Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tucked into a tight ball beneath thick cotton sheets and at least three massive comforters, Ophelia's chest rose and fell peacefully. Rest was an effortless visitor for her the last few nights since her bedtime ritual now involved a perfectly tidy room, a calm heart, warm tea, and a defiant open window left cracked open. She knew it was getting too cold outside to leave it that way, but she enjoyed the way the sunrise peaked through the small crack right into her eyes each morning to greet her. So she would hold off, against her friend's better wishes until her toes turned pink and she could no longer stand it.

Still, as one of the world's lightest sleepers, the small duchess instantly sturred at the weak knock that cut through the silence of her room. "O-Ophelia?" Was that Oliver's? No, it couldn't be. Not at this hour... it sounded so distant. The almost broken tone sent her rolling in bed, convinced her dreams must have taken a nightmarish turn that tightened her chest and shocked her out of her slumber. Rubbing the rest from her eyes, she sighed out of her exhaustion while untangling herself from her bedding to press her bare feet into the ice-cold floorboards. It was a strange way to center herself, reminding her where she was in the darkness that engulfed her at this hour. Then the ground rattled, and the chill encasing her toes slammed up into her core ” Please Help.” his muffled voice begged.

It wasn’t a dream.

Feet skidding across the floor, she bolted for the door before Nadine could whir to life and illuminate her path. Her frantic strides stretched, shortening the usual number of steps to the door which sent her slamming straight into it. By the time her numb fingers found the doorknob and flung it open, Nadine was blazing red at her side.

The sight of Oliver at his knees tore a wet gasp of horror from her throat. ”Olly?" Her whispered panic seemed to sap whatever strength he used to keep upright, and it was by sheer luck that the duchess was able to shift her feet in time to bear his weight crumbling into her. But like the sun was always destined to rise above the horizon, she was always ready with arms outstretched to catch him.” Olly whats wrong? What-” She bit back the remaining question when the copper tang of metal coated her senses. Suddenly aware of the moisture leaking onto her sleeping gown, was he crying? Then Nadine spun around them, washing Oliver in waves of icy blue pain and illuminating... Oh, mother sun, when she illuminated his face… That sweet, sweet face. Ophelia wouldn’t have recognized her soft prince in his broken state. Hair slicked with blood clung to his forehead; His features swollen and disfigured- one eye hardly visible, like a diamond formed from the pressure of a raging red waterfall, while the other suffocated beneath shattered bone that spotted his tan skin with black and blue.

The sheer gore of his injuries simultaneously shocked her to her core and washed her in an unnerving calm. Her time spent as a healer in the war pressed to the forefront of her mind, spawning the action that sent gentle hands hoisting his arm over her shoulders to help him up and inside. His body was tense beneath her grasp, each labored breath accompanied by a wet wheeze. ” Hold on, I’ve got you. Lets get inside.” urging him to lean against her smaller frame, she led them through the void of her room. Ophelia didn’t use lights. At this point, she was unsure if her room had ever been fitted for them or if she’d simply forgotten where the switch was. But her room was well mapped in her mind now, guiding him straight to the plush Divian lounge she kept tucked by the windows.

Helping him onto the edge, she slowly aided in leaning him against the arm.”I need you to stay sitting upright for now. There is no lying down yet. Okay? Stay upright for me.” It was imperative she didn’t let him lay back for fear of him succumbing to the pain and passing out. If he were upright, he at least wouldn’t choke on the blood.

She kept her voice calm, features schooled into neutrality. For a time, people came to her writhing in pain, fearing for their lives. The last thing they needed- that Olly needed.. was to see her face twisted in the hollowing horror she felt. It writhed beneath her skin like a coiling serpent, feeding an alien emotion that lit her blood on fire. But she contained it. The waves of vibrant pain, guilt, and worry radiating from Oliver didn’t need her wild emotions piling on top. He needed her to be a tool, precise, calm, and careful, so that's what she would be. But there was no way to wipe the worry from her eyes entirely.
“I’ll be right back, just going to grab some stuff to clean you up.” She warned, squeezing his hand before making quick work of padding to the bathroom to collect a basin of cold water and a cloth.

She needed to inspect his injuries and prioritize the worst; the rest could be handled at sunrise. Once back at his side, she balanced the bowl on a nearby desk littered with wire and stone before wringing the rag. Settling back beside him, she tenderly dabbed the blood from his head, her other hand rubbing soothing circles over his hand as she looked over him. Her poor prince. How could this happen? Knowing Oliver she liked to imagine he may have tripped down a flight of stairs, that this was all bad luck. But these injuries they felt… personal. Targeted weak points, his face, jaw, ribs, joints... Lifting her hand to graze her fingers against his temple, she spoke softly so as not to rattle his head. ”Okay, that's a little better right? Now, let’s see what I can do.”

Nadine’s light was untangled like yarn, curling around her fingers as she traced a line from his temple down to his jaw. She watched more and more light pull from her hands to relieve his pain, a momentary lightning show that skittered across and beneath his skin. Slowly, the light drained from her eyes, and once it was black, she sighed, her hand never leaving his face. It felt less swollen now, at least. ” I’m sorry, it’s all I can do for now. I thought we had a keen understanding that bleeding was my thing.” she didn't know what she was doing, this was hardly the time to make teasing remarks. Feeling for the bowl with her free hand, she wrung the blood from it before running the cold rag through his hair. He still felt warm to her. ”Are you okay?”

OOC: Let me know if I moved them too much o.o

In the short year Ophelia had her sight partially restored to her, she’d decided she had become entirely too reliant on its benefits. Really, with how many times this school drenched her in shadow, she was beginning to understand why her mother hovered so much back home. At least in her own space, the usual fear was far from her. Smothered by a bone-deep worry only the well-being of someone she loved could bring her. “Much better now, thank you.” Oliver lied about as well as she did. Which was no compliment. His tone weaker than she would prefer from someone who was attempting to be convincing. She wanted to believe him, but it was growing increasingly difficult when the air between them thickened, like wading through black water.

Fighting the frown threatening the corner of her lips, her thumb ran slowly over his brow. Feeling for that crease of worry she’d seen once or twice when he was stressed or forgot his papers for literature class. There was surely a deeper furrow now, with so many injuries still left unmended. How bad would the repercussions be this time if she tried to heal without the light? The last time she’d done it, the wounds on her brother were far more dire. Maybe this wouldn’t result in such a massive loss.

An onslaught of butterflies spurred by the feeling of her prince's lips brushing her palm sent her thoughts to a sputtering halt, surprised by the sudden tenderness. “I missed you.” The solemn admission whispered into her hand felt heavy between her fingers as though he were reaching across a vast space to reach her. She itched to make it tangible, to latch onto it, take its weight, and place it on her shoulders so he could find relief. If only for a moment. “ I didn’t mean to ignore you. I just had a lot to think about after that night. I didn’t think he would hurt you like that just to hurt me. I’m sorry.”

The flow of apologies rolling from Oliver knotted her stomach, pulling a sigh that softened her features. At some point, the weak attempts she made to deflect were discovered. “ Please, stop apologising.” She mentally pleaded with the little investigator her prince turned out to be. Never able to just leave well enough alone, could he? He shouldn’t have been apologizing for needing space from her this last week.“My heart.” She murmured, pulling herself closer in a desperate effort to feel the warmth his company usually brought her. “Don’t apologize for that. Space is not a sin, and you are not at fault for his actions.” Sure. Ophelia might have hated the silent treatment more than the average person. But now wasn’t the time to tell Oliver how it was her mother's favorite punishment, how she felt like she deserved it tenfold from him. Her mother's weaponized silence was akin to broken glass scattered on the floor, meant to hurt no matter what avenue you took to fix it. But Oliver’s silence didn’t feel like enough retribution in some twisted way. And that was so much worse. It made her unsteady. As if now she stood on a boat staring at the violence of an impending storm inside Oliver. Without Nadine, there was no way for her to tell if seeking him out, seeking more information, would calm him or send him overboard.

Here she stood amid his downpour, and with how he clung to her, she knew that she should have tried harder to be his lifeline. He would slip right through her fingers if she didn’t hold him now.
“ He shouldn’t touch you ever again. I promise.” The promise quivered into her palm, spread like a crack through her body to shatter her heart. Usually, Ophelia liked promises. The laughter and shared secrets that accompanied the ones she would take to her grave. This one was nothing like that, and she couldn't comprehend why. Did he expect her to be happy to hear them? Safer? Did he understand that she sensed a million unspoken thoughts in those two little words that scared her more than Syena ever would?

So she waited. With measured breaths, she waited for more. For him to tell her why. To explain away this dreadful warning coiling in the back of her mind that told her somehow what had happened to him was her fault. But the longer the silence stretched, the more a quiet voice began screaming. Its strength made her fingers shake, a lump forming at the back of her throat that barred her from speaking while it warned her to prepare herself. To brick off that section of her heart that she had let become too entangled with his. Because somewhere, deep inside, she feared their tethers were loosening.

No, she wouldn't let that happen. Ophelia Akimi never let anything she loved part with her grasp without making sure she left claw marks behind. Pulling her hand from his, she caught his jaw to bear down on him with a gentle ferocity. Desperate heat, frustration, and fear molded her mouth to his. Tasting the iron and pain that would coat her tongue and lock in the memory of what she had done to him. What he had done for her. Just as quickly, she pulled back, a shallow pant priming her lips. " I am going to pretend...That isn't your way of telling me these horrific injuries were the result of you defending me." Her voice quaked, brows knitting together as she pressed her eyes closed and willed the tears that burned behind her eyes to stay put.

Her fingers slipped from his jaw to tangle into the curling hair at the base of his neck. Kneading the strands between her fingers the way she had when the two of them lounged in the grass. A mess of limbs and giggles as they talked about their day. How badly she wanted that now. Yet somehow, it felt too far, as if they would likely never return there. She leaned in again, tenderly brushing her lips to his in the softness she knew he craved. "Thank you, but please, Oliver-" His name fell from her lips in a whimper." Never do something so stupidly reckless for me. I can heal." She deftly explained. " The longest I will ever face pain is twelve hours, so please." Her chest worked against her. tightening, suffocating. Hot tears springing loose that burned a trail down her cheeks. "Never let me be the reason you find yourself injured again. I can't... I can't " Lose you. The words died beneath a hic-up. A blessing, so she didn't have to speak such wretched thoughts into the universe.

Already she struggled to keep her head above water with the vast hole her brother's absence had left her with. How hard would she have to fight to stay afloat if Oliver were taken from her as well? A heave broke from her lungs, the words tumbling from her lips in a blubbering flurry. " I can't imagine what would have happened if you didn't make it here."

OOC:

The air in the room felt too familiar. It was tangible, pressing in around her like she’d already sunk into the blackened depths of the lake. She wanted to thrash against it, to find the light Oliver brought her and fight her way back to fresh air. But she wasn’t in the lake now, and the sinking sensation in her stomach was set on pulling her down further.

“You’ve been here before.” It whispered against her skin. She flinched. She had, hadn’t she? Doomed to repeat this with every person she dared to form an attachment to. How did she always manage to find herself trapped in the darkness, clinging desperately to someone she loved with blood crusting her fingers?

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to protect you Phi.”

Loran had mumbled something similar when he stumbled down the stairs on the brink of death. Now it was Oliver crumpled before her, adding the sting of salt water to the bitter mix of iron clogging her senses. All of this is happening under the fatal flaw of protecting someone like her. She should have been thankful. He was trying to be her knight in shining armor; He went through this for her. If this wasn’t some twisted declaration of love, she wasn’t sure she knew what was.

But what if the love story they were writing aligned too closely with the other chapters of her life? Loran’s departure was so sudden. It left her shattered and alone in her darkest hour. The thought of the same thing happening with Oliver? She couldn’t–

Oliver's words sliced through the souring air between them. “I will always find a way to be at your side.” His timing– impeccable. The feel of his hand tightening around hers was a distant lifeline guiding her back towards the surface. A laugh gasped from her lips, relief flooding her lungs with new oxygen. She wanted to hear him say those words a million times unprompted. Every day. Over tea and morning conversation and whispered against her neck at night. Was that too much to ask? If only he had always been able to read her mind like that, blurting out the exact words she’d needed to hear. They’d never have wasted so much time stuck in petty messes.

“You don’t have to wait for me. But I- Ouch,” Her free hand cupped his face on instinct, dabbing the cool rag against his skin. “Hey now.” She soothed, swallowing down her budding worry to ease his. “Quit– Quit talking so much if it hurts.” A chastisement felt appropriate; For his external pain, and her internal. Talking was never an easy subject for them. Honestly, she didn’t care to hear what he had been about to say anyway. Those words felt sharp, a jagged echo that gave Ophelia the sinking feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever came next.

“Is this a test? She had to consider it. If this were a bid to declare to the world that he loved her, that He fought for her. She couldn't go without displaying the same courage for him now. What if it damages their chances? A cold idea crept over her spine in warning. The reminder that healing Oliver without any light could be detrimental. She could end up swallowed wholly by the darkness, robbed of every sunrise for eternity.

But.. But this was different. This was Oliver.. Her silly, improper, innocent dork of a savior. It was only healing some flesh wounds and rebinding bones, not regenerating a new arm. He wasn’t on the brink of death. Surely she’d gotten stronger in the past five years, hadn’t she? The repercussions would be minor if any. And even if she did lose her sight entirely, Oliver wouldn’t abandon her to face it alone.

“ Just promise me.” She requested, slipping the rag up to cover his eyes while she untangled her other from his to hold against his jaw. “ Promise me you’ll always be there.” The words came as a whisper, dampened beneath focus because for the first time in five years, Ophelia reached inward for the threads that bound her. She could almost see them, a billion intricate fibers glittering at her core. She unraveled them with tender ease, as if one wrong move could rip the system inside her to shreds and open an uncontrollable flood gate. She could figure this out for him. Ophelia was ready to try.

Just as she located one thread strong enough to weave into her fingers, the subtle echo of a bird's trill sounded, fluttering through the windows of her room to whisper of the mother's grand arrival. A smile stretched across her lips, relief slumping down onto her shoulders. Maybe she wouldn’t have to today. But she would be willing next time. Tangling her fingers between Oliver's, she eased up, urging him to follow.

“Come greet the mother with me, Oliver. I promise she’ll help me take all your pain away.”



OOC: