damn handcuffs. They were a symbol, a marker of everything that he both did and didn't stand for. He couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt, but even just considering leaving the Negaverse was something so far out of Aurostibite's range that it was almost ludicrous. He'd never before had an inclination to leave, but now...
No. Mentally, he shook his head, banishing the thoughts. The focus was moved to Mintaka - or rather, the civilian who was Eternal Sailor Mintaka, though Aurostibite did not know her name. A burning desire to ask her a thousand questions was on the tip of his tongue, though he swallowed them all back.
Gloved hands carefully took ahold of Mintaka's wrists, holding them as though they were something fragile that would break at any second. Aurostibite laid them down on his knees, reaching for the pliers and the wire cutters. He worked quickly and efficiently, for once endlessly grateful for the fact that he was experienced in matters such as these - working with metal for the past several years of his life had clearly been a precursor to something like this.
There was a small clank; Aurostibite let out a soft sound of satisfaction as the cuffs finally fell away. He gathered them up, lifting the girl's wrists, and tossed them aside; they fell to the floor with a noisy clatter, but he was still focused on the woman in front of him, his fingers carefully smoothing over her bruised and bloodied skin.
"There," he said quietly. "Is that better? Are you hurt anywhere else?"
A foolish question; of course she was.
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:15 pm
She watched him work, quickly, efficiently and realized that oddly enough, it was more comforting to see it, then it would be at home with a cup of tea. It was almost normal, that concentration. It was like he was in his workshop, somewhere she saw in the future rather then here in his living room, taking off handcuffs. Cuffs that by all rights, should make her hate and distrust him and everything he stood for. Everything the negaverse was.
She startled as the sound of them coming awoke her back to the reality, and not her deeper thoughts. His fingers ran gently over the painfully sore mess of her wrist, and she felt the freedom of her arms once again.
"Um..." She bit her lip, "Do you have a bathroom?" She paused, "My ribs...They were...damaged a lot..." By Jet mostly, "I just....I'd like to see how bad I am..." She breathed out. "If...If that's okay, I don't....I understand if I am a imposition, and that this is a lot to ask..."
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 9:56 pm
Her wrists were bloodied and bruised, rubbed raw by the cuffs. Aurostibite had to reign in the desire to yell, to scream, to vent out his frustrations at the fact that she'd been hurt, because it wasn't her fault, it wasn't even his fault, really. It was the fault of those that had captured her - those that were on his side, those that he followed resolutely, and had always followed.
What was he supposed to do now?
"Yes," said Aurostibite quietly, without hesitation, and slid his hand up to her elbow, carefully lifting her up. Once she would be vertical, he'd put a gentle hand on her waist to keep her steady, his other gripping her arm at a point that was hopefully not painful.
"It's just down the hallway," he said, clearly meaning to go with her. It was not out of a lack of trust, because he trusted this girl implicitly, even if he did not know her civilian name; but because he was worried she would not make it if he did not help her.
She was so very weak. Aurostibite wanted to take her some place that would not break her, that would keep her safe, but he pressed his lips together and waited for her to take the first step.
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:59 pm
"Th...Thank you." She managed as he brought her up, helping her to stand. Her body protested in the form of aches and reminding stings to her current injuries. Especially now that she wasn't powered and she wasn't held together by a fuku of magic.
"Excuse me for any foul language that might happen." She tried to ease it, but instead just coughed. So much for her first meeting with him being happy.
And much like this whole adventure, her first step was painful and earned a hiss and fumble closer to him. She couldn't control the blush that rose.
"So..." She pulled herself up again, "I bet this doesn't happen a lot hmm?" She breathed, "I think my ribs are cracked, it's hard to breathe...." She didn't take another step, but she could feel the pain racking all the way up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry to bother you like this Auro..." She breathed out again. "can you distract me? Are you okay too? Are you hurt?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:20 pm
He was afraid she might have just tipped over, was he not there to hold her. Aurostibite's touch was gentle, yet firm as he guided her around the coffee table and towards the hallway that would lead to the washroom.
"Foul language in these sorts of circumstances are understandable," he said, and stumbled back a little as she knocked into him, a flush rising in his own cheeks. Up close, she was every bit as beautiful as she was when she was Mintaka, though with a slightly more youthful or perhaps just a slightly more fragile look to it. He knew she was powerful as a senshi, but as a simple human he wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her.
(He wanted to do that as a senshi as well.)
"I can't say it does," Aurostibite replied quietly, taking a few more steps until she stopped. "You are not bothering me, don't worry."
He waved off her concerns by not answering the question at all. Distractions. Distractions.
"Tell me your name," he said. "And where you're from."
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 8:29 pm
Failyn nodded, as he assured her that it was understandable. For some reason, just the assurance was more comforting then a thousand cups of tea he could of offered. And sure she wanted tea, it was her thing but...she also liked knowing that Auro was understanding of sorts.
She would like to think, through the pain and hurt, she was enjoying the care and attention she was receiving from him. It did nothing to quell the internal fire of love for him she was carrying, that heavy torch. It worried her, she would admit, she felt like the princess and he was her daring knight all over again. But was it guilt that kept him around? Because they had been involved?
She hated that bad thoughts continued to circle like snakes around all her emotions, and wanted...attempted to remember she had been through enough bad things for this week.
"Ah you say that now, Dear Aurostibite..." She wheezed again as she stopped them, "Oh." her name. She wasn't Mintaka right now, and for some reason, her memories of him and her as civilians, she didn't know his name. How could she not?
"Failyn. Failyn Namgung of the Namgung industries. My parents well....they have investments all over the world." She paused as if she was reciting her qualifications to a potential client or tie to the company. "Sorry, I'm so used to formal introductions. Fai if you want to call me that." please call her that.
"I'm from Korea, but I've lived in Destiny City since I was young. I live...in..." she blushed, as if for just a moment..."I live with my parents still in the..richer..district...sorry." She apologized again, "I'm finishing my senior year though at Crystal and have heard I've already a foot into DCU. If I make it." It was a terrible joke. So terrible but for that whole time, she almost forgot her body wasn't racked in pain.
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:58 am
He supposed now would have been a good time to power down himself; but for some reason, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it just yet, not quite yet. There was some sort of internal wall preventing him from dropping those shields, perhaps because if he did, it would be the last thing standing between himself and all of the emotions and feelings he'd been bottling up for the past several months. The idea of being that open was terrifying.
(He was a coward. That was the true answer here. She had trusted him, given everything to him, and still he could not give it back.)
Dear Aurostibite. His name on her tongue made his stomach curl pleasantly, though he tried not to show it.
"Failyn Namgung is a nice name," he answered her quietly, while silently repeating it over and over again in his head. Failyn Namgung, Failyn Namgung, Failyn Namgung. It was something soft and delicate and beautiful, and something so extraordinarily private that it almost felt as though he was intruding.
They'd almost made it to the bathroom now. Aurostibite took another few steps forward.
"What did you want to study at DCU?" he asked her, still trying to keep her mind occupied and away from the pain. "If I recall, you had a great deal of hopes and aspirations that you wished to accomplish in the future of your studies."
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:04 pm
Unlike Aurostibite, Fai wasn't even thinking of him powered or not. Whether he wanted to or not. The walk had been more painful then she wanted to admit, and it took all of her attention to focus again on just....living.
"Thank you..." She whispered as they made it to the bathroom, her hands reaching out for the sink to lean on. A small wheeze escaped and she closed her eyes, throwing her head back.
"Just a moment Auro..." She pleaded quietly, then very slowly slid a strap of her dress, then the other. Like most educated ladies, she wore layers under the dress (including a camisole and pair of shorts) and slipped it down to hang off her waist.
She almost didn't want to see but as she drew the camisole tank top up, her breath caught again. Blue, black, purple, even the sickly yellow marred hr perfectly marble skin from one side of her ribs to the others.
"Oh." She stared at it. "I thought...well..." She looked back at him, her blue eyes wide.
"I want to be a teacher." She added, pulling the camisole down. "After the visions of the future...I thought teacher."
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