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 Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:36 pm
It wasn’t often that Karone allowed herself to have a quiet night at home. She was normally so busy being a jerk and doing things for the Negaverse, or just plain sleeping. But tonight was going to be different. Tonight she was in her most comfortable pajamas, had one of her favorite cheesy romance movies on the television, and a glass of wine next to her on the table.
She had thought about inviting her sister over, it had been a while since she had spent much time with Gale, but…it wasn’t a sister who she wanted right now, it was someone who could spend the night with her…but regardless of who it was. What it was. She was lonely.
Karone lifted her wine glass and took another sip, though paused when there was a knock on the door. Well…she wasn’t expecting anyone, but perhaps it was one of her lieutenants…though she was sure she hadn’t ever invited them back to her house…so…interesting.
She kept the glass in her hand and opened the door, a bored expression on her face, at least until she saw who it was at the door. “Gently? What the hell?” This was…unexpected. Not unwelcome. Just…unexpected.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:47 pm
She could only remember flashes. Teeth. Claws. Something like fire. There was anger, pulsing and not entirely animal. There was pain. Blood. Its. Hers. Everywhere. She lost, she retreated, but she could not remember how she got away. How she got herself out or when she powered down.
She remembered waking in the hospital. But that was only a matter of an hour or two ago.
Gently woke to find herself hooked up to machines, which she promptly pulled from her. She was listed as an unknown, and being taken care of in the ICU of a hospital. The alarms started blaring when she pulled herself off of the contraptions, and her nurse came running in to help her. She let the nurse think she was doing something good, let her enjoy that the patient had woken up, and allowed her to turn off the alarms and indicate things were all clear before she moved.
It came back to her all to easily. Powering up, though she was weak, and sinking her hand into the nurse's chest almost ravenously. She pulled the starseed free, then leaped away. She crashed through a window, leaving the body on the bed behind her, but even with the starseed she couldn't keep her form for long. She powered down and wandered around for a while, catching a look at herself in a reflective window.
Her hair was wild and grown out, her eyes dark and tired. She was wearing a hospital gown, and regretted not taking the nurse's scrubs to give herself a little more coverage. Turning her head, she looked at the scar that had sent her to the hospital in the first place. It ran from the back of her head, arcing around and down, across her ear and ending at her cheek. She was lucky it hadn't kept going: the claws could have easily taken her eye. An ear, she supposed, she could do without.
More reason to get a hair cut.
Her feet led her to a familiar place, though she did not tune in to being there until she had already knocked on the door. She waited, and it felt like an eternity, but a familiar face finally appeared in the doorway.
"Karone," she said on a breath, suddenly remember, in a wave of emotion, that she was still human. Despite all her best efforts. She lunged forward and threw her arms around her, not caring about anything else in the world at that moment. "I'm so sorry."
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 6:23 pm
Karone wasn’t sure what to do. Gently was here. Gently was hugging her…wearing a hospital gown…why had she answered the door holding a damn glass of wine? Her free arm wrapped tightly around the woman who had been her mentor, her lover, her friend…and then had just…dropped off of the face of the earth and…
And who was back.
“Hey, hey…” She had no idea what to say. No idea what had happened, but she pulled the woman into her house and shut the door behind the two of them. “You’re okay, Gently. Everything’s fine. What…What happened? Where have you been…?” In the hospital, clearly. That was a hospital gown she was wearing…
“Let me grab you something better to wear, okay? You uh…you just left the hospital, I take it?” Her hand caressed Gently’s hair and she sighed, feeling a wave of relief from just seeing the woman again. She knew that she missed her…but the amount that it was really bothering her didn’t truly register until this moment. Until she was back. “…I missed you.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:15 pm
Gently wobbled into the house at Karone's urging, not really caring about the wine or anything else she might run into or spill. She watched the other woman with tired, but fiery eyes. It always looked like she was thinking about far too many things, Gently's mind never quiet even when she needed it to be.
"I love you, Karone," Gently said abruptly, looking at the other woman almost wildly. She shook her head, though, trying to make it clear how very serious she was. "I was so stupid, going down there. I thought I could be more, I could do more... I just had this thought that you needed better. You deserved something... else. Something incredible. And I wasn't it."
She shuddered, then sank to the floor to sit, despite there being chairs as options.
"I almost died. A youma, I think that was what it was. It surprised me. Someone else was there, I can't remember who. I just thought. I'm leaving her. She's going to be alone. How could I be that stupid? Do you hate me?"
Her words tumbled out of her mouth faster than she knew how to process them, but they were as honest as they were confused, and she looked up at Karone helplessly. She had never felt so vulnerable as in that moment, and she wrapped her arms around herself. The light weight fabric of the gown did nothing to warm her.
But maybe she wasn't really cold.
"I'm sorry I failed you."
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Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:36 pm
Karone felt a strong sense of pity for the woman, frowning as she sat down on the floor. With a sigh, she put her wine glass down and moved into the bedroom, pulling the cover off of the bed and sinking down next to Gently, wrapping the blanket around her. “You didn’t fail me. You came back to me, and I am so utterly and completely happy that you did. I missed you, and I worried for you, but I never, ever thought to hate you, or thought that you failed me. Not once.”
She wrapped an arm around the other woman and placed a firm kiss against her cheek. “I love you too, Gently. You’ve done a lot for me, opened a lot of doors and gave me a whole new reason for existing. You’ve done a million and one things for me, but failing me was never, ever one of them, so don’t you ever even begin to think like that. You are wonderful and perfect and honestly, I thought you were dead and it frightened me and worried me…but I’m so, so glad you’re back.”
Karone placed another kiss against Gently’s cheek, squeezing her tightly. “So glad you’re back…” She hadn’t felt joy like this…for a reason other than…well. Causing pain to someone else in a long, long time…
It was strange, but she liked it. Things had always felt better when she was with Gently, and she supposed that was just how things were going to continue to go. “I could never hate you. Not ever.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:48 pm
Gently watched her, seeing the pity in her face and hating it. Anger rose up in her, darkness swirling, and she scowled even as she hugged the blanket around her. She listened to Karone and felt comforted by her words, but that just made her even more furious. With herself. With her weakness.
With her failure.
"I'm not going to be this weak ever again," she said lowly, looking up with cold, serious eyes and locking gazes with Karone. "I'm not going to fail any more. I'm going to be stronger, and I need you by my side. I need to remind this city, this world, exactly who I am."
She moved suddenly, catching Karone in a tight hug and then kissing her soundly, needing to hear what she was saying but not truly knowing how to honestly respond to it beyond falling back into her anger and hatred, where she was most comfortable. Anyway, they were a team to be feared when they were together before: there was no telling how terrible and wonderful they would be now.
Her emotions more or less in check, at least as far as she was going to allow, she took Karone's hands in hers and took a breath. She'd only been conscious for a few hours, but it felt like everything was different now.
And weirdly, so far, it wasn't bad at all. Maybe this failure of hers happened for a reason. From it, she could grow. Or she could ignore it and not learn a damn thing: it was a little up in the air at this point.
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Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:43 am
Karone nodded. “Of course you’re not going to be this weak ever again. You’re Painite. You’re the strongest general that I know.” The kiss surprised and pleased her and she returned it thoroughly, grinning when it ended and placing a hand against Gently’s cheek.
“Of course you are. Together, we’ll. Well. I mean, two Generals are always more frightening than one, and I do like to think I’m making at least somewhat of a name for myself, I was trying to carry on your legacy, and I think I did a pretty good job. People fear me after they meet me now, at least…so that’s something.”
Of course now that she was in the company of Gently again, she didn’t feel as big or as bad. She felt like the star eyed lieutenant she had been before, and there was a small part of her…a very, very small part that didn’t like that. Of course, she half figured that was just her own pride protesting about not being in the spotlight again, and she shoved the thought to the very back of her mind. “We’ll be back in business as soon as I’ve nursed you back to health. This isn’t weakness, not in the way you’re thinking of it. Besides. This is between you, and me. Nobody will ever have to know, and nobody will ever know. You know I can keep my mouth shut about things, my love.”
Karone’s fingertips brushed against the other woman’s cheek as she let her hand drop and she drew in a deep breath. “And I should start nursing you now. The city needs to know that we’re both still here, and the quicker you feel better, the sooner we can go out and remind them all.”
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