Respite in Dangerous Waters

[Axyl]

Heavy eyelids closed against the light coming through the cracks between toned limbs. His legs shook and arms strained to hold a still throbbing head. On top of the pain, his eyes burned with seeping frustration at his current state. He knows how he gets after a night of drinking and still the soldier decided to indulge his last night of freedom before returning to duty in the capital. Axyl groaned for his stupidity and for his pain; still nothing worked to ease an afternoon of discomfort.

Her touch came back to him. He felt her fingers pry and squeezed them in his as if grasping for help. His hold broke slowly but with gentle ease; Axyl was physically tired of fighting. As a whole, he was just tired. The combination of his eyes hurting when open and the ache enveloping his body just made him want to sleep in order to escape even for an hour.

Axyl could feel her fingers running through his short dark brown hair. That soft caress encouraged his arms to fall to cross his legs and persuaded him to raise his head slightly to her. The following gentle scalp massage added to the much needed comfort. He could feel himself melting into the mattress.

She stopped him – at least he thought she did. Seline brought him back to the light. Lifting his head further away from a mess of arm and leg, she helped him take a small step back to reality. He opened his eyes. Axyl only found her olive green eyes staring back at him.

The man numbly felt the bread tickle his lips. “Not…” He opened his mouth again to protest, but it was already too late. The piece of bread she had torn for him slid to his tongue. Axyl chewed slowly and swallowed. Sliding down his throat, the bread made the soldier cringe at the odd sensation. Everything felt like it was in some muffling bubble – every sense. “… hungry.”

“Axyl…” His name cued him to actually listen to her though it was hard to pass beyond his blurred judgement. “…work with me…” The hardened sweat-stained face of a rough-and-tumble man hinted at the fainted clues of a smile. Her gentle façade pulled a genuine comfort to the surface as meek as it was.

“I neda go,” he pleaded with her again, but did nothing to remove himself from her control. “Cahnt we j’sgo?”

[untamed]

Seline’s nimble fingers continued to massage Axyl’s temples, easing the pressure on his head. She turned her head to the lamp that set on the table. The flame burned brilliantly inside it, too brilliantly. Pausing just for a moment, Seline picked up the glass covering that contained the flame and blew it out. The room was shrouded in darkness, only the rising moon giving her light.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but she could still see the crumpled soldier laying on the bed. She turned back to the table and grabbed the soft center of the bread, pulling a piece apart. She turned and pressed the baked good to his lips. Her fingers returning to their duty of easing his raging headache, and began massaging his head once more.

She had become firmly annoyed with his persistence to leave, even though he made no movement. “Stupid male....can’t recover from a hangover...” she thought, but didn’t cease with her good Samaritan acts. She continued to stay by his side, trying to get him to eat and ease the suffering he was under.

“It’s like caring for a child...” she muttered under her breath, low enough that Axyl wouldn’t be able to hear her. Complaints continued to slide from her lips, all of them under her breath and therefore lacking any volume whatsoever. However, her attempts to keep her bitchy exterior were not backed up by her actions, since she never left the soldier’s side.

[Axyl]

After some time, the stubborn soldier had given up his vocal resistance. His head was beginning to clear but it was far too late now to embark on the journey to the city. The man now realized beyond a doubt it was best to leave himself in a woman’s hands.

Opening his brown eyes revealed a dark world. The sun had set and the lamp on the table had apparently died. She had undeniably defeated him and Axyl was beginning to understand the sense behind her plan and could forgive her. Still, he could not help but feel frustrated at the whole situation especially at himself. He folded in on himself again but not as tightly as the first time. Cupping his face in his calloused hands, the exasperated soldier let loose a long sigh.

She began massaging his headache again; he lifted his head out of his fingers to her again. During the course of the day, it had gradually dissipated but some remained in a less remorseful form. Her comforting hand just felt so good so he did not think to tell her or even thank her for staying at his pitiful side the whole afternoon and evening. Once again he took the bread pressed to his lips. It was a quiet acceptance as had been the quiet defeat as compared with his initial resistance. He swallowed and sighed again.

However, rather than returning his head to his palms, Axyl broke away. He fell away from her letting his weight take him. Landing outstretched across the bed with his legs hanging off the side by her, he closed his tired eyes. With his arms waiting along his body, the man could not believe the comfort. It just felt so good to lay down flat on his back.

Axyl opened his eyes and sat for a moment staring at the flaking ceiling above them. He took note of his body’s condition; his senses were more clear just as the clarity of his mind. His head fell to the side. Brown eyes followed down the length of his body to gaze upon the woman with him. Seline was indeed some woman. Looking at her for a moment more in silence, he finally said his first coherent word in hours. Kind eyes watched her a moment more before returning to a bland ceiling.

The word echoed in the still air.

“Thanks”

[untamed]

Seline sat beside Axyl faithfully. The conversations downstairs sounded inviting. The sweet smell of liquor lingered within her nose from when she went downstairs earlier. It was all so invigorating and tempting. She could just slip downstairs while Axyl slept. A couple drinks, get a little buzz it wouldn’t hurt anything.

The woman’s mind stopped wandering when Axyl told her the first coherent thought that night. She turned her head to look at him and raised and eyebrow, “About time you came around...” she said. She pulled her hand away from his head and sighed, “Spent the entire day taking care of you since you can’t hold your liquor properly...”

Sitting back in her seat, she crossed her arms across her stomach and crossed her legs. Her boot tip tapping impatiently as if she was waiting for something. She glanced at the sky and the large glowing orb of a moon outside. She gazed back down at the soldier, “But I guess taking care of you wasn’t so terrible. You could have puked on me or done something revolting for the sort.” Seline’s cocky and teasing smile curled her lips.

She slid forward in her seat. Unfolding her arms, she placed her right elbow on her raised leg and held her face with her hand. “You know Soldier Man...” she leaned in towards him, "You should be very lucky. I could have let you go to wherever you were going and you would have made a total ass of yourself in front of whoever you were going to visit, or whatever...” she muttered. She huffed slightly, “So I guess you’re welcome...” she muttered in response finally to his thanks earlier.

[Axyl]

The silence of the bland ceiling broke to the sound of her tart commentary. “I know,” was his short reply immediately after her observation that he cannot hold his liquor. Axyl’s frustrated two words were so quick and sharp that they might as well have cut off ‘properly’. Still his voice held an air of fatigue despite his quick retort. He was so used to having people tease him about his lack of capability with earthen ales that the soldier almost thought he was with the company for a moment.

Axyl’s brown tired eyes looked back at the woman who had spent the day with him after he had given her some detox for her own drunken problems. Her second comment about the night seemed just a little bit out of place. “Thanks for that… I guess.” He sighed again dropping his heavy head back to the mattress.

Sounds from the critters outside their window and the creatures from downstairs melded into the chorus of the night for this ‘Black Lake.’ However, the noise thankfully did not bother him as they had earlier, not in the same way at least. Now, they only meant he was late for his rendezvous. And then she just had to mention his situation again… maybe for her own amusement? But then Seline responded to his earlier thanks. Because of this, his voice came less tart than it would have been in his following response.

“Not as much of an ass as you might think… They would have…” he groaned as he rolled back to an upright position on the bed “… just gotten their kicks.” The soldier looked back to this woman who had practically saved him more pain. “I was to return to the capital city, t’go back home. The worst that prob’bly would’ve happened would’ve been me burning myself in the fires.”

Axyl paused thinking nothing of the implications of his statement. Eyes drifted inspect the calluses of his hands. Then it hit him to explain.

“I’ve a forge back home in Saverin.”

[untamed]

Seline chuckled lightly as her companion told her that his soldier comrades would have gotten amusement from him being drunk as a dog. She had held it in long enough. She had a sick sense of humor at times. People in physical pain from hurting themselves or doing something stupid and drunkards at a bar made her laugh. She calmed herself down enough to listen to the rest of his comments.

Her attention come together and her olive eyes focused on his face. Home, it was such a simple word, but it was a strong word. She didn’t hear the rest of his sentence. All she heard was the one word and she was lost again within the depths of her mind. Her eyes shifted and she looked out the window, no longer at Axyl.

Once he stopped talking, there was a silence between them. Seline had become wrapped in her memories, but the silence broke her train of thought. She snapped her head down and looked at her new companion. She sighed and got up off the chair she had planted herself on. She walked to the door and paused. “It would be better to forget these things,” she thought.

She crossed her arms and picked up her head and shook it a little. Small strands fell from her up-do-ish hairstyle when she shook her head. That word, had brought up memories that she wanted to forget, but yet, they were good memories. “At least you have a home to go to...” she muttered, still staring at the door.

She released a heavy sigh and turned her head. She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes searching for his eyes. “Though I bet at one point, I had more of a home than you ever had...” It sounded like a brag. Nothing like Seline inflating her ego by putting someone else down, but that wasn’t it. The tone in her voice sounded nostalgic, even depressed, or lost, or lonely would describe it.

Seline turned back to the door and stared at it. Most of her instincts told her to run downstairs and order the most alcoholic thing on the menu, but....She put her head in her hand, like she had a headache. Her fingers pressed against her temple. “I can’t believe that I’ve turned so weak....” she thought again. She feared turning around to face Soldier Man again. She had that feeling that he would be staring at her with sympathetic eyes. She gritted her teeth, she couldn’t do it. She was losing her exterior all over one word. Home.

[Axyl]

Brown eyes looked to Seline as she laughed. He smiled despite the fact that he knew she was laughing at him. Then again, he could not help but laugh at himself sometimes so in a way she was laughing with him. It did not really matter anyway. As a soldier he had to admit he had been irresponsible, but as a man, Axyl had to admit he had been utterly stupid. The man looked to his hand for a moment to remember his comrades.

Silence settled between them, previously lone drinkers to companions. Her sudden movement to the door brought his attention back up from the past and the floor. He watched her with a twinge in his heart for her knowing it was something he had said. Seline’s independent strong personality suddenly seemed vulnerable and he knew the change was his fault.

He moved to go to her placing a hand on the mattress when words persuaded him to stay put; something told him she did not want him to come to her. Axyl could only watch and listened to her words. Their eyes met. They both broke the connection – Axyl to the floor and Seline to the door.

Axyl sat with his feet flat against the floor and elbows on his knees. His chin rested on entwined fingers. Making his decision, the man stood next to the bed.

She turned back to him meeting confident brown eyes. He stepped aside gesturing to the bed with an outstretched hand.

“Sit down.”

It was not a question he had just spoken but a gentle command. Even through the haze of a residual hangover, it was obvious she needed some comfort. Axyl meant to help with that.

ooc: late night posts.... ugh.... just tired

[untamed]

Seline placed her head against the wooden door. She pressed her forehead towards to wood, but her eyes gazed at the floor. She contemplated Axyl’s offer. She could picture him in her head, sitting placidly on the bed, his hand saving her a spot on the bed beside him. His voice was soft when he gave his demand. Seline wasn’t much for orders.

She pulled her head up and looked to the ceiling. Her chest heaved with heavy breaths, not wanting to be reduced to tears. Men always treated her like a thing, ever since she was a teenager. She had always been the “pretty girl” and men just wanted her on their arm, but that was when she had a pleasing attitude. Now, bitter and constantly drunk, Seline was constantly the vision of a drunk man to feel up and other shallow expressions of attraction at a bar for one night. There were no feelings between any man she had been beside in a bar, except now.

“This is all your fault,” Seline muttered, finding someone to blame other than herself for her weakness. She pulled her head down from it’s incline and turned to face him, her eyes wild with emotion. She was drowning in lost thoughts. “Of all the people I meet, a man, can bring the walls in on me. I-I don’t understand. I’ve hated of men for years. The way they treated me and talked to me, I hated them for it. Now with just one night, you-“ Seline said with venom in her voice as she looked at Axyl. But she had paused, unsure of how to finish her sentence.

Her lips parted to taken in air, her chest still heaving as if she had held her breath for hours. She backed against the wall. She had always run away from troubles, drowned them in alcohol or left the situation on the floor and walked away. She would have to face them, and even more against her ways was that she would have to face them with a man at her side.

She still stood, her knees weakening, on the other side of the room. Her being was torn in half, one wanting to just run out the door and never turn back on this bar again, but she was leaning towards the half that told her to stay. Her sharp olive eyes glanced at Axyl as her knees gave in from shaking so horribly and she slid down the wall and landed roughly on the ground. Her eyes fell to the ground, she was still struggling with what she should say or even feel. She closed her eyes and dropped her head to her bent knees trying to recover from her mental breakdown.

“I shouldn’t need your help....” she said, picking her head up. “I shouldn’t need any man’s help, but yet, you’re the only one that listens to me. We’ve known each other for so little, but I have a bizarre feeling that I can trust you. Can I?” her voice was low and fragile, like the wrong word would make her run.

[Axyl]

The soldier of Earth watched with gentle brown eyes as Seline pressed her head against the wood of the door. She was definitely contemplating something. Axyl feared what it could be. He remained still and silent as she seemed to fight with herself. As a friend, ‘soldier man’ could not help but be scared for her; he feared she would resort to reckless behavior and the drink. He remained where he was so as to not push her in that direction.

But then her voice came to his ears somewhat broken and as if from a distant world. She was angry, drowning in unseen pains and sorrows and she found him to blame for it. He already knew this so he found no need to deny it nor did he find the words to console her.

Axyl turned his attention back to the scuffed up wooden floor merely listening to her words as emotions began to flood into view. The new venom in her voice hurt him, ripped into him. It was unlike the playful sarcasm he had come to know in this short period of time and he could not bear to hear that poisonous tone in her voice, to see her in this state, but he knew not how to help her. Seline was in the state because of something he had said; he wanted to help, but she hated him now and hated men. His hands were tied.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of cloth rubbing against a coarse wood surface followed by a rough thud. His head turned up to find her body now on the floor leaning against the door. Brown eyes found the storm behind olive eyes. He rushed to her crouching down before her his toned arms at the ready to help. When she lifted her head again, he visibly relaxed and his body naturally backed off slightly. His arms fell to his legs so as to not encroach on her personal space.

I shouldn’t need your help, she had said. But you apparently do, he had thought in return. Still he had not said anything. She was the speaker and he the listener. Axyl did not think it appropriate to interrupt until she asked him a direct question.

Trust…

Her question had long since been coming, but it came low, fragile, almost broken. His answer was simple and unhesitant spoken with a clear, open voice.

“Always.”

[untamed]

Seline wrapped her arms tightly around her body. Her head fell near her knees. The feminine olive irises couldn’t bear to look at someone that had finally given her hope in her shattered world. She clutched herself tighter as if to keep herself from falling apart. Like the littlest release on her body and she would just crumble apart.

Seline’s strong figure faded quickly as tears began to stream down her face. Her mental walls had fallen down. She had kept them up for years, never getting close to somebody. Then she was tossed in this position where she learned once again to trust people. She had to learn once again that she was allowed for her to lean on someone’s shoulder and that it was okay that she wasn’t the strongest one.

Her right hand reached up to her forehead and she ran it under her dark bangs. She mussed them up a little as she slid her hand up to the top of her forehead and rested it there. Her body still rocked with sobs still, and they failed to cease. She glanced up to look at Axyl, her eyes reflected the helplessness she felt. “I-I wish I had something to say to you...” her eyes still watering, “But for once, I can’t think of anything to say back....”

Her arms tightened around her waist, afraid to let go. She looked at Axyl and then hid her face. She hated being weak, but she couldn’t get the courage to be the smart ass, bitchy woman she usually was. She was becoming the old Seline. The one before the drinking and the fighting, the woman that had once been a loyal wife and a beloved mother. The thoughts made her cry out in anguish, like she was experiencing horrible pain. She held her body even closer, but she had no comfort yet.

[Axyl]

Axyl watched as tears readily flowed. He knew she needed something but feared to overstep his bounds. The loud-mouthed personality seemingly had taken the night off giving the loyal soldier the chance to prove himself to the woman before him without screwing things by shooting off something without thinking. It was a rare occurrence. Even so, he knew not what to say to her or what to do for her.

She fussed with her hair while a world of locked up emotions burst forth beyond the dam which had held them back for years. Her body rocked with her tears. Everything seemed to have come undone, become unsteady for the strong Seline.

The soldier twisted on his heels to lean his back against the wall next to her. Their sides pressed against each other as Axyl pulled himself straight back to give her a strong supporting frame. Slowly, almost hesitantly, the man draped his arm around her shoulders as he pulled the other around in front of her.

“But that’s just fine.” His voice was gentle and soft, low and clear.

He pulled her slightly into his chest allowing her the final choice of whether or not to accept his offering. With his far leg propped up to keep him from sliding away from the wall, Axyl offered her a nonjudgmental human cradle. Nonchalantly, he began caressing her shoulder with soft repetitive motions despite the callousness of his blacksmith hands.


ooc: sorry my posts are getting a bit short... but I really don't want to cheapen the moment

[untamed]

Seline’s body had been consumed by the loneliness she had for the past two years. And what comfort she felt from Axyl had been enough. She felt his arms wrap around her heavy shoulders. His words were gentle and that was all she needed. She didn’t resist when he pulled her closer. She welcomed the comforting gesture and leaned against his chest.

Her forehead pressed against the fabric of his shirt. Her eyes were still watering and the tears were beginning to soak the fabric. She clutched the fabric on Axyl’s chest with a loose fist. Seline’s legs that were once bent at the knees, slowly slid so that they were flat on the ground. Her muscles lost their tension, and she became more at ease in Axyl’s arms.

“He never held me like this....” Seline thought, reminiscing back to her teenage years. “He never held me at all, come to think about it. He always hit me, beat me senseless. And crying would just make him more angry and he would just beat me more. I haven’t cried since....” Seline’s train of thought became interrupted and she pictured the last time she cried.

The bed was soft beneath her fingertips as she looked at the fragile boy laying between the covers. His warm brown eyes gazed at her, and even though he was not going to last much longer, he gave her a smile. She leaned over and pressed her forehead against his feverish, sticky forehead and whispered a gentle, “I love you.” He replied back to her, wordlessly, since he was too weak to talk. And then slowly, he closed his warm eyes and his head lolled to the side. Seline kept her forehead where it was for a moment, silent tears began to run down her face. It was only when she backed away from her son’s face, that she sobbed uncontrollably into her hands.

Her present tears had ceased and she was simply clinging to Axyl now. She hadn’t spoken a word out loud of her memory. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t spoken a word to Axyl at all about her abusive husband and her adoptive son. She swallowed hard against her throat. She hadn’t told anyone about her past situation. She didn’t want pity. She didn’t want people to look at her sympathetically because she still had bruises and scars from the everyday beatings or because she had lucked out with getting a son since she couldn’t get pregnant herself only to have him die when he was four years old. That was an old lifetime.

It ended when she turned twenty. She had created at new life for herself. But the common sense she had told her that this life was not much better than the old. The alcohol took a toll on her body just like the bruises and scars. And keeping everything bottled up strained her emotions, just like watching her little boy fade away from a sickness.

She clutched Axyl’s shirt tighter. Her new self, the one she created when she left her husband, told her that she should look up and smack Axyl, telling him that he should never touch her. But the woman she truly was, even when her husband beat her, told her that he meant to comfort her and she could rely on him. And that was what she needed at this moment. Her body craved the comfort and he was willing to give it to her.

[Axyl]

Axyl recognized the cooler wetness of tears cling to his plain green-brown shirt. He felt the tension leave her body. Still, the soldier remained silent giving her the peace he thought she must need. Pulling her into him, the gentle man shifted his arms to wrap her in a tighter comforting embrace. The arm which wrapped around her in the front cupped her opposite arm continuing the repetitive caress. Meanwhile, his arm which had draped over her shoulders to rub her arm transitioned to a bent position around her head so his hand had easier access to the back of her head. Softly, he stroked her deep ebony-colored hair. He knew the calm delight of the deed and had thought to offer her the same innocent pleasure. Laying his cheek on the top of her soft crown of black, Axyl’s brown eyes stared ahead at nothing in particular.

Downstairs, night life had taken hold complete with the loudness of drinkers beginning the festivities. Wild life called to civilization outside the tavern windows. However, it was the roar of silence holding the companions’ humble room still. Neither spoke a word for what seemed an eternity as both contemplated past, present and perhaps future events.

Staring into the abyss of nothing, brown eyes searched through the chaos of his mind for an opportunity and the right to speak something proper in this situation. Her giving into emotion was like a battering ram against his own calloused-over personality. She had reminded him so much of the love he had once had in his younger years thereby reminding him of the flames in which it had all gone from him. Perhaps that is why he was always one to look but never touch. But that was beside the point; Seline was the one who needed this time in soothing silence.

Eyelids slid closed over the portal into the past. His breathing even and steady began to gradually slow. He was very much ready and willing to let them fall asleep for the night on the floor here. Since she only seemed to be sniffling now through the aftermath of letting go (he couldn’t see the tears had stopped), Axyl had figured she had already succumbed to fatigue with the only light in the room supplied by the moon in the sky.

Unfortunately, nothing in nature and in man is completely in one’s control.

Soft rumbling sounded through the room’s silence. The songs of night accompanied it while a persistent wind echoed passed the windows and a draft through the halls and under the door. But it was not Mother Nature making her fury known.

To Axyl, the rumbling seemed as clear as day and embarrassingly louder than the ruffians downstairs. It echoed in his head reminding the stubborn man he had not eaten anything except some bread and apple with water. He was a growing man. The aftermath of the drink often prevents him from eating like one. Silence and peace was inevitably going to end. Axyl simply could not believe it had ended so soon.

Frustrated tension escaped in a sigh. Things never work the way one would hope. Opening his tired brown eyes and shifting his chin, his gaze redirected more in her direction than in the space beyond the glass. Gently a meager voice broke through a barrier of silence afraid of waking the women from her rest.

“Hey,” came the opening whisper. “You hungry?” He waited for some sign of recognition – a murmur, a groan, any kind of hint. “What say you we get some grub?” Still, he spoke in whispers in case the transition from silence to voices was too much for sleeping ears. “Or I could bring you a meal up here… to you. You can still rest if you want.” Axyl did not wish to disturb her, but he figured she needed some type of substantial food. Hence, he had decided to offer her the choice of staying in the room.

His hand paused to squeeze her upper arm momentarily before returning to the calm of its repetitive motions. Brown eyes looked forward. The night was still young, but the morning would come early.



ooc: we're clear

[untamed]

Seline continued to lay against Axyl, the silence comforting. That was until a rumble from his abdomen shattered the silence. Seline held in her laughter, her cheeks puffing from holding it in. She had to pull this off without him catching any part of her plan. She laid still, her cheeks relaxing as she put on a more solemn look. She listened as he questioned her for what her preference was for where she would like to eat. It was when he paused that she made her move.

She pulled away from him slowly. Her dark bangs covering her olive eyes as her head hung. Her face was still moist from the earlier tears. The small bit of light that was in the room caught the wet streaks, making them glisten. She eased back onto her feet, kneeling in front of him. She kept her head low, to avoid him seeing her expression. She gently wiped her face, like she was still upset.

She stood up slowly, rolling on to the balls of her feet. She slowly backed away from him and clutched her stomach, like she had when she was crying. But this was for a different reason. With each step backwards, her upper body bent more. She fell to her knees again, shaking. She knew he would come to her, he worried about her.

It would be then that she let it loose, she roared with laughter. She could hardly keep it in. She began laughing so hard that she was having trouble breathing. After a few minutes, she calmed herself down enough that she could speak, “Romance is officially dead Soldier Man, and you are responsible for it.”

She got up off the floor and headed to the door. She was back to her teasing self, almost like nothing had happened. She turned to look over her shoulder, a teasing grin on her face, “Better hurry up Soldier Man or you’re gonna cause the bar to collapse with all that rumbling...” she laughed again and headed downstairs.

[Axyl]

A gentle calloused hand fell to the side when she finally broke away slowly. Their peace was over; he knew that but it hurt him to know he had disturbed her so unexpectedly. His brown soldier eyes caught the glisten from remnant tears. It was hard to believe such a woman was in this amount of pain that had been revealed recently.

The way she held herself, the way she stared at the floor, and the way her hair hung over her face acting as a barrier against the world cried to him the storm has yet to pass. Carefully, his hand moved in an attempt to return to caress her cheek, but he failed withdrawing slightly back when her hand wiped tears away.

Axyl shifted to a knee coming slightly away from the wall. His arm rested over his leg while the other supported his upper body on an up-righted knee. Brown eyes looked on in concern as she backed away from him gradually falling to her knees. Then a thud on the wood sounded when her pale olive-hued flesh hit the floor.

“Seline…”

Her prediction was on the money; so call him out for being predictable. He went to her his boots making quick knocks on the wood of their own. Axyl moved around to her side again draping an arm to rub her back. A familiar hand cupped her cheek intending to pull her close to get her to talk to him. But before he could get another word out of his sober mouth, laughter burst from hers.

Instantly, the soldier withdrew from her letting go of his contact with her. Concern, confusion, realization, and anger, embarrassment, stoic indifference spread across his face in mixed and continuous expressions. He stood backing away from her slowly until the night stand stopped him. The soldier watched the woman who had apparently regained the personality he had been introduced to earlier.

His face fell to the floor while his eyes watched her through thick brown eyebrows. “C’mon…” he tried to calm her laughter though fell to silence when his first and only attempt fell aside drowning in her amusement.

“I know,” he retorted with a quiet semi-defeated voice in response to her pointing out the obvious reason the peace had ended. “… but it’s not that funny.” Axyl watched her in silence clearly defeated and yet unsure of how he wanted to respond. She went to the door opening it to let in the noise.

Again his stomach gurgled almost as if it was responding to her teasing. He rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. After a relinquishing sigh, the soldier turned to retrieve his possessions. Returning his dagger to the belt around his ribs, he hid the blade again under his shirt and then grabbed his jacket.

Axyl followed her lead with his smile again in its place.

[untamed]

She paused at the head of the stairs and looked at Axyl, a warm smile on her face, “Learn to joke around Soldier Man, life’s too short to be serious all the time...” referring to his slight upset before he laughed with her. Her olive eyes shimmered lightly as she ran downstairs, without a second guess. Her tormenting teases and mature personality had given way to the bright young woman she use to be.

Seline’s boots tapped against the wooden stairs. Her footsteps, quick and light, landed with a heavier thud when she reached the bottom. She gazed around, the bar and the seats that lined the walls. Many of the people looked the same. Maybe it was because she really hadn’t gotten the look at the crowd from her being completely trashed.

Seline made her way towards the bar. The bartender giving her a once over and a glare. Seline chuckled nervously, “I just want food. I doubt my chaperone will let me drink anything with alcohol,” she shrugged in the direction of Axyl. A sly smile still curved her lips.

She reached in a bread basket and picked out a piece. She munched on it careful not to make a mess with the crumbs. She glanced over to her side, knowing Axyl would be there and then turned back to look over the bar.

How was it that two men could be so different? A man she knew for five years made her feel unwanted and useless. The bruises that blotched her masked skin ached at the thought of him. Yet a man she knew for five minutes had whisked her off to bed to care for her a night she was ill. Her heart that use to ache because it had become harden, had slowly, she had to admit, begun to melt. She reached up mindlessly to play with her hair, a signal that she had zoned out.

She came back to reality with a shake of her dark hair. Strands fell from the up-do style more to frame her face. She realized she had paused with the bread to her lips. Not exactly an unnoticeable manner. She quickly put the bread down and rested her arms on the bar.

[Axyl]

Turning the corner into the short hallway, Axyl threaded his arms through the sleeves of his jacket one at a time. As he walked towards the stairs, he adjusted the jacket but neglected to close it such as in standard outfitting. His firm boots sounded in confidence as he followed Seline to the top of the stairs. “I am not serious all the time,” ‘Soldier Man’ objected. “I was just worried about you. I know that scene was my fault in the first place,” he confided softly after having spoken with a general conviction over the bustle leaking from downstairs.
He watched her virtually skip down the steps back into civilization with a certain contented calm sparkling in his brown eyes. His entrance was one with perhaps a bit more dignity attached. All the same, her ‘chaperone’ was right behind her if but a few steps behind.

Axyl shook his hand in amusement at her new label of him as he came up behind her by the bar. “We’ll just have some… birch beer tonight and a coupla bowls of stew?” He looked to Seline for her opinion then back to the barman only to find a similar look staring back. Being that he had also been one drinking the previous night, the bartender looked back with an eyebrow raised in some sort of dismay and in definite disapproval. After the ruckus he had caused as a drunken excuse for a soldier who would blame the man. Thinking of last night, Axyl took a look around surprised to find no damage. Most the night was a blur now but he remembered a bulky man; he must have been the one to control the scrawny drunkard.

Grabbing at the bread basket for his own piece, the man turned to the open room. “C’mon. Let’s find us a seat.” A calloused hand tugged at her shoulder only to slip from the feeling of her clothing and the slender flesh underneath.

Selecting a small table near enough to the counter to pick up their order, he acted the gentleman gesturing to one of the wooden chairs. Axyl moved behind it pulling it away from the table for her. Glancing up from the wood, the man looked for her eyes.

This time he will leave for Saverin in the morning. He might as well enjoy the night sober this time around.

[untamed]

Seline felt his hand tug at her shoulder and she looked up at him. She watched him as he walked over to a table set. He pulled out a chair, but didn’t sit in it. She smiled slightly at the gesture. Her eyes met his and she shook her head. Chivalry wasn’t dead after all.

She slid off the bar stool and strolled over to where the chair was pulled out for her. She sat down in it and pulled it closer to the table. She rested her elbows on the table. Her hands leaned in, placing her right hand on top of her left hand. She rested her chin on her hands and looked across the table where Axyl would sit.

“So...Soldier Man, what business do you have in the capital? Are you going to go spy on the fire nation? Do you do interesting things like that? Or do you just hang around Satazian’s palace?” Seline had a mused look upon her face as she asked questions. She arched her eyebrow waiting for an answer. Her fingers probing at the piece of bread she had, picking off small pieces.

As she played with the bread piece, she thought about where she would go after she left the bar. Would she follow Axyl into the city? No, was the first thought. She had been a loner for some time now and to change it would be difficult. She scoffed lightly, “No was never an option,” she thought, “At the very least, I can follow him into the city and part from there. The city is close to home, even though I have no ambition going back there...” She sighed, and turned her attention back to Axyl, afraid she missed his answer to his question.

[Axyl]

Smiling with a general satisfaction that she had accepted his small gesture of chivalry, Axyl watched her come to him and take the offered seat. Only after she was settle in the chair, he shifted to move away. However, before he actually moved, a calloused hand slid from the chair support to her shoulder. His fingers brushed over the back of her neck and through her hair. Perhaps his hand had unconsciously satisfied an unrecognized yearning to hold her again.

The moment passed quickly ending when the soldier took a step back to the counter. Initially he retrieved two tall glasses of tonight’s non-alcoholic drink taking it immediately back to the table. With a cheerful smile he first placed her drink in easy reach before setting his mug at his place. He then left once more to return to the counter to pick up their meal. Axyl paused finding two nice-sized bowls filled with thick stew along with two spoons. Glancing at the bread basket, his stomach reminded him of how hungry he actually was. Before turning back to the table, he topped both bowls with another piece of bread. Taking his seat, the man placed both bowls in their respective places.

He was chewing on the first piece of bread he had grabbed when Seline asked her question. Raising his eyebrow, Axyl listened. This could be a refreshing conversation – one that had the potential of not embarrassing him or picking at his deficiencies. Chasing a chunk of break with a spoon of stew, the soldier formed his answer.

“What about me makes you think me a spy?” he asked with a small teasingly sly smile. Axyl shook his head chuckling lightly knowing he had trained a few good men who had moved on to be spies for the nation, but also know he could never fulfill the role himself. It was almost funny to think he might have the air of one of covert occupations. “But no,” he quickly continued, “I have a forge back in Saverin. I work there as a blacksmith and I doubt my substitute wants to fill in much longer.” He looked back at her for a moment before taking another rewarding bite. “I actually work under Master Satazian doing jobs for Earth’s military.” The soldier paused for a moment remembering her nickname for him, ‘Soldier Man.’ “I can’t say I’m the frontline soldier you might think I am.”

Taking yet another bite of his meal, he wished with the full capacity of his stomach that the bowl would be bottomless. Too bad every meal has its end just not yet for this one. He tried to make it last pausing frequently to speak with his beautiful company, Seline.

“Do you have plans after tonight? Honestly, I can say I don’t want to find you in a place like this again.”

[untamed]

“Seducing young women in bars, you could be a spy,” Seline giggled softly when Axyl asked her what made her think that. Seline kept her left elbow on the table. Her slender fingers gently holding the side of her face as she toyed with the spoon in her bowl with her right hand. She ate the stew gracefully, her manners equal to a proper lady, minus the elbow on the table.

She listened to his description of what he did inside the capital’s walls. Her nickname had been off a bit, but she didn’t mind. She would still refer to him as “Soldier Man” as long as she was with him. He still worked under Satazian and in that sense, she considered him a soldier.

She took another spoonful of stew as he asked her a question. She paused, turning the spoon upside down in her mouth and chewed on it lightly. She thought about her answer for a moment before removing the spoon from her mouth. “First of all, I think I will get myself a room. I don’t feel like sleeping on the floor tonight and as much as I wouldn’t want to admit it out loud, I don’t want you sleeping on the floor. And one night together doesn’t really qualify for us to share the bed,” a sly smile upon her face. “Besides, if I’m sober tonight the nightmares will come back and I don’t want to wake you up. The last time I was sober I woke the neighbors up, because they thought I was being murdered from my screams.”

A soft dark chuckle emitted from her lips as her dark olive eyes shifted to look at the floor. She honestly hadn’t gone to bed sober in months, maybe even a year. After a night of drinking, she was able to literally pass out and her mind was too tired to create a dream. Without the alcohol, her mind was able to make her memories horrifying nightmares that made her wake up to her bloodcurdling screams.

She looked back up at Axyl, “You’re probably leaving early in the morning anyway. If I keep you up all night, you won’t be able to leave on time...” her voice dropped in volume. As much as she wanted to follow, she didn’t want to intrude. Maybe it was for the best if she separated from him now and not grow more attached to him on the trip to Saverin.

[Axyl]

Everything about her seemed to be that of nobility if one did not look at the personality behind her beautiful smile. However, that might have been because the soldier was used to eating with men alone in scrubby military barracks and in outside food huts. Eating with a woman in a decent tavern was a treat at the end of a vacation.

He continued to enjoy his meal even as he heard her chewing on something other than her meal but on her spoon. Feeling it would not be the politest thing to look, Axyl continued to eat picking out a chunk of potato to mash between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. She began to tell him her plans; he slowed chewing to listen.

“Do you trust me enough to not intrude on your personal space?” Axyl asked between bites giving her a chance to answer. Once she answered his question, he continued with his thought. “I just don’t see a reason to rent another room considering this one is already paid for.” He looked up from his meal to address her more directly. “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor. To be honest, I’m more comfortable there.” The soldier stirred his stew. “Besides, if that’s to be the case tonight, I won’t have you alone in a room. You don’t need that tonight.” As a gentleman, Axyl still felt responsible for breaking her barriers. He felt he owed her something if only some sober company for the night.

After another savory bite of his stew, brown eyes looked for contact with the eyes that had slipped to the floor previously. “I promise to be quiet when I go.”

Stirring his food, he cocked his head as if to ask for some sort of approval. Her personality now was different. Thus far it seems he had seen three sides of Seline. She had opened up to him releasing emotions long ago locked up but now it seems the two personalities had combined to find a happy medium. Seline was accepting of company now – she had accepted the offer seat rather than going to the opposite one – rather than shrugging it off like her drunken version had the previous night. Now she seemed happy. It was a healthy happy. Axyl felt this was a genuine happy.

[untamed]

Seline placed the spoon in her empty bowl. She sighed, “I don’t understand why you continue to burden yourself with me. I’ve been nothing but a burden to anyone I’ve ever met. Yet, you welcome it.” Deep forest green irises met his brown ones for a moment. Confusion with a hint of annoyance reflected in hers.

After holding his gaze, she finally rolled her eyes and got up, finished with her meal. “If you insist I stay with you, then so be it. I’m going for a bath. I’ll see you back in the room.” She pushed her chair in and went towards the stairwell. She paused before going up, looking back at Axyl. Then ran up the steps, not looking back.

She went into the room and grabbed her bag with her spare set of clothing and then went to the communal bathroom across the hall. She knocked, but was sure no one would be in it. When she didn’t get an answer, she opened the door and locked it behind her.

Lanterns sat on a tables set strategically around the tub to get the best lighting. She cautiously stuck her hand in the water. It was only lukewarm, but it was better than cold. It was also still clean, considering the drunken men had not wandered up yet to bathe. She set her bag on a table and quickly stripped out of her clothes and hopped into the water.

She winced as she pulled her hair out of it’s constraints to let it fall over her shoulders and down into the water. She sighed, sinking down to her chin in the water. She enjoyed the feeling of the water cleaning her skin. She hadn’t had a bath in a couple days since the swamps weren’t exactly the place to take a dip in a lake. She ducked under the water and scrubbed her hair viciously. After she resurfaced, she scrubbed her skin almost as viciously as her hair to free all the dirt.

After cleansing herself, she sat in the water for nearly half an hour. She could tell it was time to get out of the tub when the roars of laughter and commotions downstairs began to settle. Besides, the water was getting cold. She got out of the water and quickly dried herself off and rubbed her hair to dry it.

Slipping into clean clothes felt almost as nice as the bath. All her armor and dirty clothing got stuffed into a bag that she would wash when she got somewhere else. The sleeveless black knit top with a turtleneck collar hugged her curves. The slightly baggy tan cargo pants weren’t as flattering, but still comfortable for traveling. Her straight black hair curved around her face, still a little damp. She glanced at herself in the mirror for a moment. She looked.....normal. No armor or belt with a dagger hanging at her side, she just had normal clothes on for once. She also looked a little more.....sparkly. She scoffed at the adjective she thought of, but it was true. She wasn’t dingy and dirty like she was before.

She picked up her stuff not wanting to be in between a drunk guy and his bath. She unlocked the door and scurried across the hallway. She knocked gently on the door to Axyl and her’s room. She peeked in, her head looking around, “Is it safe?” she asked with a small giggle.

[Axyl]

“… Because yer not a burden,” he insisted immediately after she kicked herself. His eyes only smiled back as hers reflected annoyance and confusion at him. She broke off rolling her eyes as he still played with his meal. Seline walking away with an empty made him realize he had actually forgotten his stew amidst their conversation. The soldier still sat with half a bowl of stew and a partially eaten piece of bread.

Axyl watched her with sincere curiosity and in silence. She is a woman who will do what she wants. He had a feeling he would not be able to stop her if she put her mind to it. Once she had disappeared onto the next floor, her companion for the day turned back to finish his small meal with a wide grin spread across his face. They were both safe from another miserable night with the drink.

The soldier ate the rest of his meal alone as it probably should be. Dancers were already on stage to entertain the men. Brown eyes scanned the room finding a wide range of personality types. A few men stood near the stage literally hanging over the edge to cop a feel. More congregated around the room trying their hands at pool, darts, and throwing daggers. Even more men dispersed themselves throughout the room drinking their cheap favorites and entertaining themselves with friends, sights, and sounds. Besides the dancers, there were a few women scattered amongst the rough men appeasing their respective men or trying their hands at one game or another. Axyl heard his spoon scrap the bottom of his bowl. He glanced around once more after wiping the bowl with the last of his bread. Finishing that off, he left leaving an empty bowl and glass at the counter along with a few coins to cover the bill and plus tip. For some reason he was bored with the night life tonight. He retired to the room relatively early compared to his usual time having asked for a wash bin and rag.

Trudging up to the room with a bowl of water and a cloth in hand, he knocked before entering trying to avoid giving Seline any reason to slap him. He moved deliberately towards the bed setting the bowl on the nearest chair before pulling his boots off tossing them to the wall. Axyl then lit the lamp to allow himself some light even if it was dimmed. Afterwards he removed his jacket and his shirt revealing the belt around his ribs holding his dagger and a short cylindrical container for scroll transport. Axyl dragged another chair closer to the first. Finally, he dropped himself to the chair legs spread wide for balance and support.

He could feel water droplets run their path down his back as he pulled the rag through the lukewarm water for a second time. Swirling the water with the cloth, his eyes glaze over with fatigue while he stared at the reflecting patterns in the liquid. Soft knocking finally shocked him out of his dazing. Her muffled voice leaked through the wood seeking permission to enter.

“Yea. Sure,” he called. As she opened the door, Axyl pulled a dripping rag over his shoulder noting the feel of the water running over his back in silence. He rubbed the cloth across the back of his neck just trying to get some of the stench to dissipate. The soldier dropped the rag back into the water.

“Enjoy the bath?” he asked still half mesmerized by the lantern flame’s reflection in the moving water.

[untamed]

Seline nodded, turning her head away from Axyl. She quickly turned to close the door behind her. The only man she ever saw shirtless was her ex-husband, and that was legit. But her roommate that she got tossed in with, wasn’t exactly legit. She tried to avoid eye contact so he wouldn’t see the crimson painted across her cheeks. Though she couldn’t exactly see why she was embarrassed to walk in on her shirtless roommate. He said it was okay and it’s not like it was uncommon for men to be seen shirtless.

She walked over to the bed to kick off her boots with a little too much frustration in the kicks. She made an unseen face at her embarrassment. The pink fading from her face for a moment when she truly convinced herself that it was ridiculous for her to feel that way. She set her bag at the side of the bed.

She sat down on the bed and looked around the room to see the lanterns lit. She was now glad she changed her clothing. Now clean and in a well lit room, the bruises that lined her back would be much more visible. Though they had faded through the years, they could be seen in bright enough light and when her skin wasn’t coated with a thin film of dirt.

She pulled her legs up beside her on the bed. She ran her brush through her dark hair. The strands becoming silken with the gentle motions of the brush, no longer rough with strain. She sighed, “So Soldier Man, did ya flirt with the dancers downstairs? Or are you not that type of guy?” She couldn’t pass up the chance to tease Axyl and it would ease the stupid blush that kept creeping onto her cheeks.

[Axyl]

Water running down his back reminded him so much of the true bath he needed, but he was content to sit in the room with Seline wiping the sweat from his work-toned muscles. The sounds she made entering the room and kicking off her boots mixed with the dribble of the water falling back into the small tub falling to the back of his mind in a dull roar. Axyl recognized the extent of fatigue realizing he was falling in and out of conscious reality. It was Seline who pulled him back into attention of his immediate surroundings with a question from the bed behind his back.

“Nope,” he answered her with only a moment’s hesitation to wring out the rag. He stood placing the rag on the rim of the wash basin as he continued, “at least not tonight.” Axyl chuckled lightly more at his pathetic excuse for a usual social life than anything else. The soldier continued about his business of rearranging the chairs back into their original positions as he proceeded with their conversation. “Besides I’ve more important company to entertain tonight,” the man concluded with a bright smile.

With the furniture back in their original positions, Axyl crossed the room once more this time retrieving his jacket and shirt from the bed. He tossed them to the floor next to the bed putting him between her and the door in case anything should happen and so he could leave without disturbing her in the morning.

“Oh and yes,” he exclaimed as he plopped himself on the floor, “I’m not one for porcelain dolls and if I did, you’d think me a spy, wouldn’t you?” Rough hands were working at returning his shirt to his back at this point. Axyl’s brown eyes finally looked back at Seline after he was completely covered again. His voice suggested a sense of jest while his smile and overall expression hinted towards a comfortable presence.

[untamed]

“Important company, does that mean me then?” Seline thought. Her eyes wandered over as Axyl walked across the room, still shirtless. She averted her eyes. Only to have him come up to her to grab his shirt and jacket. She mumbled softly under her breath that she should have gotten her own room. She moved away from where his jacket and shirt were sitting, up to where the pillow was at the top of the bed.

She listened as he told her that he wasn’t one for the women downstairs and asked if he did like them, if she would think of him as a spy. She huffed and turned her head from him, even though his shirt was now back on him.

The lantern by the bedside highlighted her gentle features. The blush still visible beneath her light olive toned skin. Her dark eyes fell down to the bed where she had mindlessly set her brush down when she moved. She picked it up and bent over the bed to put it away. While her right hand dug in the bag, her left hand made sure her shirt didn’t crawl up her back to make her bruises visible. She didn’t want to have to explain why her back looked like she had been used as a punching bag.

As she started to sit upright on the bed, she glanced back at Axyl. She shook her head gently, her hair tossed gently about. “You confuse me Soldier Man. The “porcelain dolls” as you call them don’t interest you, but yet you won’t let me get my own room. Care to explain?” She arched an eyebrow as she set up the pillow on the headboard to lean against. She had cornered him. He could have had this room while she got another so that they would be separated, but he insisted she stayed with him. However, he wasn’t like the guys downstairs just hoping to graze their fingers against a girl’s bare flesh that was downstairs.

Seline crossed her arms over her chest and stretched her legs out on the bed. She shook her head gently to keep herself awake. As soon as she set her head on the pillow, she knew she would be out. She tried to stay awake as long as possible.

[Axyl]

He laughed gently under his breath at her reaction to his inquiry. Looking back to his effects, Axyl fiddled with his jacket half rolling it in a ball to act as a pillow. While he did so, the man allowed quiet to settle back into the room between them. They were both quite tired and he determined they would probably be fast asleep soon enough.

“Huh?” he questioned as soon as her first sentence hit his ears again after being jolted back from distant thoughts. The soldier listened carefully as she interrogated him with a certain precision. It was obvious she wanted something.

Axyl smiled and chuckled after she asked about his preference in women. He shook his head slightly in response to her own head shake as his stared more or less at the floor. Finished fiddling around with things, Axyl took a deep breath and began explaining himself.

“I never said I wouldn’t let you’ve yer own room,” he began by objecting to her accusation. “I only mentioned that there’d be no reason to rent another when we can live wit each other fer another night. It was yer final choice to be made. I didn’t force you into anything.” Axyl paused staring again at the floor this time to flick a pebble under the bed. “Besides porcelain dolls are all well and good to look at but they can’t come close to satisfying what’s in a heart.” He feared to look at her afraid for what she may believe he was implying occupying himself by picking at the wood floor with a short fingernail. The man did not understand it himself; he always just said stuff at night that was not the most characteristic things for him. “You’re interesting,” he continued, “and far better company than any pretty shell could prove to be… when we’re both sober that is.”

Brown eyes quickly sneaked a peak at her expression before flashing back at the bland flooring. He sighed to brush the thoughts away. “What can one more night hurt?” Axyl asked with a shrug and a smile.

[untamed]

Seline shook her head and pulled the pillow down so she could lay properly on it. She turned the lantern off and sighed, “Actually you told me you didn’t want me alone tonight. Because when I’m sober......I get those...... nightmares. You told me you didn’t want me......in a room by myself.” Her statement detached as she slipped into sleep. She laid on her side, her eyelids quickly closing.

It wasn’t until early in the morning that the nightmares began to bother her. She whimpered lightly in her sleep. Her movements in reality mimicking the ones in her dreams. Her voice soft when she spoke.

“It’s all your fault...” she heard him hiss.

Seline looked around the dark room finding nothing. Nothing but darkness, but she knew he was here. If he couldn’t find her in reality, he would haunt her in her dreams. She wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to hold in the sobs. The fear plain across her face. Her knees buckling beneath her causing her to fall to her knees.

“No...” Seline pleaded, “Please....” Her weak sob got caught in her throat as she felt her hair being pulled. “I finally found you...Didn’t I tell you I would?” his voice sneered. “You ruined my life, you know that....And now that I found you I can finally finish the business.”

“I’m sorry...” Seline pleaded. Even in a dream, she could feel the cool blade run teasingly over her neck. Her body began to shake and silent tears ran down her face, “Please....” she pleaded once more.

“I told you. You deserved nothing but to die alone. And now you’re getting what you deserved...” her ex-husband Damien’s voice had a satisfied tone. This time the blade ran harder against her throat.

Seline screamed out a couple time in her dreams, before her real screams woke her up. She sat up in hysterics. Her eyes darting everywhere, confused where she was. “No....no....” she moaned, her screams becoming distant. Her body shook as she held herself. But this time it brought her no comfort.

[Axyl]

With nothing else to be said, Axyl only watched her as she slid down under the covers pulling the pillow down with her. After she had settled herself in for the night, the man did the same stretching himself out along the floor and tugging at his jacket to use as his makeshift pillow. He settled down fading away into sleep on his side with one arm hooking around his jacket to add a little more support to his pillow.Axyl fell asleep quickly with an ear still at the surface. No dreams came to him this night, but come early morning, he had thought he heard soft whispers from his former love. The bed creaking also sounded in the distance in his half sleep. However, it was not until screams sounding very real and very loud in his foggy consciousness.

Once he realized what was happening, Axyl shot up from the floor to a sitting position. He searched in the half light to find Seline thrashing around on the bed having any coverings been thrown off the side. With concern plastered across his face, the man rushed to kneel at the side of the bed. His hands reached for her – one to rub her arm and the other to stroke her head – while he tried to avoid being kicked or punched.

“Shhh,” he cooed, “Yer safe now. Seline, yer safe.”

Suddenly, she woke herself up with her screams sitting up with enough speed to force Axyl back to avoid being hit. He looked up at her with big brown eyes his hands still on the bed but pulled away from her body slightly but not enough not to be there for her if she wanted.

“Yer safe now,” he repeated, “Nightmares can’t hurt you.”

[untamed]

“Axyl...”

Seline’s voice was a soft whisper. Her bottom lip quivered as she reached for his hand and held it between her delicate ones. She couldn’t get a grip properly on his hand though, her own pair was shaking too horribly.

Her fearful olive eyes found his brown eyes “They’re not just nightmares...” she whispered. She pulled away gently, only because she was shaking so badly. Her ex-husband had told her that he would find her and at times she had run into him on public streets. But he wouldn’t do anything in public, because there were too many witnesses. And she wouldn’t stick around in a town long enough for him to find her again.

Seline shuddered. The silent sobs rocked her body. The nightmare still lingering in her head. “I don’t deserve anything. He’s right....The only thing I ever deserved was to die alone. All he did was belittle me. I didn’t believe him at first, I knew I deserved better. But as the months dragged on, I thought about it. I deserved everything. Every bruise from the beatings and every mental blow when he would lash out at me. I deserved it all. Everything...” Seline’s words were mixed with dreams and reality. She tried to talk straight to Axyl, but some of it was telling her husband in her dreams that she deserved everything so that he might stop haunting her.

She pulled her arms up to rest her hands over her mouth and nose, still quaking in fear from the nightmare. “He’s gonna find me again. I know it...He’s going to find me and....” her sentence trailed off. She began shaking even more and her sobs became clearer. Her black hair hung around her face, framing her fearful face. If she looked simply fragile before when she confronted her memories, she looked broken now sitting on the bed. Her legs curled up against her body, trembling. Seline hated feeling weak, but avoiding it wasn’t an option now.