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 Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:53 pm
Galena wasn't entirely sure what to think of her assignment. After her younger sister ended up corrupted into the Negaverse ranks, she specifically requested she be assigned to another officer for handling and reconditioning. She didn't want to deal with the baggage from insolent Shay now turned to broken... whoever she was.
The very first time she observed her new charge was standing in the yard of her one story bungalow home with the neatly trimmed plants lining the wood porch and wicker patio furniture. The General-Queen hadn't stuck around for questions, but the general situation was already understood. One of the New Years Event captives were now in the fold as a corrupt senshi.
Elle wondered if her assignment was due to her captaincy or the fact she had just unloaded responsibility for one of her own recruits on another officer. Maybe it was penance for wasting resources.
Either way, her new charge was a sight to behold. She wasn't sure if she found any amusement in the irony that she was roughly the same age and build as her sister, but she definitely didn't find any redeeming qualities about the state she was in.
Elle was not just a clean person, but she was a scrubbed and painted not a hair or a thread out of place person. Even inside, everything was arranged just so, right down to the slightly askew way the throw blanket rested on the chair in the living room. And Desdemona... did not look like she had even been permitted to change since being held captive.
"I--..." The proper thing to do was to introduce herself as Captain Galena, and hello, I will be your keeper for an indeterminable amount of time. Instead she stammered, and then ushered her through the door.
"Okay, come inside, the bathroom is down the hall."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:09 pm
Desdemona didn't quite smile at her. Her eyes did, or tried - the intention was there. She was just too drained. Even the short trip to her new home - this was home, yes? - left her body aching as though she had run a mile.
Although she didn't know it, the dress she wore was the same that Natalie had so proudly sported during the New Year's Masquerade. It wasn't as filthy as her old fuku had been, but it didn't fit the same way as it used to; where it used to cling, now it hung, too much weight gone for it to look anything but sad. Like she was wearing hand-me-downs instead of a dress that had been meant for her. The plethora of bruises all along her skin didn't help her any, and neither did the thick, black circles under her eyes.
"Thank you, " she said, dipping her head in a subdued way. Her hand, the pinky bound in a fresh splint, went to curl around the small cast on her opposite wrist, and she bit her lip in an uncertain way. "Do you have something I can - I'm not supposed to get this wet, " she admitted sheepishly. She couldn't even remember how it had gotten broken. She couldn't remember much of anything, really. Just feelings, like pain, fear... the things that Laurelite had told her, too, at least she had that.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:51 pm
Elle seemed to be trying to herd Desdemona through the house and it was hard to tell if it was for the purpose of guiding her or to prevent her from touching as little as possible on the way. Probably both. The house wasn't a grand affair, but it was cozy, with a large open space that split between a living room and kitchen, and a hallway that split off between two bedrooms and a spacious bathroom. Hardwood floors covered in vintage trendy rugs and homey furniture with plenty of decorations there for no reason at all other than 'accent'.
The spare room already had all of Shay's belongings packed and bagged in the corner in order to accommodate the new occupant.
Desdemona was ushered into a spacious bathroom where the shelves around the bathtub were covered in various bottles of god-knows-what treatments and potions and the make up displayed was organized with over-attentive care, just Elle just seemed focused on running the bath.
"Here, you can rest it on the side of the tub. I have plastic to wrap it in if you need more" She said, carefully taking Desdemona's arm with the cast. Her touch was careful, but firm, as she held her injured arm and took a brief inventory of the bruises. The way she looked at the girl's injuries wasn't exactly sympathetic, but she at least didn't appear to take any pleasure in her state of being. So far Elle glanced her over with a clinical eye, mentally forming a to-do list. "That dress needs to go."
She pulled things off the shelf onto the bath tray as warm water started accumulating in the garden tub. "Soap. Shampoo. Loofah. Towel. Do you need assistance?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:05 pm
Desdemona looked around as she was led along - which wasn't a bad thing at all. Even if it was just to keep everything clean, well, she wasn't sure she blamed her if that was the case. Beyond exhaustion, she felt filthy, in more ways than one. Once she took care of that - afterwards, she'd be able to appreciate the hard wood floors, which she at least knew she liked. She could be excited to explore the bedrooms, comment on how cute the little rugs were, everything. Right now, even if she noticed her surroundings, she was too worn out and dazed to do much but follow.
Even so, nothing had ever looked more inviting to her than that bathtub. In spite of everything, a trace of a smile finally tugged at her lips as she thought of soaking in that warm water. She would take her time. She would scrub between every toe. She would - "You can burn it, " she glanced back at Elle when she spoke of the dress, and tried harder to will that smile into being. There, finally. It was weak, but it was there. "If you want." It was a lame attempt at a joke, and she knew it. But it made Desdemona feel better about herself, and wasn't that what really mattered?
She shook her head when her hostess offered assistance, less because she thought she couldn't use the help and more because she just sort of... needed a minute. Maybe a few. Even since she'd become aware, everything had just been this rush of emotions and facts and people. "I'll be okay, " she said, and she managed to say it so convincingly that she actually believed it herself. "Thank you, Elle."
It was clear she wanted to say more; but she didn't know what, or how. So she just smiled again.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:57 pm
For a second Elle's eyebrows arched as if she didn't quite take that opportunity to burn the dress as a joke.
But besides that she nodded. The harsh lipstick that was constantly painted on her face rarely seemed to form much of a smile, not through any fault of the new girl in the house, but Elle in general was not the most expressive individual. The best she did, was return the girls' tired smile with the vaguest hint of her own on an overall placid expression.
She was happy to leave her be to scramble around and assemble other things.Pastiche, the small white cat with the facial deformity on her maw meowed in protest as Elle shut the bathroom door and nearly ran the kitten over.
When people were tired and had been through something awful, there was a set list of things one could do to establish the sense of home. The overstuffed bed with the homey looking quilts, the folded flannel pajamas that had been washed until they stopped smelling like Shay and were overpowered by fabric softener left outside by the door. The dinner menu picked specifically to evoke nostalgia, or at least a sense of warmth.
In Elle's world, building a home was a brand of psychological warfare and lure, and she was well practiced. That, and she was enjoying the amount of control a bit too much. She could pick her clothes. She could assemble her meal, and when Elle looked at the meal tray that housed a bowl of hearty soup and a slab of soft bread with crispy and crackle crust, she knew that even if Desdemona didn't take notice of the painfully matched dishware and silverware or small garnishes or the way it had been assembled in a specific and picturesque way, the wretch the Negaverse had made would be grateful to have it. Regardless of whether or not Elle had been a party to the operation that had sucked the life out of that girl, she was taking care of her now.
"Desdemona, dove, are you finished?" She called out.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:25 pm
When she was sure that she was alone, sitting alone in that glorious, clean water, the first thing Desdemona had done was cry. It wasn't a loud cry; the last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to it. She had drawn her knees up into her chest, her face buried in her 'good' arm as she sobbed silently, the tears thick and hot as they laced down her cheeks.
It was ugly. Her face contorted and snort dripped from her nose. It was violent. Her entire body shook from the force of it.
But it wasn't a miserable cry; some people might think she felt sorry for herself, but that wasn't what this was. Desdemona wasn't unhappy. She was grateful. After everything she had done, even if she'd been one of the enemies, Laurelite had spared her when she could have killed her. No, she should have killed her. But she hadn't. Instead, she'd taken an abandoned senshi and given her a second chance. She'd sent her to this beautiful place with this kind woman, and --
She mourned herself, allowed herself to mourn for the side of herself she had lost. She languished in the pain that pounded on the outskirts of her memories like a twisted sort of deja vu. She allowed herself to savor her resent for her abandonment. She celebrated her relief that Laurelite had opened her eyes and spared her out of not pity, but out of faith that she was better than this.
None of those feelings exactly went away after there were no more tears to cry. But she felt lighter for having shed them, and once she scrubbed her own filth away with soap and shampoo, she felt better still. Senshi called 'purification' the process of eliminating chaos energy from the body - her purification had come from washing away traces of what the Order's neglect had put her through.
By the time a towel was wrapped around her body, with a warmth and comfort that she savored as though tasting it for the first time, she was able to smile with much more ease as she answered, "All finished!" Her eyes were red at the edges, but that aside, she looked much better for having cleaned up.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 5:29 am
Signs of tears might have been obvious, but Elle was nearly incapable of comprehending them enough to know something was off about puffy, red eyes when she wasn't focusing.
And right now her focus was on other things as she had been frantically going through a mental checklist. Bringing home a puppy was a similar strain of making sure the proper supplies were had and space was secured, and honestly it was what she had been comparing it to. A pretty new burden, but hopefully not one that was as trying as Shay had been.
Desdemona's announcement she was all done had been clearance for Elle to rush in and insist she she change into the pajamas that had been left for her. A small glance of mourning was given to the dirty dress on the floor and the used tub, but those would be mysteriously taken care of by the morning. Elle couldn't stand a detail of her house out of order.
"I'm sure you must have questions, and things will probably be awkward at first," She said, having felt something of her own version of awkwardness ushering around a total stranger in her home and trying to pretend this was normal. "But there will be time for that. For now you should eat, rest. There's not that much to do with you until your arm is healed anyway."
'To do' mostly involving powered things, since that seemed to take precedence over many things in Elle's mind. The words were ostensibly cold and straightforward, but the way Elle brushed Desdemona's wet hair back was bordering on affectionate.
"Would you like to be left alone?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 5:18 pm
Desdemona didn't know if Elle had noticed her outburst in the tub, or was simply ignoring it - frankly, she didn't care which, and she was just pleased she could leave it to drain out with the tainted water.
Although she didn't know it, Natalie had never been daunted by an icy exterior before. This was something that hadn't changed, and in her own way, she was grateful to have the sort of attention that Elle was giving. Distant in one sense, comforting in another. She drew the pajamas to her face and inhaled, the simple scent and sensation of clean so soothing it felt like a revelation in itself.
"Thank you so much, " and she said it again, trying to pour every ounce of sincerity she could into those words. She wanted Elle to know she meant it, that she knew what taking someone like her on meant. But when Elle offered to leave her alone, a small surge of anxiety flashed across her face, and the girl shook her head rapidly, "No, no, I'm fine, you don't have to go, I -- "
Belatedly, she realized what Elle had really meant; a flush of embarrassment spread across her face and she choked out a laugh to try and save some sort of face. "Oh, you mean - haha - pajamas - yeah, that's - that's fine, I'll - " She tucked the pajamas more tightly into her arms as she flashed the older woman a smile, trying not to worry her lower lip between her teeth. "I'll be right out, thank you."
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 9:20 pm
Elle paused and took careful measure of all the components of a concerned expression to display as she kept brushing back Desdemona's hair, gently working through any large knots with her fingers.
"Hey," She said, leaning in close to her ear, "Don't be embarrassed. This is your home now for as long as you need it. You will never be abandoned again."
She gave her shoulder a small squeeze before leaving to give her some privacy and return to staging dinner.
Things at least appeared to be going well. From Elle's very dubious perspective.
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 2:36 pm
Her embarrassment left her with a rush of relief and she relaxed, closing her eyes for a moment as she indulged in the way Elle smoothed out her hair. She smiled, winding her hands together as she took in what her host had to say, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Never again. Those words rang through her head again and again as she cast off the towel (neatly) and slipped into the warm, comfortable pajamas that smelt of fabric softener and detergent rather than blood and sweat. That's right; it would never happen again. Not with the Negaverse taking care of her. Without them, she'd still be with the type of people who were so quick to leave her to die.
Now, she was here, in soft pajamas, in a new home, the scent of food wafting in as she opened the bathroom door. "I love your place, " and she didn't hold back from saying it now as she strode out, hoping Elle could hear her. "I wanted to say so before - it's really beautiful."
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:49 pm
"Thank you, I've worked hard on keeping it presentable," Elle said absentmindedly as she busied her hands. There was a lingering thought about wanting to keep Desdemona presentable too. "Don't mind the cat. Do you have any food allergies I should know about? I prefer to keep control of the kitchen."
Although later she would likely set aside things. Things that Des would be free to touch and make on her own for when Elle was not present. In her mind there were already plans for rearranging things into the accessible and the off-limits with clear lines drawn.
"Sit, sit here," She said, guiding her to a place setting. The space was small, but drenched in all of the warm light and crocheted doilies and carefully arranged dinnerware to wrench out some feel of delicate rarity.
For Elle, there was no greater joy than playing house.
"This should warm you right up if the bath didn't do the trick," She said, placing the bowl and cloth napkin holding the bread down on the table.
frayedflower We could probably wind down to a fade out fin?
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Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:41 pm
"I don't mind cats, " she said, and laughed softly as she clung to one thing about herself she knew for certain, besides her loyalty to her saviors: "I love cats."
Food allergies... did she? "I don't think I do, " Desdemona said with relatively confidence. And if she did, well, she'd just have to find out the hard way wouldn't she?
The girl was easy to guide - right now, she was eager for the structure, subconsciously or not. She sat for a moment with her eyes closed, soaking in all the warmth, smells, and sounds again; the trademarks of a home. "Thank you so much, " she said again, feeling like a broken record, but too pleased and exhausted to care.
She was going to like it here.
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