alilmusebundle

[alilmusebundle]

Smoke rising. Danger, danger.

When he moves, so does she; instinctual move to brace, one foot slipping back, muscles tensing- then it doesn't matter, because he is on the ground instead of her. The scrape of his claws through the meager layer of dirt spread over cavern rock is faint, but heard.

Analytical analysis begins in the back of her head.

Love burns and blinds. Extermination points both curb and feed it, a rush that can be extremely addictive. Rufus had gained too much of it in a very short period of time, in that brief period after the earthquakes, the strange rifts, ripped through the underground, and took so many that he loved. If Carmine had fallen before stumbling into her old shack, Rufus would be worse.

In her line of work, it is good to know how to recognize monsters on the brink of a 'break'. Rufus's shouting may be underlined by bloodlust- but it wasn't aimed at her.

Confusion sets in. Not what he meant? Could she really believe him? Trust that he really hadn't swallowed that last bit of cult mentality, and wasn't just here to try and keep a potential 'resource' in check?

Wasn't like she wanted to think this way. But all the avoidance, the dismissal, the nastiness shown to her- to both of his cousins- made it hard to trust. But she wanted to. Oh, she wanted to.

Emil. It all came down to him, didn't it? With him clearly getting better... maybe Rufus was remembering other people mattered, too.

She slowly uncrouches. Feta tumbles out from the coat and immediately zooms back to her, hiding behind her ankles. Probably didn't want to get kicked again, the coward. When she speaks next, her tone is flat, the growl tempered.

"I'd do what I did a thousand times over. Emil wasn't in any state to be moving around right away, the way you would have wanted. We couldn't think of a way to tell you without you freaking out on us- so really, I should have expected what happened. Doesn't make it hurt less."

Slowly, telegraphing movements, she stalks towards him. She stops a pace away, glaring and glaring. "I love you both. And I can take a lot of bullshit. But, I've reached my limit of how much jack-assery I can handle from you. It's hard to remember you care about us at all, anymore."

"...guess your anger helped." She adds on, gruffly.

Fingers flex and pull on the needles- or well, the pure magic ones- and they all stnk out of his torso at once. If some small ones remain, he deserved it, at least a little. Then she half turns, gesturing with her head toward the open door.

"Get inside. I'll patch up your arm."

They'd given the neighbors enough of a show, at this point.

Good boy Feta, she thinks wildly as the poor dog tumbles away, having accomplished yet another (somehow). You're getting a treat later.

Her avenging swipes don't hit, and she's caught. Twisting bodily in his grip to swing her head of quills at him gets the bastard to let her go. She backs off too, crouched and growling as hard as the day Emil was taken. Taken home.

"They broke in because I didn't answer the damn door fast enough!" When she was home, alone, tired and instinctively paranoid of attack. "Went through everything looking for what they needed, barely even fucking listened to me on anything- but that's nothing new. No need to listen to some no-name bitch!"

No Family, no name, and therefore no reason to listen. That simple. No doubt the only reason violence wasn't applied to her was because she was a certified healer.

"Glide was so very eager to get him the care of a proper doctor instead of a nurse who was 'lucky to get him stabilized at all' with her 'few years of training'!"

Fuck holding still. She starts pacing, half her body turned to keep Rufus in sight in case- what? He'd fucking go at her? Who fucking knew anymore. After so much of his bullshit, she didn't know who the hell he even was anymore. Why he was even bothering to be on her doorstep.

"He agreed with his don," she spits, "that Emil should have been in your care from the beginning. With his family, from the moment we found him. 'Perhaps then, he would be past stable'. Paints a pretty clear message of intent to me."

More tears float away as she blinks at him furiously. Anger choked her, lodged further words in her throat.

[alilmusebundle]

As Ettore bends, Eleanor shifts, her skirt angling closer to his head. If anyone was looking at him, she hoped to shield him from sight- at least from a few angles. Her movement would be an added distraction- in which she was, as previously stated, quite.

His little trick was fascinating and no doubt handy in his line of work. Having something like that up your sleeve had to be necessary to combat just how many monsters would love to get in his way. All she could do was dependent on the amount of water in the vicinity, only really good for sensing movement. Useless in most circumstances.

Her best parlor trick had it's own downsides. Thankfully, Ettore knew how it went, at this point.

"Delightful." She says, stepping closer to wind her arm around his.

The cloaking magic ripples down her hair in fractals of color, a thin layer of it spreading over her- and the monster she was physically touching. Cloaking another took significantly more energy than just herself, but it was alright. Only needed to be invisible a short time.

Smiling up at Ettore, she puts a finger up to her mouth- a teasing reminder to be silent or he'll blow their cover- before tugging him along in her wake.

There were plenty of hidden nooks and crannies in Sal's labyrinthine gardens. She knew the paths to them all by heart. When looking for some alone time, she took care to not go to the same place every time, and to appear fairly random in her choice. Helped with not being caught in the act, if ah, sex actually occurred.

Caution and forethought were necessary. She's shameless, but she's not stupid.

They emerge from a path lined with tall flowering bushes to one she hasn't shown him yet: the willow tree. Aquamarine leaves falls in curtains over a sitting area, all of it surrounded by a crystalline pond. The entire thing is situated lower down in the gardens, near the large stone fence that completely surrounds the royal manor.

She lets the cloak fall, leaning against Ettore to ride out the dizzying rush of tire. Not as bad as it could be- has been before. It wouldn't last long.

"Gardeners aren't out here all that often. Should be more... quiet." Oh, delightful privacy, how she covets you. "You can't see it beneath the fronds, but there's a bench on the island. Lovely little spot."

She straightens, pulling away enough to slyly look up at Ettore- and boop him lightly on the nose.

"Just know, if you slip and fall in the water getting there, I will laugh~"

@thetraumazone from xXx ---

His words earn a small pout, an instinct to cross her arms just barely thwarted. She had been prattling on about her annoying situation for long enough now, it was only fair the detective got a turn to vent. No interrupting or possible derailing with arguments.

The pout quickly disappears. Her safety, a comfort to him? The words left her warm, the same way those soft glances did. She lowers her chin, allowing loose ripples of softly glowing hair to shield her face. Really, this man was quite the charmer, intentional or otherwise.

"Really? Well, if my spirited complaints have somehow helped comfort, I would be happy to continue." Eleanor peeks out from behind the orange waves, eye-light glimmering to match. "I've been told I'm quite distracting~"

She'd certainly provided enough complaints: being confined to the mansion for so long felt more like a punishment than a precaution. Really, they could at least allow Pierre to take them out somewhere. Unfortunately, her opinions on the topic mattered very little, and she had indeed been venting to the poor detective about it all.

For him to view her safety on the same level as family matters… 'people he cared about'… was very touching. After such a statement, it was. Very hard to keep her hands to herself.

Her hair trailed in a curtain of waves behind her, the long end just barely grazing the freshly watered ground. She was quite certain their slow meander through the gardens had bored those meant to keep tabs on them by now. It would be good to double check.

"Is anyone looking?" She asks in a casual undertone.

[alilmusebundle]

Eleanor smiles impishly, preening at getting such a reaction from Evie. Oh, the delights of expressing yourself without fear of chastising or embarrassment. Just sibling things.

She shifts, legs curled neatly to the side, as Evie flops back onto her bed. At the mention of the cat-monster and the 'cold nights', Eleanor makes a rude face while rolling her eye-light sky high.

"Ugh, that nurse-maid." Is muttered under her breath.

Tabitha was one of mothers personally chosen maids, and she was just as precise and ridged as one would think, coming from the queen. She was happy the maid was nose-deep in Evie's business and not hers. What a nightmare that would be.

Evie's final words can be taken as yet another teasing jab, and her mouth quirks in a smirk in response- but then really, perhaps the question merited a moment of thought.

Would it even be wise to entertain such thoughts? As mortifying as her physical response to him had been, actively placing the don in her fantasies while she took care of business was tempting. The majority of the time, vivid imagery was all she really had to work with, and imagining those she found attractive in such moments was harmless enough. In this case, with the don set to be her shadow- would giving into such things really be wise?

"Hmm, no, not tonight." She frowns. "Or, perhaps not ever; though my thoughts wonder, actually giving in to them may not be wise... he is still a don with possible ulterior motives. One confident enough to stand strong in the face of fathers.. everything."

This was the monster that helped Sal slaughter what remained Hare family inside that hotel and speak-easy, instead of being another casualty himself. She needed to proceed carefully, rather than throw herself at him with abandon, mentally or otherwise.

"I don't want to accidentally give him more power over me than Sal may already, technically, have given him." She lets her head roll back to stare at the shrouded canopy of her sisters four-poster bed with a sigh. "The price of being given the don, I suppose. Can't even let myself have some fun."

She lets herself sit in quiet 'despair' for a moment, privately enjoying the cool feeling of her hair pooling against her spine. Then she swings her legs over the side of the bed, pulling her evening gown up enough that she can start shucking her stockings off her legs. Because yes, it was high time they actually went to bed.

"If I so much as feel a single crumb against my person in these sheets, I will be abandoning you to these 'cold' summer nights. With prejudice."

Her sister's description of her assigned guard pulled a rather impish cackle out of her, much like Ellie's snort-laugh, such an otherwise flustering reaction was only permitted in her company.

She pretended to fan herself with her hand, leaning back on her opposite hand while grinning cheekily up at her sibling.

"Oof, you keep that up and I'm going to need to take another dose prematurely."

Her vitiligo was in fact lighting up faintly pink, just picturing what her sister had playfully suggested, the delicate curl of her tail wagging.

"But yes, deal. I'll have very sweet dreams tonight, indeed.~"

She purred with a teasing flutter of her lashes, giggling and letting herself flop back onto her bed with an exaggerated stretch, the box of graham crackers being jostled against her side, until she lazily slid it onto the side table.

"Mm! Speaking of.. if we don't settle down soon, Tabby will be very cross with me. Are you joining me toniiight? The nights have been so very cold, Ellie.~"

She paused, then rolled onto her stomach with her cheeks shelved, and little legs kicking, her smirk devious.

"Unless you need some time alone with thoughts of your hunk.~"

[alilmusebundle]

She isn’t sure when waking up happens. Every time it happens, it doesn’t feel real. Like something out of a dream. Never had lucid dreamed before.

Once she opens her eyes to a blur of colors. Blue, green, both figures moving, a backdrop of white- everything so bright, sound muted and dull. The blue shoots up, the green melts away. She blinks, and when the darkness peels away again, blue dominates her vision. Makes her think of the evening sky, the horned-jellies ascending to the upper atmosphere. Perfect time to go flying through the back-cliffs, now that they’d be free of vermin. Flying would be nice.

Her eyes close. She dreams of blue fire. Or is it fur? Stars..?

Her eyes open. Glowing green, all around her. Her eyes close.

Her eyes open. No more blue, no more green, vision still blurry. All alone. Her throat aches.

Everything is unfamiliar. Bland white walls, tiny lights in the ceiling- something wrong with her eyes, light shimmering in odd ways- the sound of a quiet fan somewhere unseen. She wants to lift her hand, wipe at her eyes to clear away the strange glittering, but she has no hands, only leaden weights. Every breath is an effort, and she can’t even feel her chest move. How unfair. How lonely. Unconsciousness is welcome.

She dreams of the evening sky, tiny flashing lights, the yoke not responding to her hand, her flowers withering on the still of her apartment window. Smoke on her tongue, the screech of metal, a machine that has betrayed it’s maker crying and crying, her baby, her Pyrite, dying-

(something in the corner of her vision, like an extended hand. Pitch black eyes, entreating.)

-no pain. Soft white light, fading to blue, to black, to nothing. Endless oblivion.

She wakes, and knows that she should be dead.

—

She wakes, disoriented and thinks, Is this what resets are like for him?

—

Being alive again is a challenge. Turns out, there’s a lot of paperwork that has to be re-filed, and no ones really sure what the procedure for it all should be. Xenia’s been surprisingly helpful with that. Really has a knack for figuring out paperwork. Not so much Orion- the mere mention of such things had him run for the hills.

What a weird life she's ended up in. Here in the pop-stars house, sleepin' in a state of the art life pod till she's good enough to graduate to a bed overnight. Said popstars legal aid walking the thin line of strict host and mothering her.

( "There are some that wish to visit you," Xenia had handed her a clipboard and pen, lines of names and numbers trailing down the paper. "Please verify who actually is your friend, and not a hopeful fan trying to get a peek at Orion's personal life."

"I will deal with the rabble, and with the rest, we will get," A wild glint had appeared in Xenia's eyes, "visitation scheduled."

When she'd agreed and Xenia had grinned with a mouthful of very sharp teeth, she'd been. Uh. A little alarmed. She didn't think there were people out there that relished schedule making that much outside of like. The movies.

( The list had been rich with names she didn't recognize. That had been kinda funny, admittedly.))

-

She video calls her work friends and boss, because she knows for a fact that they would be nosy fan-types. Specifically Hampty and Chase, gossip lovers that they were. Her boss, Patti, reassures her that she'd be guaranteed her job at the shop back along with a heartfelt, 'Just focus on getting better darling!'

So, that's nice.

-

Can't get away with a video call with her pawee. She's not sure he even could, without getting tech help from someone in the cluster, and she's never been that close to the rest of 'em. But, for him to even step foot off the farm, away from the store and the small town inn, it's unheard off.

So it's a surprise when Xenia tells her the time and date he would be in to visit her. Is still startled when she wheels into the room and sees him, sitting stiffly on expensive furniture in his stained overalls. The glimmer of the gold band on his arm- the matching set to her choker, moms jewelry split between the both of them- and the way his eyes snap to her, drink in the sight of her, makes her soul ache. When they hugged, his hold is tighter than it's ever been before.

"Hey, kit." Pawee said, voice pained. She gave him another squeeze, tight as she can manage. They stayed like that for quite a while.

They talk, after. She explains her therapy routine, not remembering much of anything after loosing control of her racer, shell-degradation and how coma's cause it- the reason she even needs the dang therapy- and the many meetings she'd had to have with doctors and WG forensics to verify she really was who she said she was.

"S'pose you don't want to come back home with me?" He'd asked abruptly, interrupting her complaints about confusing legal documentation. "Your rooms still open for you. Cluster would be happy to help- Roma's got experience with nursing. We'd take care of ya."

She'd met his eyes- the same as hers, dark as pitch- and smiled, ears twisting back. Apologetic.

"Sorry pawee, but... I'm not done yet."

She'd rather live on the street than go back to the farm, but she loved her pawee to much to say that out loud. He knew.

-

Starlyne had explained following the A.D. with Keera, watching it materialize her out of thin air, looking exactly like the day she'd vanished. Not a spec of harm visibly done to her. How she'd called the first person with a shit load of money to spend for help, while Keera talked with paramedics. When Star had burst into tears for the third time that visit, she'd made Keera and Orion continue to explain while she cuddled the poor siren.

Orion, outside of those talk shows he'd been in and the videos of him at concerts, was surprisingly blase about things. Tried really hard to seem cool and collected, like Aylin around the raceway, but uh, she had ears too, and she knew how to read'em. He was hilariously awkward, in a similar way that Ves could be, but had a dry humor that she definitely appreciated. He'd been real helpful with the physical therapy. And the whole, uh, paying for everything. Real nice guy-who-acts-tough.

( A good chunk of the time, it was just them at the house, and, when she wasn't sleeping or forcing herself through physical therapy OR squinting at paperwork, she asked to sit in while he mixed his music. She liked it enough- well, not the stuff that was all fluffy chorus. Only reason those were so popular was because they were generic enough that anyone could latch onto it and sing along, and she told him as such. She liked his more soulful ones, the ones that felt right flying to. Telling him that seemed to make him pretty happy.

"Acey likes those ones too, doesn't she~?" She'd asked as she felt that tell-tale shift of Aylin appearing nearby. Orion had twitched and looked up from his instrument, startled, as the sudden skeleton had groaned under his breath.

"Why do you insist the ships have likes and dislikes again?" Aylin held out a box that wafted delightful smells, and she snatched the Vesper-patent lunch with eager hands.

"Cause you both fly better when you're both happy, duh." She'd replied, before promptly stuffing food in her face. )

She was quick to make sure Vesper knew she didn't need him overseeing her medication and therapy. Didn't want any of that responsibility on him, not even a hint of it. Helped that he was only free to visit later in the day, after his work-shift, when all of her nonsense was done and out of the way. She was going to remind him of his mother as little as possible, thank you very much.

Can't keep conversation steered away from sad things though. And Vesper often held a lot of sad in his heart.

He quietly explained how he'd been in charge of documenting her crash, something that made her soul scrape in two for him. How he'd managed to maintain his professionalism in the face of that... she'd never have been able to do it. She ends up crying on him, literally, after pulling him in tight for a hug, still-raw voice apologizing over and over. Her poor little brother...

He had also contacted her family cluster in an offer to help them shut down and finalize everything that she now had to restart, which her pawee had stoutly-predictably- refused. Had paid for her poor Pyrite to be hauled to the scrapper. Oh, her poor ship... she'd spent years hand-crafting her, and now...? She was just recycling.

( The reveal that Orion and Vesper used to write to each other sure is something. After witnessing how thorough and concise Xenia was with basically everything that went on in the house, she's able to guess what might have happened to get the wrong letter sent out in the first place. Especially if Orion had been out of commission at the time.

She's not angry at him. It was a mistake, Orion was sorry, and Vesper had seemingly forgiven him, just happy that his 'Oreo' wasn't actually dead. She was just... she worried about Ves, and his big, bruised, and fragile heart.

Falling in love over letters- even when she'd been actively watching it happen to him, she'd been worried. You couldn't be sure anything in some written words was real. The person on the other end could be anyone just crafting a perfect fabrication of a person- like roleplay. How was he so sure that someone who didn't even use their real name was telling him the truth?

Orion at least seemed like he was trying to be a good friend, after everything. She just couldn't help worrying... )

Another visit, with Aylin in the room, he'd explained that her apartment was still being paid for, so she at least hadn't lost all her stuff, or the gold in the couch (thanks for bad habits pawee). That, while Pyrite was gone, Ace was still in the garage, untouched for all this time, and not able to race anyways. Cause her death had been a catalyst for the Chief of the WG to suggest officially banning off-road racing for good to the royal lawmakers, and now the only racing that existed was spinning round and round the sky stadium track.

That had been... devastating. The reason she'd chosen to become a mechanic was to work on those beautiful ships, meant to weave through canyons and towering redwood and skim over waves, each one it's own unique work of art. It was all gone... because of her.

Makes her feel sick.

( "You didn't even try to fight it?!"

Vesper had flinched at her sudden anger, sockets wide, worry palpable. Aylin steeled his jaw, but hadn't been able to meet her eyes. "Why would I when you'd just fucking died?"

"Cause I wouldn't have wanted it!" She coughs, throat still to sore to be yelling. "That was my- our passion, our dream."

Aylin- who had already been pacing, who hadn't been able to sit down and meet her gaze the entire visit- turns away from her.

"You were gone. They may as well've died too."

Then, she blinked, and he was gone. Running away. Always running away. He never grew up.

Vesper quietly explained the way his brother spiraled after her death. Maybe it's supposed to explain something to her. Make her forgive him for being a dumb-ass. But the anger burns and burns. )

Aylin. Oh-ho HO. Aylin.

He broke his damn promise. Guess she shouldn't be surprised that he couldn't keep it together.

( That day at the garage, when he'd woken from a nap in the sun in such a state, raving about her dying, about some alien and time loops and so much strangeness, she'd believed him. Well, she'd believed him more when later that day everything Brody actually happened, but regardless- she'd believed him. She'd listened to his recount of scattered memories and timelines, and had tried to be supportive.

'Resets'. What a strange thing. But hey, if a little rabbit like her could go from rural nowhere mom-n-pop grocer to getting herself through schooling to semi-accomplished off-road racer, then there were probably stranger things out there.

( "Well, if I keep dying, maybe that's how things are supposed to be."

"No." Aylin had snapped, almost before she'd even finished speaking. The sound of his tail smacking the ground had followed. "The deaths- they're different every time. They're avoidable- if I can just remember how they happen..."

Ah, hell no. "I'm not gonna live my life afraid of doing anything. That wouldn't be a life at all."

"I didn't mean you couldn't do anything! All I'm saying is, if I tell you not to do something-"

"-I would be happy for the warning and be careful, but you will not control whether or not I do something!" She snapped, stomping her foot on the ground. Aylin had snarled, gloved hands folding into fists. They glared at each other for a long moment. Something she continued to not like.

"...I can't loose you." He'd ground out.

"You've only known me a handful of years, you could live plenty more without me." She met his near frantic glare evenly. "Your life shouldn't revolve around mine." )

If their positions were somehow switched, his death would hurt. It would hurt for a long, long time. The loss of her mother taught her that. But there were always other people- other reasons- to live for. Vesper, work friends, racing buddies, the art of flying itself. She'd told him as much. Tried to explain that he couldn't put his everything on her.

He'd promised to try, if it came to it. )

If she was being fair to him- didn't let the anger cloud her head and thought about it- the resets probably made moving on more difficult than it should be. But, she'd genuinely thought he was doing better. Had seemed like it, anyway. Hanging out with other racers more, that work friend of his, Starlyne.

He'd at least acted less obsessed with her, which had been a relief, and any attempt at controlling her- for her own good or not- was smacked before it could spiral into freefall. She didn't want to be his singular value in life. It wasn't healthy, dammit.

When she looked at him, she could still see the kid that tried to steal the wrong gear from her work. All she wanted was for him to grow into someone he could be proud to be.

[alilmusebundle]

Gentle Care

Taking care of them...

"Hey, it's okay. Show me?"

"What did they do to you?"

"Don't cry - I've got you."

"That's okay - get it all out."

"Deep breath, I have you."

"Sh, sh, I'm going to patch you up."

"I've got a bandage for you."

"This is going to sting, but we have to clean this."

"Oh - okay - we're hugging about this, okay."

"It'll all feel better in the morning."

"I can't believe someone would do this to you..."

"I'm going to protect you."

"Get some rest. I'm not going anywhere."

"You're safe now."

"I'm just going to wipe your face."

"When's the last time you cried like this?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, I promise."

"One day, you'll be okay. For now? It's okay to hurt."

"You want a hug?"

"I've got a blanket for you."

"Nice and cosy..."

"It's okay if you fall asleep."

"Just get some rest. You need it."

"Hey, I made you food."

"I know it's easy to forget to eat when you feel like this."

"You don't need to feel guilty."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Do you want a hot chocolate?"

"There's nothing better than a toasted marshmallow."

"Just hold onto me. There we go."

[alilmusebundle]

"Well, it better be soon. I'm tired of our cage time." She grumbles, only to become very distracted with her sisters next words.

"Hmm, I suppose I'll have to trust you there," Eleanor smirks around her heated cheekbones. "Keep your hands off my fashionably dressed heavy-handed hunk, and I'll keep my own to myself with sharkie~"

She was very interested in meeting the shark again. Domie-Sharkie had been the least memorable of the mafioso met that night, and the knowledge that she was, apparently, one of three capo of the Arbitrage family had been surprising. Red Rabbit had taken control over the situation- and the shark- so easily she'd assumed things, she supposed.

It would be interesting to see just why Mr Arbitrage had chosen himself and his Shark for this royal side job. She was more confident in her ability to actually manage conversation with the shark even if she didn't fix her issue beforehand anyways. Meeting her as they did had rather killed any attraction she could hold for those (admittedly eye-catching and impressive) thick muscles.

Anyways. Two can play the crass game.

"I'll just daydream about hot lips down my spine, and you can imagine a mouthful of tit while you're pinned. Deal~?"

"Oh don't say that! I have so many dyes I've yet to use. He can't have adapted to his punishment already.."

She was still pouting a little, but hearing her sister's elusive snort-laugh had broken through her sulk quite significantly, muffling a giggle behind a graham-cracker dusted hand.

"Ooh, glittered food is diabolical. You can blame the shine on the glaze, or something. The possibilities.."

Rosy eyelights shone with a calculating mischief. While it would be harder to slip it into some dishes, rich desserts would be the perfect vessel, and with Pie's sweet tooth..

She was interrupted from her silent scheming when Ellie was suddenly maneuvering her skull in a shaking motion, blinking at the question that was posed in the midst of the slight puppeteering of her sibling.

"Uh.. I mean, it would definitely have to happen before the first outing, right? Makes it less awkward to deal with if our guards ever needed to swap. For safety concerns, or.. whatever."

She adopted a playful grin, arms twining round' her sister's neck to let their skulls playfully, and affectionately, bonk together.

"Don't gotta worry about hot-lips. He's safe from me, so long as he's not top heavy. Hips are nice, but a girl can't help but dream about a cushy, savory handful."

She snickered and moved back to better meet her sister's gaze, lightly pressing her forehead with a teasing silent raspberry.

"But! I certainly am interested in meeting the man that nearly had my unflappable sister magic-bursting in front of papa.. with a handshake ♫ .~"

[alilmusebundle]

"Atonement? Eh?" Keera asks, wildly confused. Feels a bit like she's lost a grip on whats going on here. "That's not- not at all what I was getting ta saying, where in ta holy star-fields did that come from?"

As she looks at Vesper, now curled up in misery, she feels utterly lost. This was just one of the perfect examples of why she sucked, cause she'd definitely caused this. Vesper or Starlyne, they were both so similarly in their heads, it didn't matter; she'd bludgeoned her way forward and something had crashed and broken.

Her floppy ears fold back as she half reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder- and stops halfway, unsure. Just kinda hovering there. The words that come weakly out of her mouth are all she's got: trying to be humorous (and probably failing).

"Sorry, but if you're to much, then what's my blunt yellow arse: A megaphone blasting bull-ogna into a loudspeaker?"

Oh yeah. That'd help soooo much, Keera.

"I... didn't know there was sucha big reason you were so into his music..." Biting her lip, she slowly- so slowly- finishes reaching out, and gently shoves Vespers shoulder. "Guess you've already been following my advice then, silly horns! Seems like you've been thinkin' of him as 'Oreo' this whole time... subconsciously, at least."

Keera sighs. "Vesper, I'm sorry. I think I might have gone an over exaggerated somewhere along the conversation here? Put some sad in your head when it shouldn't be there. Let me... try and better explain what I mean by nixing the Orion worship, yah?"

"Just know that this is... all from my perspective, watching him go through things all these years."

"So... based on the time frame I've been able to sus out... Ody was going through a lot at the time tha bothya were writin'. I can't... expound upon it, cause that's HIS to tell, but. With his health... it only seemed like he had one path, so all he really had were dreams. So, when he managed to break off that path, to a sky of endless possibilities? The minute he got feet under him, he didn't start running- he soared."

"He's been actively tryin' ta reinvent himself, to be 'Orion', this idealized dream-self of his. He's... shoved a lot to the side to do it. Doesn't let himself be anything but that superstar... hides the bouts of sickness and weakness as hard as he can... which means he hasn't even tried to make friends. Cause, what does a superstar need friends for, when he's got all these adoring fans? Not that he really fully knows what to do with those... anyways."

"It's why I insist on calling him Ody, even when it's just the two of us." She confesses. "So he remembers he's not only some big-shot music star. He's my oldest friend, too. I just... don't want him to rely on this Orion-box for everything, when he hasn't really tried to be himself with anyone."

"So... just keep calling him Oreo. Remind him he's more than that self-imposed box. I can't tell you how to deal with your feelings towards him... stars know I've no idea what to do with my own. But, before you do anything about them, I'd have to ask that you become his friend again. Understand that... he emotionally and physically has distanced himself from that monster that exchanged letters with you. He's changed, and you've changed... so, just... become his friend again. Maybe help him figure out what all he can be, now. See where things land, after."

"If it helps with the idolization? Pretty sure he's still a lil BB fanboy at heart."

The initial freeze-up, and instinctive flinch away when she joined him on the couch and rested herself against him, was at least only a brief flash of fear seeded deep at the root of him. As many times as this same scenario had occurred, he was getting used to being pacified in this way.

It didn't quell the shame of being caught crying - yet again, but with a finally audible sniffle, he relented into burying himself against her, seeking out the comfort she provided while still being mindful about butting his horns against her, his tail draping itself over her lap.

"It's not.. I mean.. I guess you contributed.. but it's just.. over-stimulation, I guess.. or maybe I'm still playing catch-up. Even if that seems.. unlikely, as many times as I have.. broken down like this. I dunno.."

He let out a shaky exhale laden with frustration at himself, but closed his eyes and marginally relaxed against her when the soothing rubbing along his spine began, gripping just a little bit to the hem of her shirt.

"Can I.. tell you something? It's just it-.. it's weighing so heavy on me, but.. I'm scared to say it out loud. I don't want to give it more power than it already has.. but.. I can't get the thoughts to stop.."

He was sure he was blushing at this point, and hated how obvious fluster was on him, especially with starry cheekbones already dampened with tears - but if he did tell her what was afflicting him so, it wouldn't really matter much if she noticed, anyway.

"You're.. the only one I feel safe telling. Since we're.. sort in the same cruiser..? Maybe..?"

[alilmusebundle]

The sky was a beautiful blue, the moon- and it’s own distant satellite, monsterkinds original mother ship, Starward, now the center of communications and trade with other sentient lifeforms, (humans taking up a large percentile of said life there, these days),- a silver shadow amongst thin, wispy clouds.

Maybe there were high-winds in the upper atmosphere, closer towards the highest point of the capital Spire, but this low to planet-side, the wind was a sad, puffy breeze. The sun was blazing, a ball of brilliance that stabbed directly into the eyeballs no matter what direction one faced this side of the Spire.

Laying flat on your back did not help.

Stone that would have felt amazing to bask on in different circumstances blasts heat into her flushed scales. Her panting, loud and necessary, when one wasn’t able to sweat, was slow to lower to a reasonable level. Muscle burn didn’t feel all that great right now-

“Ya ready lassie?”

-but one didn’t full stop training when still in the middle of it. With another deep breath to try and tame the panting, she swings back up onto her feet. The Captain waits, permanent scowl and pale eyes regarding her evenly as she collects herself.

Her father was an imposing figure. His scales were flecked with shimmering specks of color much like her own, but other than that, he looked completely different from her. Stout and muscular, his scales dark green, with no floppy ears and two sets of angular spikes running all the way from the back of his head to his tail. Most that saw them side by side didn't realize they were related at all.

Captain Kurtis lifts his training staff back up, pointing it at her silently. She readjusts her grip on her own, bare feet falling back into position for the next bout, and allows herself an annoyed tail-lash. They were 2 for 2 right now; she wouldn't let him trip her up again.

They both move at the same time, the strike of their staffs reverberating through the air. He had the advantage of strength, which meant she had to be fast, to divert or dodge blows rather than taking them. It was a dance they had done many times, from the moment she had been able to heft the staff.

Simpler times, back then. Their spars were more of a... argument settler now.

---

The first big argument had involved Orion. Or, more specifically, her relationship to their old family friends.

The Blooks were an old family line, past Blooks having been major ship navigators and engineers aboard the Starward. Because of their ghostly nature, they were easily the most adept at fixing or identifying internal issues within the ship, and were key figures in monsterkinds history. Likewise, her grandparents were all lead Watchguards, helping and protecting the general populace within the Starward up until- and after- they found their new planet. Suffice to say, their families had worked together for generations. Had even, in some cases, branched off into their own distant families.

Tradition was a big thing, with her dad. She wasn't as interested in repeating the past.

She'd never regret becoming friends with Ody, (the memory of a sad, lonely monster in a lifepod finally laughing as she flies them out to see the stars in person isn't something one can regret), or Gally, (silly imaginings of his future body drawn out in colored pencils, the easiest monster to get along with in the whole wide world), or those rare moments when Xenia and Luan felt like the kids they were rather than disapproving parents. But her dad was never going to control how her soul should feel.

Dad concedes that fight when she wakes up from blacking out ready to go at him again. Her first argument, won.

( If she's gonna date someone, it was gonna be completely her own choice- that was the point of her first win. A black hole could threaten on the horizon before she ever considered dating someone who wasn't ready for it. Which meant when she met Starlyne-

Oh, Starlyne.

When she met Starlyne through Ody- mechanic family friends, apparently- she doesn't tell her dad about how pretty and smart she is. Doesn't say a single word beyond nice. She's afraid of what he'd convince her to do, outside her own time. Afraid of how that fight may end up tipping. )

One involves Vesper.

She'd been vaguely aware of him before he'd ended up on her doorstep, meekly asking about his application to the WG and begging her for help getting in. Thanks to her Watching, she'd figured out he was one of those off-the-cuff racers Orion used to have fake posters of, before that fight with Luan he still won't talk about. She knew Vesper had the reflexes to be able to react to a cry for help, and he clearly had the caring heart for the job, and determination to back it up. So, she'd started training him.

See, she has, at this point in her life, a good understanding of what makes a decent WG. Out of everything the Captain wanted from her, she always agreed that the WatchGuard was in her blood. She was a Watcher before she technically, legally, should have been after all. So, she's pretty gosh-darn sure that she knows what she's talking about when she says someones qualified!

Captain Kurtis takes his job very seriously. He sees the past as a guide to the future. He sees Vesper's application- looks into his background, his family history- all things he's legally allowed access to, as the head of the monsterkinds peacekeepers- and immediately becomes a brick wall she almost breaks her hand on.

They argue between jabs, between feints. Her, increasingly agitated, him frustratingly calm. Unyielding.

"Just because his mother had some sort of mental problem-"

"Not just her lassy: his grandpop, his uncle, a cousin. Poor lad. The soul inherits such misfortunes."

"He isn't them, and he especially isn't his mother!"

"But he's her sonny, ain't he? If he's the doc's brilliance, good on 'em. If he's her resilience a self... he would run himself ruinous. Won't have that on my conscience."

They fall into a lock, the Captain furrowing his brow when she digs in her heels and holds.

"Let'em prove himself- give'em a chance." Her teeth grind together. "On my honor as a Watcher. Please."

He gives her that fight, in the end. She still takes it as a win.

---

There was a timeframe where everything felt right.

Orion was figuring life out, testing the waters on his now more stable existence bound to a adaptive shell. Galileen's new medication and the alterations to his shell seemed to be helping him stay lucid for longer periods. Starlyne was becoming more open to one on one time together, watching 'anime', playing games and eating unhealthy food together. Vesper seemed to be recovering from his mother's death well enough, and was doing fantastic work with the Guard that Captain couldn't possibly find fault with. She drags Vesper and Starlyne together and is excited when they become good friends outside of her influence.

His brother, Aylin, and their friend, Priya, come along with Vesper to a friend meet up. Starlyne and Priya instantly seem to hit it off, and she knows the rabbit monster ends up visiting her frequently thereafter. The joy of friends all knitting together is only dampened by the fact that Ody and Gal couldn't be there too. Life was good.

She didn't have a single argument with Dad.

Then humanity happened. Brody happened.

It was an accident. A dangerously sized asteroid shot at by Starward as it headed towards the planet, to safely break it apart into small pieces that atmosphere could take care of. They didn't realize there was life inside it. Not until the rock shattered apart, and the lifepods entered orbit.

All of the WG's best fliers were sent out to the different landing sites to survey the damage. The potential loss of alien life. She ends up at one, it's empty husk stained with dried blood. A chilling sight.

It is Vesper that finds Brody. Him and Aylin. Still has no idea why the hell Aylin was there. All she knows is that Vesper calls her for help, frantically trying to explain via video call rather than official radio.

Because Starward had shot at a human spaceship that had been attempting to flee from a different set of aliens' hostile encounter, not an asteroid. A spaceship that had already put out coordinates to the rest of their fleet for assistance at this very planet before they shot it down. The human-the only survivor- needed to get communications out to the rest of humanity, explain what was going on, before they could start a war. That they needed to get Brody to Castle Peak on the capital spire, without sending all of monsterkind into a hopeless panic.

In that moment, she had to decide just how much she trusted her friends. Who to choose, them, or her duty and years as a Watcher, to go apprehend this human for questioning and judgement, which could potentially take too long, depending on how quickly the supposed human fleet might respond.

(It felt strangely familiar. A choice made before, somehow. Something that could tip either way, and click into place. Like the safety on a gun.)

She trusted her friend. Made calls to the rest of them for help, for one thing or another. Smuggling an alien into the capital took inside knowledge of all the guard rotations, good flight work (in which they had a surplus of talented pilots to choose from), and spectacular disguises (Starlyne and Ody had done some beautiful work, disguising Brody as one of her ghost clients). Ody had even decided to help by doing his first live showing in the capital spire's Peak Square, which the human helped with briefly (for SOME reason) before making their last mad dash for the royals.

Captain caught up to her, in the end there. Couldn't keep dodging him forever. Had to play distraction, at the end. The disobedient daughter once more.

That was a long, painful fight, in which neither of them really won. But, things ended up for the better, so it didn't matter. She would do it a hundred times over, if she had to. Sometimes, it felt like she had.

---

An opening: she slides low, kicking up dust and grit as she aims for his shins. The Captain is slow to dodge, and ends up on one knee; her victory is marred by the staff smashing into her tail. It's a sacrifice well worth it, as she levels the end of her staff on his neck.

"Three of three." She pants, blinking grit out of her eyes. "I win."

Captain Kurtis turns his head to look at the training staff silently. After a moment that feels like hours, he grunts, lifts his staff from her now deeply bruised tail. She tries not to flinch. That was gonna smart for awhile.

"Aye. But ye' opened yerself ta a deadly wound in order ta do it. If I had backup, ye'd be doomed." His voice rumbles with clear disapproval. No surprise there.

Keera scrambles upright as Captain pushes himself up. He shakes himself, scattering dirt and grit, but she remains on guard. Just in case. She only relaxes when he turns to her, pale eyes giving away nothing, and nods.

"Good enough fer now. Dismissed." Then he turns and walks away. Back into the precinct proper, this moment of his time neatly ticked off the calendar. Back to his business, which is no business of hers.

So she wins another battle, but not the war.

[alilmusebundle]

Good boy Feta, she thinks wildly as the poor dog tumbles away, having accomplished yet another (somehow). You're getting a treat later.

Her avenging swipes don't hit, and she's caught. Twisting bodily in his grip to swing her head of quills at him gets the bastard to let her go. She backs off too, crouched and growling as hard as the day Emil was taken. Taken home.

"They broke in because I didn't answer the damn door fast enough!" When she was home, alone, tired and instinctively paranoid of attack. "Went through everything looking for what they needed, barely even fucking listened to me on anything- but that's nothing new. No need to listen to some no-name bitch!"

No Family, no name, and therefore no reason to listen. That simple. No doubt the only reason violence wasn't applied to her was because she was a certified healer.

"Glide was so very eager to get him the care of a proper doctor instead of a nurse who was 'lucky to get him stabilized at all' with her 'few years of training'!"

Fuck holding still. She starts pacing, half her body turned to keep Rufus in sight in case- what? He'd fucking go at her? Who fucking knew anymore. After so much of his bullshit, she didn't know who the hell he even was anymore. Why he was even bothering to be on her doorstep.

"He agreed with his don," she spits, "that Emil should have been in your care from the beginning. With his family, from the moment we found him. 'Perhaps then, he would be past stable'. Paints a pretty clear message of intent to me."

More tears float away as she blinks at him furiously. Anger choked her, lodged further words in her throat.

@thetraumazone from xXx ---

She's still half in uniform when she hears the door knocker. With a huff, she shoves her shirt back down over her chest. Feta, still in his crate, whines at her retreating back. He could wait; troublesome thing.

The place was small, barely room for the both of them. Her room was a repurposed study space right across from the wet room- which in itself was more of a closet fitted with a shower drain and a sink. Doesn't take long to get to the living room.

She isn't supposed to be living here, technically. But hey, safety in numbers and whatnot. And they were both paranoid by nature.

Like any sane monster, she approaches the door silently, and checks the peephole with caution. The slightly distorted face on the other side immediately had her ripping open the damn door so she could snap at it properly. The poor door bounces off the door-stopper, she throws it open so hard.

Rufus's theatrics are not welcome. The faux offense, the casual ease in which he offered treats and praise. Acting like he'd done nothing wrong.

"'Our dear Emil'." She mirrors, voice flat. Reflecting none of the rage boiling below. "We do love him dearly, don't we."

Feta (somehow) bursts out from behind her, barking his head off. In the moment that Rufus takes to glance down in distaste at the hated mutt pawing at his perfectly pressed slacks, she uncrosses her arms. Makes to crouch like she's going to pick Feta up out of kicking distance.

Then she springs forward and slams her fist into Rufus's gut: the point just below the soul chamber where air circulates in, a hit that could stun even the biggest brute for a few stumbling seconds. Before he can grapple her, she decks him as hard as she can, right in the face. Payback of sorts. Not that Ettore will appreciate it.

"You're not going to mollify me with treats, you bastard! Not after the shit you've pulled!" She snarls, seeing red. Her next words are interspersed by violent punches and swipes of bristling quills. "Sending Glide here to break down our door and humiliate me- beating Ettore again- ripping Emi away when I could have brought him if you'd just- ordered- a car- to pick me UP!"

Curse the fact that they- the two most violent, explosive lot of the four of them- used to spare as kids. After those surprise sucker punches, she can't land another hit. Frustration and anger work together to blind her with tears that she blinks furiously away.

[alilmusebundle]

@thetraumazone from xXx ---

His words earn a small pout, an instinct to cross her arms just barely thwarted. She had been prattling on about her annoying situation for long enough now, it was only fair the detective got a turn to vent. No interrupting or possible derailing with arguments.

The pout quickly disappears. Her safety, a comfort to him? The words left her warm, the same way those soft glances did. She lowers her chin, allowing loose ripples of softly glowing hair to shield her face. Really, this man was quite the charmer, intentional or otherwise.

"Really? Well, if my spirited complaints have somehow helped comfort, I would be happy to continue." Eleanor peeks out from behind the orange waves, eye-light glimmering to match. "I've been told I'm quite distracting~"

She'd certainly provided enough complaints: being confined to the mansion for so long felt more like a punishment than a precaution. Really, they could at least allow Pierre to take them out somewhere. Unfortunately, her opinions on the topic mattered very little, and she had indeed been venting to the poor detective about it all.

For him to view her safety on the same level as family matters… 'people he cared about'… was very touching. After such a statement, it was. Very hard to keep her hands to herself.

Her hair trailed in a curtain of waves behind her, the long end just barely grazing the freshly watered ground. She was quite certain their slow meander through the gardens had bored those meant to keep tabs on them by now. It would be good to double check.

"Is anyone looking?" She asks in a casual undertone.

[alilmusebundle]

While it was true mumsy would go ballistic, it was still ridiculous to be scared of breaking something when the hallways where twice your height in width with arching ceilings to match. Priceless vases, planters, and artifacts passed down from boss monsters of the past lined the halls, but if you were so far away that even your breath couldn't stir a leaf, then there was simply no point to it. Eleanor shakes her head, but drops it. Not worth arguing in circles about it.

The laugh returns, a stray snort folding into the mix. Something no one but her Evie ever got to hear. "Perhaps rethink that threat; after the last time, I think Pie discovered he likes shimmering in the spotlight~" Even if the green dye stained his white stripes for ages.

She pats her sisters head, as it was in such close proximity. "But, if he ends up flirting with killer eye-candy when they meet, I reserve the right to sneak glitter into his dinner."

Just because she'd lost her opportunity to poke the figurative wolf thanks to the itch- of which she really needed to take care of before they next met- didn't mean dear Pierre was clear to shoe-horn in. Those claws were hers, now, after all. And she'd love to know how they'd feel elsewhere...

...yes, she needed to do something about that itch as soon as possible. One way or another.

"How soon do you think we will get to met each others guards?" She muses as she shakes Evie's head slightly. "I want to meet your sharkie on more even footing, this time."

She watched her sister chug down the water she'd offered with a warm smile, still brushing a soothing hand through her magic-hair as she visibly calmed from her earlier fluster.

"Mhm, same one. I was honestly kind of hoping.. for um, aforementioned reasoning, hehe."

It was her turn to blush a bit, though her magic hair continued its peaceful flow, it would take far more than mere memory to infiltrate the effects of her suppressant.

"Well.. to be fair, you were beaning people with a frying pan. I don't think she was very keen to get too close at the time. Also can't blame her for not wanting to get involved in.. our situation, when they were dealing with their own."

She let her fingers run through her own aqueous hair in thought, the fuzziness had lifted more with their continued conversation, but pauses were still needed from time to time, especially in recalling details.

"Well.. once I finally realized she wasn't just a mirage of my delirium, we talked a little. She was.. polite, but I think she felt really out of place. I could tell she was trying to make herself take up as little space as possible, maybe afraid she would break something, otherwise.."

She puffed her cheek a bit, eyes somewhat narrowed in annoyance.

"It didn't help that Pie was being very obnoxious. He just stared at her, unblinking the whole visit, like a creep. Total killjoy.."

[alilmusebundle]

@thetraumazone from xXx ---

She's still half in uniform when she hears the door knocker. With a huff, she shoves her shirt back down over her chest. Feta, still in his crate, whines at her retreating back. He could wait; troublesome thing.

The place was small, barely room for the both of them. Her room was a repurposed study space right across from the wet room- which in itself was more of a closet fitted with a shower drain and a sink. Doesn't take long to get to the living room.

She isn't supposed to be living here, technically. But hey, safety in numbers and whatnot. And they were both paranoid by nature.

Like any sane monster, she approaches the door silently, and checks the peephole with caution. The slightly distorted face on the other side immediately had her ripping open the damn door so she could snap at it properly. The poor door bounces off the door-stopper, she throws it open so hard.

Rufus's theatrics are not welcome. The faux offense, the casual ease in which he offered treats and praise. Acting like he'd done nothing wrong.

"'Our dear Emil'." She mirrors, voice flat. Reflecting none of the rage boiling below. "We do love him dearly, don't we."

Feta (somehow) bursts out from behind her, barking his head off. In the moment that Rufus takes to glance down in distaste at the hated mutt pawing at his perfectly pressed slacks, she uncrosses her arms. Makes to crouch like she's going to pick Feta up out of kicking distance.

Then she springs forward and slams her fist into Rufus's gut: the point just below the soul chamber where air circulates in, a hit that could stun even the biggest brute for a few stumbling seconds. Before he can grapple her, she decks him as hard as she can, right in the face. Payback of sorts. Not that Ettore will appreciate it.

"You're not going to mollify me with treats, you bastard! Not after the shit you've pulled!" She snarls, seeing red. Her next words are interspersed by violent punches and swipes of bristling quills. "Sending Glide here to break down our door and humiliate me- beating Ettore again- ripping Emi away when I could have brought him if you'd just- ordered- a car- to pick me UP!"

Curse the fact that they- the two most violent, explosive lot of the four of them- used to spare as kids. After those surprise sucker punches, she can't land another hit. Frustration and anger work together to blind her with tears that she blinks furiously away.

[alilmusebundle]

things i keep telling myself … sentence starters

“You’re enough.”

“It’s okay to rest.”

“You’re safe, now.”

“You’re not a burden.”

“It’s okay to be scared.”

“You’re doing your best.”

“Don’t listen to the doubt.”

“It’s not better to be alone.”

“They can’t hurt you anymore.”

“It’s okay to cry if you need to.”

“You do not deserve to be hurt.”

“You don’t need to forgive them.”

“It’s okay if your best isn’t perfect.”

“It’s okay to take time for yourself.”

“You don’t have to please everyone.”

“You were just a kid. It wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re not a bad person for speaking up.”

“You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

“Healing takes time. There’s no time-limit.”

“You’re surrounded by people who love you.”

“You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.”

“You don’t have to do everything by yourself.”

“It’s not selfish to ask for help when you need it.”

“You deserve to smile, and laugh, and be happy.”

“You don’t have to apologize for taking up space.”

“You don’t need to justify your existence to anyone.”

“You’re not stupid for not understanding something.”

“Everything might not be perfect, but it will be better.”

“You can miss someone and still realize they hurt you.”

“You’ve come so far, so take a second and appreciate that.”

“Not everyone is out there to break you down and hurt you.”

“What was done to you was not your fault. It never, ever was.”

“You don’t need to accept apologies from people who don’t mean them.”

“You’re allowed to tell people. If they didn’t want people to know, they shouldn’t have done it.”

“They didn’t love you. It hurts to recognize that. But, it means you can move on, and find someone who does.”

“Healing isn’t linear. You’re going to have days you feel like you’re doing worse, and that’s okay. They’ll pass.”

[alilmusebundle]

Why yes, she was beaning people with a frying pan, she'd assumed she'd been kidnapped after mysteriously blacking out. Who wouldn't go for the nearest object to protect themself upon waking? Honestly, they were just lucky she couldn't find any knives in that damn kitchen.

"I certainly didn't ask for their involvement. That was all Mr. Red Rabbit." Eleanor grumbles before taking her last sassy sip of water.

The thought of such a beefed up monster being intimidated by her was, admittedly, funny as all get-out. It was more likely the shark had the healthy response to being near the royal family- that is, a dose of dread and instinctual caution- but pretending that it was her pan swinging was much more amusing in the long run.

(She wasn't thinking about how calm and collected Mr. long-as-hell-name was strolling around with papa again, no siree.)

Speaking of amusing. She gives a single laugh at the sharks apparent discomfort, satisfied smirk curling at the edges.

"Sweet angel, our home is massive, it's built for giants! There's simply no world where she breaks something. Does dommy sharkie not realize that she's smaller than Pierre is? Granted, not by muscle mass, she has dear skinny Pie beat there~ Oh, maybe he was j e l l y~"

She titters a laugh, internally underlining her thought to talk to Pierre several times about the meeting several times. For emphasis.

The reality was that their older brother was being just as overprotective and annoying as papa. Really, after one incident where they ended up just fine. Things were bad when both her and Mother Dearest were on the same page of done with their nonsense.

She watched her sister chug down the water she'd offered with a warm smile, still brushing a soothing hand through her magic-hair as she visibly calmed from her earlier fluster.

"Mhm, same one. I was honestly kind of hoping.. for um, aforementioned reasoning, hehe."

It was her turn to blush a bit, though her magic hair continued its peaceful flow, it would take far more than mere memory to infiltrate the effects of her suppressant.

"Well.. to be fair, you were beaning people with a frying pan. I don't think she was very keen to get too close at the time. Also can't blame her for not wanting to get involved in.. our situation, when they were dealing with their own."

She let her fingers run through her own aqueous hair in thought, the fuzziness had lifted more with their continued conversation, but pauses were still needed from time to time, especially in recalling details.

"Well.. once I finally realized she wasn't just a mirage of my delirium, we talked a little. She was.. polite, but I think she felt really out of place. I could tell she was trying to make herself take up as little space as possible, maybe afraid she would break something, otherwise.."

She puffed her cheek a bit, eyes somewhat narrowed in annoyance.

"It didn't help that Pie was being very obnoxious. He just stared at her, unblinking the whole visit, like a creep. Total killjoy.."

[alilmusebundle]

Eleanor was familiar with dives down the metaphorical gutter. It was just that, most times, she was in control of the dive, initiating it herself. To have it... pounce on her in such a violent, sudden manner in that inopportune moment had been deeply embarrassing. Even if no one but her had been aware of her disgrace.

Merciful Angel above, was she really attracted to domination? Such scenarios in her books had been more boring to read than enticing. Not something to imagine happening to her. Trash writing, the lot of them. Utterly useless.

The slosh of water convinces her to uncurl just enough that eager hands can snatch the glass. She chugs it like her life depends on it. Maybe it would put out the burning in her skull. Evie's words were only helping so much.

Exposure? Perhaps. Could she really afford to loose her cool when she was inevitably alone with the Don? Or would the lust-brain decide that oh, actually, now would be a perfect time to see just how much she could push things- like with Ettore. Or with Glen.

No reason to think of a dead man. The opportunity to jump to Evelyn's own meet-up is happily taken. "Wait, the shark from that day? I had no idea you would get her."

Unlike Evie, she hadn't seen their arrival beyond their car driving up the long, garden lined drive. After that, dear Mother had called on her to make sure she was presentable before telling her where to go wait. To be honest, she'd been disconcerted, being separated from her sister. Until she'd learned Pierre would be supervising. She really would need to see what he thought about it.

"She seemed like quite the scarred brute to me; I only really recall her complaining to that rabbit about taking care of us." Pressing the glass to her cheek, "Dommy mommy hmm? I did wonder why you were acting so dazed. What was she like?"

Oh, it was all she could do not to absolutely break from her sister's theatrics, though even she couldn't help a giggle here and there that she stifled behind the hand that hadn't been commandeered by her dear sibling.

Oh, she definitely understood now. And all over a handhold, hm?

"I see now. The gene took you on a wild fantasy ride, huh?"

Where her hand had been pressed to Ellie's chest, she'd felt just how hard her soul had been hammering. Even just the memory had been enough to get her so worked up all over again.

"Your first dom-centered fantasy.. yes, they can be very potent, can't they?"

She sympathized with her poor sibling's plight, consolingly patting her back while she covered her face in embarrassment, her magic hair frothing like a raging orange riptide.

"If it makes you feel better, you could have been openly salivating and I doubt papa would have noticed. You also have the internal meltdowns well practiced, so I doubt killer eye-candy noticed either."

She smiled and leaned over to press an affectionate kiss to her sister's temple, discreetly handing off her water glass to share - as thirst was a definite need to be sated now.

"On top of that, it was just the first meeting. Sure, it absolutely knocked you for a loop this time, but you know what to expect now. The craving lets up with exposure, so next time you won't be taking an immediate dunk in the sewer."

She tapped her fingers to her head to emphasize the point she was making, before she began to soothingly run her fingers through the still-wild current of her sibling's hair to calm it, an arm wrapping around her back to support her in her mortified curl.

"My technical second meet-up with my protector.. I was less preoccupied with idle thoughts of big dommy shark-mommy being able to actually handle me. So I do speak from experience.. for once. It's gonna be okay, Ellie, promise."

[alilmusebundle]

"But that's just the problem! It would be better if he was boring! Or even a scheming suck-up! But nooo, nooooo, he's-"

Eleanor pauses, teeth clacking shut as she looks to the door, paranoid. She was aware of her volume raising in a way that might invite eavesdropping at the door. So she breathes, trying to compose herself.

This was a difficult prospect. Now that she'd opened the floodgates of the memory, it was all hitting her anew, the wave of the moment washing over her once more. Her brows nit together as she pulled her sisters hand to her chest, holding it with both hands.

"You said you thought he looked cute, Evie, and you're wrong. The bastard is infuriatingly attractive." Her face burned with how fiercely she blushed, but she forged on. "And that I could work with- who doesn't love a bit of eye candy after all?- if it wasn't for that damn handhold."

She abruptly drops her sisters hand in favor of covering her face with both hands, twisting to burrow against her bent legs once again. Muffled as she is, she bemoans her lot in life with little regard to volume:

"One firm handhold, and I was struck by how easily he could pin me down however he pleased! What that mouth might feel like elsewhere!! Vividly!!! IN FRONT OF DADDY!" Magical hair froths at the edges with her agitation. "I was in shambles: Every avenue of discussion I had imagined, to judge how willing he'd be to break Sal's babysitting guidelines, all down the drain! GAAAH."

Only Evelyn got to see this side of her. Around her sister, her carefully cultivated layers of composure and maturity were allowed to crumble. It was just that this particular crumble was one of the top most embarrassing ones to date.

Evie mimed zipping her mouth closed with lock and key, though it didn't stop a mischievous, muffled snicker when she noticed the other's glowing orange blush.

Anyone with half a brain - she should know, as this was a common condition for her - could tell how down bad she was for the magnanimous detective that occasionally graced the manor, and less frequently, her sister's bed chambers.

She could understand why Ellie was so hesitant to take anything further than that, the risk involved and all that. But - she knew very well that her silly sibling probably saw the whole arrangement as taking advantage of a kindness, when from where she was standing, it seemed clearly mutual.

But well, who would listen when she'd never had - or would have, a partner? Surely, she could never understand the intricacies of lust and love, being totally bereft of experience.

She puffed a cheek slightly in her secret irritation, but masked it through another swallow of her water, getting cozy when it seemed Ellie was finally ready to relay the details of her meeting in the gardens.

She made a slight face at the description of his intense eyes, trying to picture what that would look like, made a little easier to picture when her sister traced the pattern on her leg.

"Crosshairs? Fitting maybe.. but that also just sounds.. cheat-y."

She shrugged her shoulders, then nodded in commiseration of Ellie's rant about their papa's obvious infatuation of her new protector, it made sense that someone like that would quickly win him over. A well-mannered killer with even a minute interest in hearing about his precious flowers? Bull's eye.

She blinked when her hand was suddenly taken in her sibling's demonstration, another cheeky grin partially exposing her canines, while she met Ellie's gaze, with a playful flutter of lashes.

"Sooo.. intense crosshair eyes, steely nerves, and hot lips. At least he's not boring?"

[alilmusebundle]

"Oh, hush, would you."

Despite herself, Eleanor blushes, cheekbones lighting a soft orange. Ettore flashes through her mind, serious and professional in profile until he turns, smile soft and eyes warm, just for her. It wasn't only his delightful hips she'd come to enjoy, though knowing how they felt in hand was, indeed, a grand bonus.

There wasn't much opportunity in her life to have a real friend. Especially one that was willing to risk his life to relieve her of desperation. For her, Etti was a mix of security, heat, and guilt, for she was too inherently selfish to stop taking advantage of his kindness.

Superimpose that ghost monster with the one she met in the garden, keeping up appearances of a complacent daughter from the shadow of Sal's looming form, and there was only superficial resemblances. Metal bodies and soft looking hair. Professional manners in both posture and speech. The difference was felt.

Ettore had a special aura, an earnest interest in connection underlining his every action. The Don of Arbitrage said only what was required of him and nothing more, all with the fluid grace-and intensity- of a predator on the hunt.

Had she been considered prey?

"Creepy isn't... quite right. They were.. intense. A deep red iris, absent a normal pupil. Instead, it was lined, like a crosshair." From the arm Evie isn't currently wrapped around, a finger absently draws the pattern on a bent leg. Two lines within a circle, slowly traced as she speaks. "Fitting for someone who shoots others for a living, I suppose."

"If papa intimidated him, he hid it well. Bored, but attentive, while papa talked about the garden. Not exactly the normal response most have. Sally was delighted, clearly." The king had been in an incredible mood ever since. She glowers at her knees, her pout now born of frustration rather than contemplation.

"Of course, why shouldn't he be? A deadly Don has willingly enlisted himself to protect his 'most precious flower'. He had impeccable manners, nerves of steel, and a clear shared interest in killing whoever annoyed him enough without hesitation! Like papa's found a long lost brother!!"

Eleanor, eye-light suddenly flaring, twists to take one of her sisters hands, mirroring the normal grip the well-to-do men must use when greeting them.

"When he took my hand, it wasn't light or gentle; it was firm." She adjusts her grip to approximately what it had been like, then leans in to whisper her next words like a secret. "His lips were very warm."

She'd chosen an inopportune time to stuff more cracker in her mouth, and nearly choked on it - and a muffled squeak when her tail was tugged, covering her mouth against the spray of crumbs that attempted escape.

Back to the water she went, thankful that Tabby had topped it off before she'd left the sisters to their quality time, giggling at the absurdity of the momentary danger.

Hydration was of key importance to them as hybrids, but for her especially, since her giggle fits more often than not caused disaster with her preferred textured snacks.

"Excuse moi for living a little vicariously through you. Not much to gossip about when your lover is a bottle of purple pills."

She snickered again, though once she'd regained most of her composure, she curiously tilted her head, having registered her sister's shift of mood, and the response she'd given.

"Strange eyes? Must've been real strange, if that was your main take-away. I know you, and eyes are usually the last thing you take notice of."

She poked out her tongue playfully, with a cheeky grin while she clung a bit onto Ellie's arm, hoping to buoy her out of her unusually despondent mood.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad. How lucky were you, getting of all things, another ghost monster assigned to you? Granted.. the child-bearing hips are lacking, but que sera sera."

She lay her head affectionately against her sister's shoulder, tail resuming its semi-relaxed wag.

"Okaaay, okay, I'll stop teasing. For now. You tell me about yours, and I'll do the same. Not that I was.. lucid for much of it. Anyway.. strange, how? Did he have a creeper stare, or something?"