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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 3:11 pm
Her white and gold boots touched down on a familiar balcony and for the first time in uncountable months, Ida let her power fade away. It felt like peeling off a layer of glue that had dried on your fingers during art class... sticky and strange, like pulling free a layer of skin without the pain. Her faint glowing marks disappeared entirely and with them went the ruffles and the flowers, the faint sense of power signatures and months of living in hell.
She could feel nothing but the cool night wind on her face, silence replaced with the faint sound of traffic and humanity, darkness with the light of street lamps, and Orah cried with relief, hunching in on herself as she clung to the woman who had brought her home.
It was done. They were safe. Alkaid couldn't reach her here and there would be no hungry drain of the small, flickering light she carried inside of her. She wasn't alone with the oppressive silence and stench of Chaos. She was free, even sick and shaking and weak as she was, and she pressed her face into Hver's warmth as her shorn hair fell into her eyes, clinging to her with fingers curled into the pale fabric of her dress as though she never planned to let go.
The plan had been a disaster, but it had accomplished what she had planned and schemed and fought for for so long... and she hadn't lost Hver to it, the possibility of which had never even crossed her mind until the woman had stood there, shining with light, and made the terrible offer. It added a deeper note to her sobbing, painting her relief a new shade. To exchange her life for Hver's... it would have eaten away at her, even as leaving Castor behind nipped at her heart.
"Thank you..." Forming words was hard and her voice broke, but she managed, curling her fingers tighter.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 2:59 pm
Hvergelmir cradled Orah in her arms and let her rest there. It was over now. Whatever hell Orah had been through, she was free of it. She was alive, miraculously. She was here. "Shhhh," Hvergelmir lulled her gently. "Shhhh, my darling. You're safe now. It's all over. I've got you." Truthfully, she would've given anything for a moment like that to herself: to shake and shiver and take a moment to live with how very close she'd let Orah come to dying. It had been terrifying -- she'd thought for sure that Ida was going to be killed -- and all she could do was stand by and watch. She hadn't helped at all. It had been sheer luck that anyone else was in the area. And Orah was thanking her for it. Actually thanking her! Hvergelmir had never felt so ashamed. It didn't matter, though, what Hvergelmir felt. It all paled compared to the nightmare that Orah had lived through. "You're alright now," she said again, rubbing her hands soothingly up and down Orah's back. "Let's go inside so you can rest for a while. I'll wash your hair for you, how does that sound?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:52 pm
There were so many things that 'Thank you' summed up for Orah.
Thank you for not giving up on me and thank you for trying to save me. Thank you for bringing me home and thank you for being here to hold me.
It was such an intense feeling of relief, Gratitude was the only way to express it. She was thankful for existing, for standing here in air that smelled like everything but dust, and for the feel of Hver's arms around her, soothing her.
Slowly her grip eased, till it was less the desperate grip of the drowning and more of a need to remind herself that this was real. Hver wouldn't suddenly disappear like some fever dream, which was a real enough worry with transcendence sickness taking its toll on her. The tears eased to a stop and she was able to finally take a few gulping breaths, struggling to calm the flood now that the worst of it was past.
Going inside suddenly sounded like a really good idea when Hver proposed it. It reminded her of the ache in her legs from standing and the dregs of energy she was running on. It was likely more sheer stubbornness that kept her on her feet than anything else, but she hadn't thought much past this point in time. All of her focus had been so intently on getting home that now she was here, she felt at a loss for what came next. Another reason to be grateful for Hver, who seemed to know what to do.
The balcony doors yawned dark before them as Ida shuffled to them, her pace pained and slow. She kept a hand curled still in Hver's dress, clinging to the comfort of it as she chose not the doors directly ahead into the living room, but the ones slightly to the left, that let into the spare room. They weren't locked and she praised Arian silently for keeping up this one tradition. The room had always been intended as a safe house for powered allies and if the doors were unlocked, it was likely the closet was still stocked with medical supplies and spare clothes. She wouldn't need them though, not if Arian had kept her family from taking everything back in her absence.
It begged the question though, as her boots found carpet and she reached around the corner for the switch. Light flooded the small, neat room with its nicely made bed, all of it just as she remembered, and precious to her for the warmth she felt.
"How long have I been gone?" She said as she led Hver towards the bed, reaching out for its solid support to lean against for a moment. Wash her hair... she couldn't remember the last time she'd washed any part of her, but magic did wonders with a simple change of clothes. "I couldn't... tell if the days were the same length, and I lost count. Alkaid wouldn't tell me when I asked."
It could have been three months, it could have been a year, or an eternity for all that she knew. It had been part of the torture of it all, the unending days of sameness... and now suddenly time was moving again and she was surrounded by heart-achingly familiar things.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 4:33 pm
Hvergelmir frowned, powering down into Laney's simpler, less conspicuous form. She was dressed for comfort: cheap Keds, fleece pants, and a hooded sweatshirt worn over a soft tank top. It was never meant to go that far -- she'd hoped she could escape Alkaid quickly enough and not have to compromise her identity, if Alkaid had accepted her trade -- but she'd also figured that if absolutely everything went wrong, she might like to spend the rest of her eternal captivity in a cozy pair of fleece pants. None of it mattered now. It had all turned out very differently -- and Alkaid had gone home with nothing, save perhaps her anger. "Why don't you sit down for a minute," Laney suggested, gesturing toward the bed. She was hesitant to answer Orah's question. "I'll get you something fresh to wear. You must be exhausted." Laney moved over to the nearby set of drawers and drew out fresh clothes. She doubted they were Orah's -- they were too large for her, and nondescript in a style that Orah didn't favor -- but they were clean and fresh, and Laney thought Orah might be frightened to be left in the room alone. She gave the younger girl a bracing smile, setting the clothes down on the bed. Then, more seriously, she reached out to clasp Orah's upper arm gently in one hand. "It's been about nine months since you disappeared. It's September now," she said -- and stayed close in case this information was too overwhelming.
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 1:24 pm
The guest bed yielded under her in the way she remembered as she sank down onto it, immediately relieved of the trembling ache in her legs even as tiredness rushed in when she stopped trying to push it back. She'd been pushing it back this whole time, fighting to keep herself moving, keep herself alert and up right and ready...
The clothes Laney found weren't familiar, but they were much like any of the spares they'd kept here. Orah reached to finger them with a frown, but it was more appealing to wear them than the clothes she'd 'worn' beneath her fuku. Laney was still speaking though, and Orah absorbed the knowledge with a faint disconnection, turning it over in her head.
Nine months. Nearly a year. That was a lot of time... she'd been taken in December so that meant she'd missed Christmas, New Years... her birthday, Arian's and Laney's. Valentines. 4th of July. Enough school they had probably marked her a drop out, flunking all her classes and bringing her loans due. Her family had been worried after a month... it was painful to think what they might have done with a year. Tears threatened again and she fought them back as she moved to change instead.
She had to squirm to get the dress she wore out from under her and then disturb Laney's hand to drag it over her head before letting it drop heedlessly to the floor. She didn't want to think about it, though the motion of reaching for the sweatshirt to hurry and cover herself reminded her and she hesitated a moment to run fingers down her side.
Ribs stood out prominently, skin dipping more than she could ever remember it doing. She hadn't stopped to really look at what changes she'd under gone, but feeling bones now, she found she didn't want to know, not yet. It was bad enough being able to see the tiny silver scars on her arms.
Nine months... Shoving her head through the neck hole ruffled her already messy hair and the sweatshirt hung on her like she was a child again. She had to get her leggings and boots off, but a sudden lean forward sent her head to spinning and she reached for Laney's arm, pausing in her rush to sit up and breath deeply.
"I don't... even know where to start." She said softly, her voice thin. "Nothing feels real any more. Does my family think I'm...?"
Dead, her mind supplied helpfully. They must, missing for that long. Everyone she knew must. Da would have called the cops, there would have been an investigation... people asking questions, especially of Arian and probably Laney, that they all had to dance around and then... how was she even supposed to fit back into this? She couldn't just... show back up like nothing happened.
After so long, the weight of a 'normal' life felt so heavy... enough to crush her. She couldnt face any of it... and she tugged at Laney's arm as she fought off tears again.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:56 am
Orah tipped forward, grabbing at Laney to stabilize herself, then tugging on her arm -- Laney was there for her in an instant, drawing Orah's light frame carefully into her arms and holding her there in a circle of warmth and protection. Let her just be held onto for a while. Orah needed to let her brain stop and ratchet herself down out of survival mode. "Shhhhh," Laney said into Orah's close-shorn hair, feeling its soft fibers tickle her nose. "Shhhh. Don't worry about that right now. I'll figure all of that out for you later, it's fine, it's fine," she promised -- and if this was a hell of a thing to promise someone, an incredible amount of legwork and effort, it didn't matter. Orah had been through so much . . . Laney could do the heavy thinking for a while. "You're home now, and it's over, and you're safe -- it's okay to just be safe. You did everything just right, you know. You were so brave, and you were so strong, and I'm so proud of you." She huffed a sigh, her breath catching and cracking. "You did it, sweetheart. You made it home. You made it back. Everything else is going to be okay, because you did it, princess. You came back. You won." She mumbled into Orah's hair like that for a while, tears slick down her cheeks and dripping onto Orah's scalp. Comfort was -- had always been -- the best thing Laney could provide anyone, and at least here, it was the needed thing. It felt good to be able to do the exact thing she wanted to do at that very moment in time: to hold Orah in her arms and revel in the simple fact of her heartbeat, fluttering against Laney's chest. "You can let go of everything you've been holding onto all this time now. I've got you."
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Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:24 pm
Laney came and Orah’s relief was profound in that moment. She hadn’t needed to say anything or ask anything, just sink into the arms that wrapped around her and turn her face into the warmth of another body. It was enough to erode away her control and she was suddenly crying again, softer this time.
She couldn’t remember the last time someone had held her while she cried, or offered her the type of comfort she could surrender to without worry. It was sorely missed and it was only the having it that made her realize it.
Laney’s voice was a soothing sweep of sound, heard through her ears and vibrating beneath her cheek, saying things Orah would never hold her to or ask of her, but was grateful for anyway. It didn’t matter what she was saying, the comfort was in the tones of her voice, but those words, the ‘i’m proud of you’, drew a noise from her that was something of a hiccuping mix of a laugh and a sob.
No one had told her that in longer than she could remember, either. They said it, in the way they smiled at her or any of a hundred different cues, or so she sometimes thought, but it was another thing entirely to hear it. She had done well. She had survived something no one would rightly assume she would and she had had a hand in the escape. She had bided her time, taken her abuse and neglect and loneliness, and she’d made it out again. She was proud of herself, if no one else was, but her chest ached to hear Laney say it, loving her for it and for everything else as well. Deep, aching, wanting love… and she curled around that warmth, holding it close like the treasure it was.
It didn’t take as long this time for the tears to slow, but perhaps longer for her to want to give up being held. It was nice there, and she was so tired, but the act of starting awake her reminded her she was dirty and half undressed, perched on the foot of a perfectly good bed. She reached up to rub her cheeks dry as she straightened slowly, reluctantly getting herself up right. Hopefully it was not going to be a regular occurrence, breaking down like that, she thought. It was going to make the transition back even harder than it already was.
“Thank you.” Orah murmured, turning her head to find Laney’s face streaked with tears and looking a bit worn herself. Her smile was watery as she reached up to wipe them away with her fingers and she let herself be bold enough to brush her a kiss.
You would have traded yourself for me. I can’t hardly imagine someone doing that.
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 9:53 am
Laney had never known Orah to be any good at accepting compliments. That she took Laney's praise all with nothing more than simple thank you was good progress: normally, she would have expected a deflection of some kind. Something inside Orah that hadn't shattered throughout all this had come out steel, instead. That was a good sign, if Orah had any chance of healing from something as traumatic as this. Laney accepted the kiss with a quiet smile and a soft squeeze of Orah's hand. Comfort was good; this was no time for anything more. "You should get some rest," Laney suggested, all too aware of her friend's exhaustion. "And I'll stay with you till morning. Do you still want me to wash your hair for you, or would you rather just sleep, for now?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:21 pm
The wave of relief was visible in the slump of her shoulders and the lines that eased on her face, when Laney said she would stay. The thought of being alone, after all of this, was unbearable... and she was so tired.
A glance at the bed, though, made her nose wrinkle and the young woman sighed.
"I don't want to wake up feeling gross. It would be nice to be clean, finally." She said. She pushed herself to her feet with an effort, her hand still curled around Laney's, and headed for the door with her.
It had been forever since someone did something like this for her. It would be a novel experience, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to it.
The long night was over... finally.
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