RP:After the Party Is Over
Part of the Mearcstapa Arc
Summary: Irenic and Emilia are in a tough spot, but at least they are in a tough spot with their best friend. What’s the worst that can happen?
Guest Room
Irenic does feel concern for Nadia now that he sees she’s struggling with her loyalty to her Queen and knowing that something is very wrong, but before he could wear her down anymore, she had gifted him with the ability to actually be with Emilia if only for tonight. His gaze follows Nadia as she leaves and then they rest on Emilia before he slips through the portal that is connecting their rooms, bending his knees some so he can slip his arms around her tiny frame and pick her up in a tight hug while saying, “I am so sorry. You really don’t need this,” he holds onto her a little longer before setting her back down and taking a seat on her couch with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do short stack. Nadia seems conflicted and I have a suspicion that whatever is going on is much bigger than us. We need to find a way out,” his gaze lingers on her only wearing a slip that has spots in blood. “Do you want something else to wear?” Now that he thinks on it, one of his tee shirts would look a lot like those tattered dresses she is always wearing and without missing a beat his hand grips the back of the collar of his tee shirt so he can pull it off in one fluid motion. “Here,” he tosses the shirt her way and she would find that the shirt smells a lot like him, but that would be anything that is her favorite.
Emilia was surprised when her body was scooped off the floor into a hug as Irenic appeared in her room out of thin air. The Genasi held him tightly until he put down again making sure he was really him and not an illusion put on by this crazy place she had wound up at. Standing there she watched as he sat down on the couch still a little in disbelief that he wasn't trapped in his matching caged room somewhere else in the castle. The light pink slip, dotted in blood spots, was replaced by the shirt he had been wearing. Unlike past times the woman was too mentally drained to care if her best friend saw her in her birthday suit, even for a short lived moment. Without clothing a startling scar was revealed; it was a large scar that ran down the center of her torso from just a few finger widths below her neck to a few inches above her navel. The silvery hue was still soft and fresh, whenever this happened it was more recent than any other scar the petite woman sported on her body. It must have happened sometime before Irenic was reborn though after his death. His shirt swallowed her whole like an oversized simple dress that she much preferred to wear. It was with a sigh that she plopped down on the couch next to Ire, resting her head on him before she spoke, "I am sorry, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have wandered the beach without a weapon when approaching a stranger, but he seemed utterly shocked when I said I knew Irenic...he tried to introduce himself to me as you! Whoever he was, he didn't know me or knew that I knew you." Another sigh left those blue lips, "I promise I will try to be better behaved to avoid another event like tonight's chaos. I do believe something is amiss here, wherever here is, but I am curious to know more before I try to run. What if my help is needed? I can't run from that…" She blamed herself for this mess, but even then her nature to help overruled the natural instinct to run to save herself.
Irenic shakes his head as his arm welcomes her to scoot in closer before draping around her once she did, “no, you can’t just keep away from everyone. ‘He’?” The avian hasn’t heard this yet and is curious, “do you remember what he looks like?” Going around using his name and all, at least he can keep a look out for this creep! “Don’t go making promises like that,” his grin comes easy and playful down at her, “we are getting out of here, short-stack. I’m sure your mate will be worried sick, or come looking for you themself.” Irenic assumes she’s taken and has always thought this even though they have never really talked about it, but how couldn’t she be spoken for? “I know you want to help, but I think whatever is going on is out of our league,” he playfully pokes a finger in her sides as if she’d even feel it. “You never told me you have kids…” his hand rests on her arm just before where her stump cuts off, “tell me about them.” He figures that taking about anything else right now will help them sort of forget that they’ve been kidnapped. With her snuggled up to him, his Phoenix skin automatically warms, but not uncomfortably so for Emilia and his hands do the same.
Emilia settled into his side, enjoying the simple comfort of her best friend. She was captive, but she wasn't alone here, she had her feather stick. When he mentioned her mate being worried sick about her disappearance the wintery woman let out the strangest snorting-giggle sound as she playfully shoved him with her elbow, "Feather stick, I don't have a mate! I had had one, but he left when the triplets were about a year old and took them with him. Said ice for a mother of half dragon babies is too dangerous for them. So, no I don't think anyone will be worried sick about me being gone. Heck, I would be surprised if they noticed. Last time, by the time someone realized it I was gone I was at death's door and barely survived." Irenic was a funny one to think she was taken, who would want a monster for a mate? Even so, she smiled up at him while sticking her tongue out at him for a moment. Then he asked about the kids. Looking away she shrugged, "You never asked. They have been with their father until recently. They are preteens now, eleven almost twelve. Old enough I suppose for dragonkind to make up their mind where they want to live. A girl name Kiilynn, Lynn for short. And the boys Zeiliam who we call Liam and Xaileo who we call Leo. You'd probably like them," she said softly as she flashed a smile at him. A moment of a flash of concerned look, "My cold isn't hurting you, is it?"
Irenic felt sick to his stomach, Emilia is no monster and she doesn’t deserve that type of treatment. “I’m sorry, Em,” his arm pulls her in a little tighter in a hug as he plants a kiss at the top of her head where her dreads start. “A mother of dragons, leader of a guild and master healer,” a start to a chuckle escapes the avian, “is there anything you can’t do?” He is quiet for a moment as if committing something to memory, “Lynn, Liam and Leo, I like those names.” With the quirks of his brow and a grin, he looks down to her again, “yeah? They sound great. If they are even half of my best friend then they are awesome,” at the mention of her chilling touch, he glances down to his bare side and outright chuckles now. “You know, I never even thought about it until now,” there was the time they met where he flew her somewhere and her cold touch had left a nasty mark on that very side, but he’s different now. “Is my skin too warm?” His gaze drops to the shirt of his she's wearing where that large scar is which he had noticed before, “I caught sight of that scar across your chest.” His hand that was holding her stump raised up to trail over the area of his short where he’d seen it on her chest, “what’s that from? It looks new. Did that guy you mentioned do that?” Anger flashes subtly in his silvery eyes.
Emilia laughed softly, "The boys are more like me, but Lynn is very much like her father. She is very dark and chaotic… she might be just as much a challenge for you as she is for me." It was an honest answer about the personality of the youngest triplet in comparison to her brothers she was almost demonic. When he asked if there was anything she could not do she mouthed in the tiniest of whispers 'love', but it was so small he might not have heard or seen her lips move. She rested her hand on his chest for a moment, letting the cold wash over the flesh though she was not as cold as normal. Her brow raised, "You don't feel any different to me…" the joys of numb nerves. She would be on fire and not feel the pain for a prolonged time when the damage was severe enough to warm the nerves. Resting her hand over his she held it down on her chest and stayed quiet for a moment so he could feel the strange double beating in her chest, two hearts. Finally she spoke, "This scar is from having a second heart put in after the Raptormen nearly killed me months ago...not the man at the beach." Idly her hand let go of his, sliding up to rest lightly around her neck, "He was taller than me but shorter than you. White man had smooth features, but it was late and I didn't really get the best look at him. He shook my hand, but by time I realized he had these dark tendrils around my arm. It was too late to jerk away...then the ropes closed around my neck, the world started to fade then darkness. I woke up in your room here." There were no marks on her pale flesh in reminder of the constricting ropes that had been there. Her fingers traced over the bare flesh of her neck, tracing where the tendrils of dark had been, where the red welts were before healed when she was brought here. She wasn't much help identifying the creep pretending to be him.
Irenic chuckles with a smartass reply of, “I’m up for a challenge,” but when isn’t he? Emilia and Irenic bust each other’s balls all the time! If Irenic heard her, he didn’t make it known because of course she can love. They have an odd brand of tough love between them… right? He listens to her story of how she almost died and his jaw tenses, but he also feels guilty because had he been around he wouldn’t have let that happen. “I’m glad you’re strong enough to have pulled through, I don’t know what I’d do without my short-stack,” he meant that. “When I went through a soul bond snapping, I really could have dealt with it better with my best friend.” The avian had gone through a lot in a short amount of time with his late wife and had become a hermit, pushing everyone else away. It was this moment when he realizes that he hadn’t thought of or talked about his late wife this whole time and just for a second it brings him comfort that he’s slowly moving on. He commits the vague details to memory and changes the subject, “you know… I actually miss all my scars and tattoos. You’re more badass than me lately,” he grins down at her, his lips used to advertise a scar across them and his brow had one as well, but that’s just a drop in the bucket of all that used to decorate his body.
Emilia slowly brought her hand away from her neck as the feeling of fainting disappeared. The woman noted, "You have always known how to find me. I mean you burst out of fire on my nightly walk. I would have been there if you would have asked...I am not as good at finding you, or maybe I am? I mean somehow I ended up here with you. Maybe it is fate?" She gave a small giggle that followed with a yawn. It had been a crazy chaotic long day for the small woman. Stretching out the Genasi adjusted her position from cuddling his side to laying on the couch with her head resting in his lap. Those bright eyes staring up at him with a smirk on frosted lips, "Some of my scars are earned and worth telling a tale about, but most of mine are not that way. I faced the whipping post for multiple murder counts as a young child before being sold off as a servant to pay my debts to the town of Larket. They couldn't actually find evidence to put me to death for my family...but the man wasn't nice and I was not a servant as much as a beating post for many years…I prefer to keep those covered, but I suppose I can't see my disfigured back anyways." She didn't understand his likes for the scars, but she could understand how some were good for tales of adventure. Winking at him, "Scars or not you make women drool over you. I've seen the way that blonde one looks at you."
Irenic grins down at her on his lap, one hand lays over the flat of her stomach while the other gently rubs the short hair on the side of her head, “what can I say, I’ve always been drawn to strong women.” A wink and short chuckle at his flirt given to his best friend, but when he thinks more on it… He has known her the longest, whenever they are together they have fun, and he’s always thought she was attractive, but he also always thought she wasn’t available and now they are best friends. He couldn’t do anything to ruin that. “I like all of your scars short-stack,” his gaze really takes in all of those tiny details of her face again as if he was etching her likeness into his brain. “The island I came from is closed off to outsiders and the ruler of the island was called the Count or Countess. I was born to a poor family and when my parents were killed I was given to an orphanage. During my time there they tattooed all the boys with the insignia of a monster right here,” he touched the blank area over his heart. “I never knew it was a curse until much later, but after coming of age I made sure I’d always be in control of my life and destiny,” it’s why he’s a neat freak to this day. “I kept control by any means. I’ve killed, cheated and tortured to get to a rank that was respectable. I even blackmailed the Count to choose me as the arranged husband for his daughter so I could kill them off and rule the island alone,” there is regret lingering in his gaze. “That’s why I was hunted to be taken back to Island Vere, to spend a couple years in their prison before being executed and I thought, since you’re stuck with me here, you should know the type of guy your best friend is.” He wonders if bearing his own embarrassing unseen scars will make her look at him differently.
Emilia listened in silence as he began to explain parts of his past to her that he hadn't got into depth on previously. Part of her silence came with a questioning look on her face after he had flirted with her. Mentally she was caught off guard by it. The healer was used to him picking on her and in return picking on him, but never much in the flirting way that had just happened or did it? No one paid her that much attention. People didn't flirt with her...no she was a frozen monster undesirable to them. Though they were seen differently by the world around them now the two shared more in common in their past that either probably realized. Too many thought the healer came from a well to do family with a fun loving past, lies. "I was an orphan too. I've lied, stolen, and murdered to stay alive in my human days…" a small pause as she stared up into his eyes, her hand rising to gently cup his cheek in her chilled hand, "Seems I am not the only murderous, lying, stealing monster in the room." The words were soft, but honest. His best friend was looking at him differently now, however it was not with disgust for his past in the least. The look was more of a fascination of him, a how did I not see you like this before, and possibly a smidge of like more than just a best friend look. Silly genasi, he doesn't like you he is your best friend, don't let yourself be fooled. Looking away she turned her face toward him without much warning to blow a raspberry on his bare stomach.
Irenic looks down at Emilia as well, his fingertips caress over the scar that is currently covered by his shirt, over her collarbone, up her neck until his warm hand is cupping her cheek as well. The cool touch of her own was welcome because it suddenly felt all too warm in here with the way they were lost and looking at each other. She looked so great tonight, but she also looks very adorable in his oversized shirt while relaxing on his lap. No, she’s your best friend, she’s already got a family, you two are currently captives and probably just bored, she will not be used as a rebound because she deserves more than that. His jaw tensed as something delicate stirs in his chest, but sinks into the pits of his stomach when he decides that now is not the time and probably never. Thankfully she breaks first and he lets out an obnoxious guffaw as he reaches over to attempt a tickle on her ribs - would she feel that at least?
Emilia for a moment could have sworn staring into his eyes that she felt butterflies in her stomach, like a giddy school who got attention from a cute boy. Sadly, she was not ticklish as his fingers played over her ribs. She could feel fingers against her, the pressure they left was faint and light with small motions. She knew what he was doing, but it didn't tickle her. It just felt odd to have someone touching her, still. He hadn't backed away after a few moments of being in physical contact with her. Touch. Such a simple everyday thing that over the years had become a lost sensation to the woman. People avoided touching her and for good reason. She did squirm against him as if she felt the tickle for a moment, but it didn't last long. She was back to staring up at him with those baby blues, "Do you think I am a terrible person who is punished to be alone forever in a frozen place until I crumple into the very element of my core?"
Irenic ceases the tickling when he could tell it wasn’t having the effect it should because he wasn’t about to let her pretend just for his benefit. “If you’re a terrible person then I am a terrible person, my short stack,” he gently pokes her nose, “and no. I don’t think that, but I’m kind of an awful person doomed to be widower for the rest of my life, so my opinion doesn’t mean dick,” his hand cups the side of her face again. “You can’t feel pain and be tickled... Can you feel this?” His thumb gently rubs her cheek bone. Then he picks up her hand and plants a kiss on the back of her hand, justifying it as a greeting that most gentlemen give! Nothing weird about that as his gaze doesn’t leave her own, “or that?” He lays her hand back down across her tummy and then he lays his hand on her stump, “I wonder what righty is up to.” Attempting to change the subject because he wasn’t about to cross that line with anymore ‘tests’, at least not here and definitely not right now. “Maybe Righty will bust us out,” he softly chuckles at the thought, “could you imagine?”
Emilia nodded her head yes after he had used his thumb to brush against her cheek, "Yes, I can feel it." She was able to feel pressure more so than touch sensation. This is why she could feel this thumb and his lips, but not the tiny little poke of the pins. The kiss to her hand caused her cheeks to ever so slightly turn a faint purple-blue for a moment. He made her blush with a simple gentleman's greeting gesture. Eventually his pain from heartache would heal allowing him to find another to spend his life with. Not right now, unless that Nadia won his heart, but someday in the future. It might not be for years, but someday. She spoke up softly, "I don't think you are doomed." It was her honest opinion on the subject. Righty. Where was Righty? That was a good question. She had little answer to it though, "Righty scampered off when I was last visiting Frostmaw. I haven't a clue where that stubborn hand has disappeared too. It would surely be a surprise on all accounts if it appeared and saved the day." This made her laugh. The idea of a severed animated hand coming to the rescue.
Irenic grins in an almost bashful way when she said she doesn’t think he’s doomed, “yeah? Maybe not forever.” With a gentle clearing of his throat, he admits on a serious note, “I felt like I was doomed the night we drank together, but being in prison for a couple years - I had a lot of time to mourn and grieve before accepting it along with my own looming death,” or not seeing how he was reborn as a Phoenix. “I can tell she isn’t the same and maybe a lot of hard lessons changed her. I don’t know, I guess I’m trying to say that at first I thought things were going to be really hard knowing my late wife was actually alive, but it’s turning out to not be that bad. It was just a slap in the face at first,” and it’s true, other than being trapped at the moment, he feels ok. He found himself laughing with her again easily, “sporting a little cape on the wrist. Righty Rescue!” He chuckles again, every muscle of his torso tensing under the laughter. With a yawn, he wonders how late it is, but he wouldn’t dare move Emilia off his lap.
Emilia gave a small understanding nod, "Sometimes things happen for a reason, even if you cannot see that at the moment." Her words ended before a yawn left her lips after his. "Those are contagious, ya know…" a second yawn followed. Slowly the Genasi sat up from laying on his lap and turned to face him while sitting sideways on the couch. She smiled at him, "I am not sure what the future holds, but promise me that I can still snuggle with you every once in a while?" They were stuck here for an unknown time, but eventually they would be free. Eventually his heartache of loss would fade and he would move on to another. Whoever it may be would have to be accepting of his best friend or she wouldn't approve of them. Snuggling up to him was a relaxing reminder that she was capable of physical contact with another and a much needed therapy she didn't know she needed. A third yawn left frozen lips. Silence lingered for a moment, "I don't want to be alone here...do you think you could sleep here too?" Brave ol' Emi afraid of being alone in this crazy place with a Queen who seemed half bonkers and half mad.
Irenic grins, “my bad.” He stretches some when she gets up to mask the disappointment he feels. “Yeah, that’s a promise I’ll be keeping,” he was looking at the portal when she asked if he could stay. Without missing a beat, he answers, “of course, but I’ll have to get up early to go back through the mirror so they don’t find us. Namia mentioned that she wasn’t supposed to let me do this,” he doesn’t even realize he said the healers name wrong and it could be easy enough to play it off as exhaustion. His gaze drifts to the one bed, sure it’s large and he’s comfortable with his best friend, but it would be inappropriate to assume, “I guess I’ve got the couch.” He pats the cushions he’s sitting on and fluffs up one of the throw pillows as he readies it, but Emilia hasn’t gotten up yet and in a perfect brand of teasing for them, he asks, “do you want your feather stick to tuck you in?” A mischievous grin compliments his angular features in a devilish way as there is a little glint in his eye. “Come on short stack,” in one fluid motion he leans toward her, slips an arm around her middle and stands up, effectively hauling her over his shoulder with ease and makes his way to her bed. That damn dress was still in a pile on the floor and he didn’t see it so he stumbles just before the bed which causes him to sort of drop Emilia on the bed while kind of falling on top of her at the same time. “F#<%!” The avian exclaims while resting his elbows on the bed so he’s hovering over her some and not crushing her while laughing because she’s usually the klutz, not him!
Emilia let out a sleepy giggle as he offered to tuck her into bed for the night. Too tired to fight against it she allowed him to throw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. One moment she was fine with not being stubborn to walk herself, the next her thoughts changed. The not clumsy one tripped over something, the dress or the slip or his two feet she wasn't sure, causing the two to start falling. She hit the bed with a small woompft before he landed atop of her as the fall completed itself. Her heart was racing, her eyes were wide open, and those cheeks were a deep blue violet. All the silver freckles on her cheeks stood out against the blushing color. Those blue wide eyes never left his gaze as his body lingered over hers with him on his elbows. Letting out the breath she had been holding, the woman flashed a timid smile at him, "Miss me already?" she whispered softly. All she could hear at the moment was the sound of her own hearts beating rapidly in her chest. Even her voice got lost in the sound of her racing heart. There was a brief moment of silence that lingered before she added, "You don't have to sleep on the couch...if someone gets in I'd feel safer knowing you're close to me and not across the room." Em's words were followed by her best attempt at puppy dog eyes.
Irenic’s chuckling quickly fizzles out as she is looking up at him like that and he feels his own heart skipping a beat as the silence rests intensely between them, but just as he was about to apologize and ask if she was okay, she is making jokes again. Suddenly it feels like he could finally breathe and he replies, “guess I couldn’t handle being away from you for a second.” Just as he was starting to gather himself off of her, she suggests what he was worried about. Again, he doesn’t want to assume, so he is about to suggest he sleeps on the floor nearby, but when she gives him those damn puppy dog eyes - it breaks the usually stern avian, “of course,” he answers again. Irenic still doesn’t want to infringe on her sleeping area as if that was some invitation to seep in her bed, so he asks, “where will you have me sleep?” He realizes that he’s still propped up over her and he finally stands up with an apologetic grin while rubbing the back of his neck, “sorry.” He wasn’t though, he doesn’t know how he will forget the way she was blushing and looking up at him like that. Uncertain if she was embarrassed or if she was anticipating something like he did there for a minute.
Emilia slowly half sat up from where she had been laying as she spoke, "I'm alright. You dropped us on something rather cushy. No need to be sorry. I am normally the clumsy one though. Don't let my talent rub off on you. Don't want you to lose your next fight." Her heart was slowly finding a normal rhythm again now that he was no longer laying over her on his elbows. The color to her cheeks was fading away too. Not long and it appeared she never had color in those white cheeks again. Silence lingered. She wasn't sure what to make of the moment that just happened. All she could place together was he was her best friend, it gave her that butterfly feeling in her stomach, and part of her enjoyed looking up at him in the closeness. Stop it silly healer he is your best friend, not a boy actually interested in you she told herself. Blinking when he asked where she wished him to sleep. What was the right answer for one that is your best friend without assuming the right answer that won't upset them. "We could steal your bed through the mirror and put it next to mine...or if you won't melt me into a puddle you could sleep in the bed…" her words were soft and more of a whisper. She didn't want to make it awkward for him or herself, but he had fallen asleep on her before when he was drinking. It couldn't be much different, could it? At least the bed had more space than the pillows in Larket. Then she added, "Or, we can each sleep on a section for the big couch.”
Irenic can’t tell how worried she was that she was making this awkward, but it shouldn’t be! So he forces the feeling of his heart lodging in his throat down and practically jumps over her to the opposite side of the bed, “I bet you’re a bed hog short stack.” He chuckles and laces his fingers together behind his head, “I’m a loud snorer, so just kick my shin if it gets too loud.” She knows he’s not, maybe a soft snore comes from the man - but who doesn’t at least breathe heavier when they are sleeping!? Irenic knows he won’t be doing much sleeping between being sort of on guard and sort of keeping an eye on her - just to make sure she’s okay though! No funny business! ‘She’s your best friend, damn it… your best friend,’ who definitely deserves a lot better than a guy like Irenic. “No way, this bed is more comfy than mine and a hundred times more comfortable than that couch,” his own bed also has a couple of scorch marks from his wings.
Emilia gave a yawning giggle, "Maybe I do? Maybe I do not? I have never had a bed this big before…" she started with another small yawn. Crawling around she adjusted herself in the bed being careful to stay on her side of it. Compared to him she barely took up much space. Laying there with her eyes up she whispered, "Thanks for staying. I am really blessed to have you in my life." Her head would turn as her words finished so that she could smile over at him. She was looking at him differently, but in a good way. There was a gentle spark hidden in the depths of those blue eyes. 'How does one remind themself that not to be a fool and keep the emotion switch off...he is not here to win your heart, simply the arena until you both are free. Then he will vanish like everyone else does, don't be a fool and lose your best friend.' The words danced in her head as she looked back to the ceiling of the caged room. She wondered how long she would be here and if he would be here all that time too. So many questions and no answers. The day had been long and filled with chaos for her. It wouldn't be long and sleep would tug the lids of her eyes shut. A restless sleep of tossing and turning, startled moments of waking at unfamiliar sounds, and drifting back to sleep even when she tried to fight it.
Irenic grins back at her, “I’m the blessed one my short stack.” He doesn’t actually fall asleep, he stares up at the ceiling through the sheer fabric canopy of the bed and allows his mind to race, but every time she stirs, he gently places his hand on her back to ease her back to sleep. If these feelings were only coming about because they are captives together then, if they get free, he will distance himself for a little while to make sure it’s not just a product of their environment. That is the plan, so why does that sound more tortuous than the arena, though? He’s in trouble…
In the morning he makes sure to cover their tracks and leaves a note that instructs Emilia to hide his shirt so the guards don’t find out they were fraternizing, but maybe she would still feel the warmth of his lips on her forehead where her dreadlocks start when she wakes.