๐ฝ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐ฃ๐ช ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ / / ๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ค, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ / / ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐ฆ๐ค๐ / / ๐๐๐๐
Rhian wrapped the blanket around her tingling fingers, twisting herself deeper into the mound of blankets she had accrued that afternoon. She slipped a hand out and dropped a cold HotHands packet onto the floor. The heater was clearly broken in this place-- but they couldn't exactly call someone to fix it-- not now. Everyone had been too tired to look for a better place to hole up-- Rhian included. And nothing made you feel more alone than the cold in February.
The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans greeted her like a warm hug as the bell above the door rang. A young barista smiled from behind the counter, providing a friendly welcome. As Rhian approached the register, she saw the woman's smile fade upon noticing the tightly wrapped gray scarf around her neck. Rhian smiled and casually loosened it, revealing her bare neck. Even with it being so cold outside, the custom held firm ever since The Slumber.
"
Perfect day for coffee, huh?" Rhian said cheerily, motioning towards the snow framed windows.
"
I KNOW!" the girl laughed. Her long chestnut hair was tied up in a braid and her name tag wobbled loosely as she bounced up to the register-- Becca. "
I was so cold this morning. This weather is ridiculous!"
"
Aye, good for business though," she nodded, fishing her wallet out of her bag.
"
I guess so," Becca laughed, "
What can I get for you?"
"
One grande caramel mocha for me," Rhian nodded with another smile. It came so easily to her lips. That was her second clue.
"
And for him?" Becca looked past Rhian to the tall, dark haired figure at her shoulder who had, until then, been admiring the quaint left-over Christmas decor.
His cyan eyes glinted in the fluorescent lights of the shop as he politely turned towards the barista and grinned. His lips moved, forming the words "peppermint mocha"-- his beverage of choice.
Becca smiled and nodded, as if she could hear him-- clue number three.
"
That'll be $10.50! Names?"
"
Rhian and Whisper."
Rhian suddenly felt Whisper's hand at the small of her back. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he'd done so by mistake. A moment passed before she defeatedly sighed, long and loud. It was a tender touch-- the way you touched someone you trusted with more than just your back in a fight. The way you touched the body that kept you warm at night. The way you touched your world and the way he would
never touch her.
"
Aw, shit!" The scalding hot coffee ran down the back of her hand, forcefully yanking her from the memory of her dream from last night. She hurriedly set down the pot and stepped over to the sink, submerging her hand under a cold stream of water. She looked up to where Whisper was sitting at one of the tables waiting for her-- the only other person, besides her, that occupied the recently abandoned cafe. All the ingredients were still good, though the depressing state of all the overturned chairs and tables might've suggested otherwise.
She gestured to herself with a quick
I'm fine before returning her attention to her hand. It was a little red, but nothing she was about to have Garrett lick her over.
Whisper got up anyway, heading in her general direction. He didn't touch her hand, but he kept a careful gaze on the red patch of skin for a while before turning his head to meet her eyes. The cyan-eyed subnatural smirked a little and formed a partial fist with his right hand, index finger pointing outwards and thumb lined parallel to the pointing finger. The sign for the letter "G." He moved the same hand over slightly with a little bounce of his wrist. The same letter. One more time.
GG.Before he could provoke her ire, Whisper's deft hands formed the sign for "help," placing a loose fist with a thumb resting gently above the fingers on the open palm of his right hand, extending the gesture towards her with a slight cock of his head and a set of raised eyebrows to denote a question rather than simple insistence.
Do you need help?Rhian pursed her lips, shaking her head with a reluctant laugh.
'GG' indeed. "
It's done-- I was just pouring it into your thermos," she answered out loud as she turned off the faucet and reached for the paper towels. Whisper grabbed the roll first and tore out one of the perforated sheets, eyes still lingering on her hand. As if on second thought, he took her by the wrist and wiped the slightly burnt hand gently with the sheet, only handing her the damp remains when both of her hands were fairly dry. She could feel her face burning up. She brought her fingertips to her lips and outward, not meeting his eyes as she signed.
Thanks.She quickly turned to grab her own thermos on the opposite counter. "
Uh, you want cream?" she asked, glancing back at him over her shoulder. She already knew the answer, but her mind was racing for something to say all of a sudden. Whisper nodded, eyes still fixed on Rhian's hand. Handing him the can, her eyes followed his line of sight.
"
Hey!" she exclaimed sharply, trying to bring his attention to her face, "
It's fine. Seriously. If you tell Garrett, I'll make you pay."
Whisper grinned at that, raising both hands with his fingers splayed as he backed off a step. With a mock-serious bow, he grabbed the thermos from the counter, tapping his chin several times with his free hand's index finger while mouthing the word "prefer." He followed that up with a quick point at Rhian before jabbing his index fingers straight towards each other several times, twisting his hands in opposite directions.
"Hurt." A final shake of his head during the motion indicated the negation.
I'd prefer you don't get hurt.A smile of the stupid-looking variety tugged at the corners of her mouth. She inhaled, preparing to say something. She wasn't entirely sure what that something was going to be, but it failed to matter. The opportunity suddenly slipped out of her grasp- though she felt it was more accurate to say it had been rudely
'yanked'.
A harsh crashing sound trashed the moment. Erica stood in the open doorway, the hapless door still ringing from getting slammed open so furiously. Her usual neutral scowl deepened further at the proximity between the two.
"
Nico's calling," she reported drily to Whisper, not even bothering to acknowledge Rhian's presence, "
Seiji got punked by Donovan again and he needs you to separate the two."
With a long exhale of breath, Whisper trudged outside obligingly, his thermos in hand as he cast Rhian an apologetic glance before slipping out the door. Rhian clicked her tongue in annoyance, leaning up against the counter with one arm crossed. Erica made sure he was out of earshot before turning back and scoffing at Rhian.
"
Don't think I don't know what you're doing, you desperate goth-punk reject," she glared accusingly.
Rhian was too fuming to answer. She wasn't quite sure who she was more mad at-- Whisper for always--
always-- rushing to Nico's side at the drop of a hat, or Erica..... Nah, right now it was definitely Erica. She sipped her mocha, staring at her over the thermos before pushing off the counter and making her way towards one of the couches in the lounge area. She propped her boots up on the coffee table and looked out the window-- figuring the best thing she could do was not give Erica the satisfaction of knowing she'd bothered her. Best to play it aloof.
"
Silent treatment? Or maybe you've just got nothing to say," Erica made her way over to Rhian, undeterred by Rhian's response or lack thereof, "
Don't tell me you're trying to imitate Whisper now. That's pathetic, I mean, he can pull that off--not you."
"
Heh," a derisive smile spread across Rhian's face. "
You'd know all about being pathetic, wouldn't you, Stinky?" she hissed. So much for playing it aloof.
"
No more than you, Tapeworm. At least I've got a fucking star-class resume. You've got an emo kid's fashion sense and probably their emotional insecurity, too," the blonde woman retorted, "
Do you really think that Whisper gives a fuck about you? You're nothing but a starry-eyed little girl who's playing way out of her league."
"
Oh, aye?" the redhead sneered, "
Then tell me why you've got to barge in every time we're left alone in the same room."
Erica visibly bristled at the comment.
"
You know that feeling when you look at pearls being thrown to swine? That's basically how I feel every time I see Whisper stuck with your skanky ass for company. Sorry if I can't help but rescue him from lowering himself to your level."
Rhian's smile widened. She was getting on Erica's nerves now.
Good. "
Hmph, and what's your level in this group, Erica?"
"
How about way higher than yours? Same as Whisper's, in case you've forgotten. If you'd just remember how beneath us you are, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, Dung Beetle."
Rhian narrowed her eyes, taking another long sip from her thermos, "
You may think you can boss everybody else around here, princess, but you don't scare me. I don't answer to you."
"
Yeah? Last I checked, I just need to breathe out and you're dead. Think you want to try me now?"
Her lips curled and she slid her feet off the table, leaning forward, "
Your power suits you, bitch. All your mouth is good for is spewing lavender-scented shit." Beneath Rhian's heavy coat and scarf, her sigil glowed and an ant that had been curiously poking around at some spilled coffee on the floor crawled beneath Erica's boot.
The former diva continued, undeterred by Rhian's comment and oblivious to the ant's movement, gloating over her teammate's discomfort.
"
Besides, just because you answer to Whisper's dick doesn't mean you'll get promoted to his lips any time soon. Hope your bugs help you work that lonely corner."
"
Right," Rhian scoffed, trying to appear unaffected though she was. She brought her thermos to her mouth, but couldn't bring herself to drink.
"
I think that's for him to decide," she huffed, nodding her head in the direction Whisper had left.
"
Don't grasp at straws. Looks desperate, even for a hooker. You seem to be forgetting-- I've known him a lot longer than you have. And a lot can happen in a year. Thought you'd have figured out by now we're already an on-off thing."
Rhian's face flushed, she physically felt like a stone had been dropped into her stomach. "
W- ...you're lying," she stammered; her accusation sounded more like a question. She tightened her grip on her thermos, her eyes flickering to the redness on her burned hand.
"
You're a fuckin' liar!" she repeated, this time with more conviction.
"
We've done it. He's liked it. Why don't I have another round with him tonight and you can come keep a tally of how much fun we have," she taunted.
Erica had scarcely finished her sentence before the ant suddenly blew up-- roughly the size of a hotdog stand. It was more than enough to throw the woman off her feet. Rhian subconsciously found herself calling upon several of the bugs from outside-- pulling them from their cozy nooks and nests, they quickly crept over the snow and towards the cafe. Her shaking knuckles were white around the thermos as she leaned further forward. Using her ability just now had been a mistake, but she wasn't in the frame of mind to care.
"
LIAR!" Rhian shouted, throwing her thermos on the ground as she shot out of her seat. The two long incisions on her leather jacket fluttered as her wings broke out of her skin. She barely flinched at the pain, too blinded by rage. This was a long time coming.... The assortment of bugs gathered at the windows, buzzing and humming and writhing as they converged, causing a few small cracks to mar the glass.
Erica's mouth was already glowing with golden smoke when Donovan burst in with Nico and Whisper in tow. On seeing the scene, Nico's sigil flashed into existence on the backs of both girls' right hands, shutting down Rhian's power and dissipating Erica's smog.
Whisper checked over Erica first, still on the ground from her fall, and the actress in her was clearly overplaying how much pain she was in. When he confirmed there were no serious injuries, he placed himself between Erica and Rhian, a questioning look in his gaze as he leveled it at the person who clearly appeared to have the upper hand. Donovan, after checking on a heavily breathing Nico, did an annoyed 'tsk' at the two of them.
"
Are you two fucking serious?" he asked furiously. His tone was far from the lighthearted teasing he usually displayed, "
I swear to God, if I sense this shit again I won't bother to bring Nico. One snap and I'll have you both fucking breakdancing to that loathing song from Wicked."
He looked at Erica, still on the ground, and gave her a pointed glare. Then he turned his gaze to Rhian. Most of his anger seemed directed at her.
"
You better not lose your cool as easily as this next time we're in trouble," he glowered, "
I don't care what excuses you make. Use your bloody brains instead of your powers."
"
What..." Nico gasped for breath from the sudden sprint to the coffee shop and the heavy use of his power in completely shutting down both of the girls--both of the ludicrously powerful Animi. His fine control of how far down or up he could tune a power was shot when he needed to react quickly--it took some mental preparation beforehand to avoid overexertion, and he had not been given enough warning for this. He tried again after catching his breath, "
What were you guys arguing about? Please let it be something important."
Donovan visibly flinched. He glanced around for an answer, blatantly trying to avoid Whisper as he scanned the store. Rhian deliberately ignored the question as she took off her jacket and pulled out the serrated buck knife she kept stored at her waist-- proceeding with the grueling task of getting rid of the wings she'd just grown.
"
Nothing important, buddy," he said a bit hastily, "
Just some dumb girl stuff. We should get back already, Vanessa and the others are waiting."
"
Dumb girl stuff...? But you were saying they'd kill each other..." Nico's bewildered face looked between everyone as he leaned lightly against the door handle.
Whisper's brow furrowed at the comment and he glared at both Erica and Rhian in turn.
"
Oh Nico, haven't you watched Heathers before?" Donovan's usual light demeanor returned as he attempted to usher Nico away, "
I'm telling you, they're all insane."
"
R-really? But you were so serious..." Nico glanced between the girls again, skepticism on his face. "
Is it okay if I stop cutting off your powers now? You guys won't kill each other?"
Erica made a scoffing noise before muttering a quick "
Yes" as Whisper helped her stand. She clung onto his arm as she pretended to wobble unsteadily on her feet and Whisper rolled his eyes, though he humored her all the same. Rhian was silent, still busy sawing at her wings and avoiding eye contact.
Realizing this was about as satisfactory a response as he was going to get, Nico turned off his sigil, letting Donovan shove him gently back outside while he peppered the Aussie with questions about what exactly had been going on.
Whisper, meanwhile, led Erica to the seat across from Rhian and sat her down, still playing along with her act of being weak and defenseless. No one in the room believed it, but Erica could sure play the part at least. He sat down in the chair next to the actress, looking between the two girls for an explanation. With a final grunt, Rhian dropped her hands, angrily throwing the bloodied wings to the cafe floor-- still refusing to look at anyone.
"
Well, that was fun," she said mockingly, directing her statement towards Erica. She wiped some of the excess blood on her already-ruined blouse, grabbed her jacket, and made a beeline for the door, kicking her spilled thermos as she went. She ripped the door open and trudged outside into the snow. Now the only person she had to be mad at was herself.
She shouldn't have lost it back there. Had she completely gone insane? She couldn't beat
Erica. She and all her measly bugs would be dead within moments. What was she getting so worked up over anyway? Whisper doted on everyone's injuries. It was just the kind of person he was. It wasn't like she'd actually made any progress with him today. Nothing had changed. Nothing would
ever change.
She watched the air leave her lungs as she exhaled a shaky breathe. Her back throbbed painfully. She would have to go see Garrett soon if she didn't want that to scar.
The sound of crunching footsteps behind her signaled Whisper's pursuit. His long strides caught up with her quickly and he lightly tapped on her arm. Rhian cutting off her wings was a routine thing following heavy combat, but that didn't mean it was something to just ignore. He had hoped she would explain what had happened, but he certainly could put that off in favor of getting her treated first. Her sudden departure had surprised him almost as much as his surprise at the fact that he had run after her, shaking off Erica's protesting fumble on his sleeve.
Rhian's pace slowed. She took another deep breath before glancing back towards the cafe, ensuring Erica wasn't lurking about. Her eyes then fell on Whisper and suddenly all the suffocating embarrassment was there-- standing right in front of her with questions and captivating cyan eyes. "
Sorry," she muttered, rubbing her fist against her chest to sign the word.
My fault she signed, weakly shrugging and rolling her eyes as she brought both hands up in front of her.
He flashed her a smile at that, before pointing to her back, the question clear.
Why was he smiling? Wasn't he just as mad at her as Donovan? She briefly hesitated before returning the smile, "
Aye, guess I couldn't avoid a lick from Garrett today after all."
His smile widened into a grin and he would have been laughing if he could. Relief. It was a combination of relief that Rhian wasn't leaving and amusement at the joke.
He signed a series of quick gestures at her, touching the tips of both bent hands on his shoulder before pointing at Rhian and clamping his index and middle finger against his thumb in a quick motion. He followed this up with a light touch of a straight hand to the side of his head, before flicking the hand downward, thumb and pinky extended. Finally, he smiled at her, raising and clenching both fists quickly.
Wasn't your fault. I know. Brave."
Brave? You makin' fun of my accent now, Whisper?" she jeered, playfully nudging his shoulder with her own, "
Well, you've got a pretty funny accent yourself, y'know."
Before Whisper could give any response, Garrett came running up to them, fabulously underdressed for the weather and completely unaffected by it.
"
Oh, catfight!" he called out, waving Whisper away from Rhian as he circled behind her. "
And I bet I know what it was about~" he continued in a sing-song voice as he examined Rhian's bleeding shoulder blades. "
You've got two choices, Rhian: I can ram my beautiful fingers in there and fix it up like that--" he snapped his fingers several times "
--or we can go somewhere more private and I can lasciviously lick you until you're better."
Whisper stepped forward at the last few words and Garrett held up a manicured finger, wagging it back and forth.
"
Ah-ah-ah, big boy, you need to let the lady decide. Have some tact, please," he scoffed, waving a hand at Whisper.
Rhian scoffed as well. "
You know what I like~" she cooed with a mockingly sensual tone. Of course, she was referring to the terribly uncomfortable 'finger ramming'. As much as she liked Garrett, a tongue bath was far off her bucket list-- and far more uncomfortable. Besides, it simply took too long.
"
I love a lady who likes it spicy," Garrett responded, leading Rhian over to the rest of the group who was busy looking through all the cars Seiji had hotwired and driven to them. Donovan was busy admiring a Chevrolet Bel-Air, one of the many cars in town that had been abandoned by its owners, while Seiji was regaling a blank-eyed Nico about the many reasons why the group should pick the tastelessly chrome-bedecked Bugatti the teenager preferred.
"
Celine Dion, come here for a moment," Garrett called to the boy, who scowled at the name but walked over anyway.
"
What, creeper?" he grunted.
"
Make holes in Rhian's back with your darling pet, would you? I can't stick my fingers in with these wing stumps in the way."
Seiji snorted and obliged, directing the floating Maaya towards Rhian's back. The creature wrapped around Rhian immediately, but its body only devoured the wing stumps and enough of Rhian's flesh to allow Garrett fingers easy entry. Rhian shouted out before gritting her teeth, holding her breath as Maaya ate-- getting parts of yourself deleted by Seiji's pet wasn't something she would ever be able to get used to. When that was done, Maaya withdrew, the creature's permanent killer grin looking even happier as it swirled around on the ground, eating snow and making random shapes in a set pattern. Seiji left it to its self-amusement and went back to boring Nico with car talk.
Satisfied with the depths of the wounds, Rhian scarcely had time to catch her breath before Garrett did indeed ram his fingers in, abandoning all semblance of delicate femininity he had been displaying as he brute-forced the same hand into and out of the two wounds quickly enough that the pain would be minimal. A shiver ran up her spine and, though she tried hard not to, she couldn't bite down hard enough to prevent the agonizing cry that escaped her. The injuries were gone the second his hand left each one of them.
Whisper, meanwhile, had looked on with some measure of horror and embarrassment. It didn't feel right to watch a girl get partially eaten by a black monster blob and then stabbed by Garrett's fingers. Specifically Garrett's manicured fingers painted in "sparkling pink." Whisper's mouth was slightly ajar in a sympathetic look of pain and general disbelief.
He patted Rhian's shoulder comfortingly, the sound of her screams still ringing in his ears. As a personal rule, he usually tried not to be present for Garrett's more involved healing. Rhian attempted to shoot him a comforting smile, but it came out as more of a grimace-- which then turned into a straight-lined look of flustered embarrassment as Garrett started talking.
Garrett sighed dramatically, watching Whisper pat Rhian's shoulder awkwardly. "
You hug the girl in moments like these, not give her one of those bro-pats on the shoulder like some socially deprived Neanderthal."
Whisper looked at the healer like the suggestion had been to jump off a cliff headfirst. Donovan hooted and cheered in the background.
"Well, go on, Neanderthal. Hug her," Garrett's tone of mock-surprise that the event hadn't already happened left little room for argument.
"
Oh n-no," Rhian winced, still catching her breath, "
It's alright, you don't have to--"
Whisper pulled her into a stiff hug, patting her back carefully, even though they all knew the injuries were completely gone.
She had to remind herself to breathe, her body stiff and awkward. Had it really been so long since she hugged anyone? Erica's timely (or untimely) arrival onto the scene only made it better. The former star looked at the two in shock, horror, and no small amount of hatred before growling loudly and stomping off to fume elsewhere. Whisper tightened his grip a bit on Rhian. Her body relaxed and for a moment she wondered if she wasn't dreaming again. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his neck, allowing her breathing to steady, though her heart was pounding wildly out of control.
Shit, she pulled away all of a sudden, glancing at Donovan before looking at Whisper. He looked back at her quizzically. She chuckled nervously, "
Thanks... I, uh... gotta gather up my shit. Looks like we're leaving soon."
Nico was blushing and furiously trying to pretend he hadn't seen all that, now looking completely engrossed in the car Seiji was
still going on about. Donovan was trying and completely failing to hide his delight at the scene, or rather, what he sensed from it. He clapped Nico roughly on the back and flashed the 'couple' a double thumbs up. Nico copied the gesture weakly, trying to direct it at them.
Whisper gave Rhian a joking salute while Garrett groaned loudly and mumbled something scathing about unromantic dipshits. Rhian hastily pulled her jacket on, trying not to meet Donovan's eyes as she scampered towards the hotel to collect her things, Whisper following close behind her.
"
Oh, yes! So we're taking this car!" Seiji crowed, mistaking Nico's thumbs-up for approval of their ride instead, diving into the driver's seat to check on the fuel while Jon wandered over from where he had been standing to stare at the ride, rubbing his aching hands together gingerly. Vanessa came over to look as well, disappointed in the chrome-plated abomination of a car. Her disappointment seemed to redirect itself at something else as she looked from Rhian and Whisper to Donovan doing a "celebratory headlock" on Nico. Donovan pretended not to notice her sudden feeling of regret.
Dervish
