Welcome Home

[Axyl]

“Well that sounds more like it,” he agreed with an impish smirk creasing his cheek. Axyl’s usual personality shone through his severe fatigue at the word ‘immature’. It was almost as if the word had opened a momentary portal to what had laid beyond the serious nature of his current life. That door closed as they moved to recent memories of fear.

Seline had whole-heartedly believed Damien capable of the unspeakable and beyond. But as Axyl had been determined to prove with that malicious man, no being is infallible. “Not anything,” he corrected gently. He leaned in closer bringing their noses within inches of touching as he tenderly massaged the back of her head with his fingertips. “I told you I could take care of m’self.”

Then she moved to a topic he only half-expected – his health. He felt himself melting as she analyzed the scents clinging to his weathered skin. Seline was indeed a beautiful woman. Just as that beauty hid behind unjustified bruises, her marvelous personality was coming forth from the harsh attitude he had initially been introduced to. Frantically, he tried to gain control of his beating heart fearing she would hear its rhythms already pounding in his ear. The soldier’s mind grasped for answers to thousands of questions, but to no avail; it was like sifting through the mud. It was a mild intoxication where he knew what was going on but couldn’t completely control what was happening. Lack of sleep would do this, but being in Seline’s presence somehow amplified the experience.

He blinked away the sleepy gloss in his eyes when she repeated her suggestion. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, Axyl slowly shook his head. More than ever he had to before, he fought to stay awake. However, unlike the previous experiences, there were additional factors to fend off. The combination of his pure lack of sleep, her lullaby-like voice, and her soft caress were wearing on his mind.

“No,” he refused more for himself than in response to her. His eyes looked back to her. “You need to rest, but you need to stay awake… I think.” The full extent of his statement was interrupted by a forceful yawn. He turned his head from her to unsuccessfully hide the extent of his fatigue. Finished, Axyl again found her eyes. “I’m here to keep you awake… and keep the terrors away.” Once again strong, his voice edged in muddled exhaustion declared that he would not abandon his post by her side.

A soft smile spread across his face as he watched her. He had once again successfully put his lethargy behind a veil of attentiveness in his eyes and spirit on his face. Whether or not she would allow the guise to pass was up to her.

[untamed]

She shuddered at his gentle touches. The feeling of his fingertips at the nape of her neck made chills run down her arms. Luckily, she had the long-sleeved robe on, so he wouldn’t see the goose bumps crawling along her skin. He was so close now. She could feel every breath from his words as he spoke. She flushed, wondering if he would get closer. The last time they got close, it didn’t end well. Maybe this time she wouldn’t freak out.

Kyla finished making breakfast and went to gather her son, Kale from the front yard. She walked quietly to the door and opened it. A large man, wide and tall, stood before the door. Dark hair covered most of his facial features up. His arms bulged with muscles and he looked like he would waddle when he walked he was so large. But his legs were nothing, but muscle.

Kyla stepped back, “J-Jackson, what are you doing here?” His dark eyes looked down upon Kyla’s small frame as he spoke with a deep baritone voice, “I found Damien today in his kitchen with a knife sticking out of his chest. Would you know anything about it?” he questioned. He raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing her facial features. Kyla shook her head desperately.

Seline heard the male voice outside and placed her finger to Axyl’s lips to keep him quiet. She listened intently to the words being said.

“Where is she Kyla?” “I don’t know. She’s been gone for years...” “It’s not just a coincidence that Damien winds up dead and the last time she was here she stabbed him in the shoulder. She wanted him dead!” “I don’t know where she is, Jackson. Honest!” “I don’t have to go out and get that boy of yours and keep him close while I search the rooms, do I? I know you are keeping her here. You two are always together. You know where she's at. I can see it in your eyes!”

Seline heard Kyla whimper and squeal. She got up slowly off the bed and pressed her ear to the door. She wanted to help, but placing herself out there would not only be an opportunity to get herself even more wounded, but endanger Kyla’s son as well. She heard Kyla’s body be thrown against the opposite wall and the heavy footsteps come closer. Seline made quick, wordless motions to get Axyl to move and act sick or something. The door burst opened and Seline was stuck between the wall and the door. Her hands clasped over her mouth to keep from crying out.

[Axyl]

It had seemed his dodging went without a response. That is until she put a soft finger to his lips to keep anything further from coming from his mouth. Having been a little involved with other things, Axyl had not noticed the voices from the other side of the door. He listened with Seline as the alarming conversion unfolding outside raised his own suspicions and slowly coming adrenaline. Aiming an ear and an eye over his shoulder at the door, the man waiting in silence for what would come. The first movement though was from inside the room.

“Seline. Wait,” he whispered urgently. What is she doing! he asked himself in silence. Following closely behind in his bare feet, he put both hands forward to help steady his friend if she needed it. After all, her body was fairly broken. He stopped behind her left shoulder putting his mouth to her ear. As softly as he could, he whispered, “Get under the bed and pull the sheets down to hide.” Over his words, he could hear someone slam against the wall. It was too late. They were too slow.

The door swung open scooping Seline into a hidden corner and pushing Axyl back towards his cot. He tumbled only to catch himself on the cot. His flesh tingled with an awareness that hard eyes were drilling into his very presence scrutinizing every detail. Crouched over as he was clinging onto the cot, he found himself in the perfect position for the first act that came to his mind.

“Wha…” The man looked up from glazed half-closed eyes. Still gripping his foundation, it took a moment for brown eyes to open wide in recognition. In the door stood a physical brute of a man with wrists the size of Axyl’s blacksmith arms and a neck the size of his waist. He was at least half a foot taller than the comparatively scrawny weapons master. But he was not wearing the uniform of a soldier or any official authority figure. Instead, the strange man wore what seemed that of small town muscle to a small town tyrant, a makeshift lawman or enforcer; he could even have passed for a mercenary with his clothes stretching tight over the bulge of his muscles and even over his body’s shape in general. Can’t he afford bigger clothes? To amplify the affect, a number of weapons were recognizable even from blurring vision resulting from severe fatigue.

“Jackie!” he proclaimed in a sudden burst pulling the first name from his head and putting an annoying spin to it. “Jack? Is ‘at really you?” Axyl stumbled to the door holding onto the wall with his head lowered to watch his feet. Coming closed, Axyl looked up with pain visible in his eyes. He found he did not have to fake the pain of a hangover. The headache from a long night and minimal food had been growing beyond his control; he had even begun to wonder why he had let Kyla tend to it since the pain of his wrist might have masked it.

“See?” He swallowed back gathering his words between his shallow breathing in and out of his mouth. “Figured ya’d stop by lookin.’ So I just stayed ‘ere.” Axyl leaned against the thin door, which was lodged against the wall to create a hiding place in the corner, with an elbow to avoid bending his wrist the wrong way. As her guardian and more as her friend, he prayed she understood his message. He pushed off the door shepherding the uninvited stranger back into the hall as he brandished his wrapped hand in front of his face. “Ya see? The healer here went and did this. Gave me something too,” he paused waving a hand absently over his shoulder in the general direction of the kitchen pretending to not notice Kyla behind him. “I think she was juz getting’ tired of m’ramblin.”

He directed a wide opened-mouth grin at the man he called Jackie. Unfortunately his next steps would be determined by this other man. At least he was not dressed in his uniform having left the wet clothes in the next room. However, his sword was also left in that other room as well as his boots with their hidden steel.

As a soldier, he was defenseless with nothing but his dulled wits. Still he prayed to the gods Seline would stay hidden. Axyl had already been exposed to this threat by the opening door. There was no reason for her to reveal herself even if she were not as broken as she current was. He hoped there would be no reason in this situation. Perhaps he would even be able to skirt a fight avoid further damage to himself, Seline, Kyla, her family and her home.

[untamed]

Jackson’s eyes narrowed as he watched Axyl. He never met this man before, yet he was calling him by some bizarre pet name. He watched as the supposed drunken man walked to the door and leaned against it. He tried to usher him outside the door. Jackson’s eyes glanced around, something wasn’t right and he knew it.

He turned back towards the room, his eyes scanning the floor and bed. He went into the room farther and picked up Seline’s boots. They were slender heeled and therefore could not be a man’s. He turned and looked at the supposed drunken man. He forced him out the door and slammed the bedroom door shut keeping Axyl to the outside. He blocked the door with a chair and turned to the corner.

Seline had backed herself up against the wall. There was no way out. She felt his large hand wrap around her throat and pick her up. He slammed her back against the wall and kept her feet just off the ground. She gasped and dug at his hand trying to get him to let go.

“What did you do?! What did you do to him!?” Jackson yelled at her. He loosened his grip around her neck enough for her to choke out, “Nothing. I didn’t even know he was dead.” He let her go completely. He stood there for a second. He realized that she didn’t know what happened to Damien. “Where’s the money?” he asked roughly.

Seline pondered for a moment, “The bottom of my closet, underneath the center floorboard...” She didn’t need the money, nor did she want it. It was tainted with Damien’s cruelty and filthiness. Her eyes shifted to the ground, this would end her involvement with the group. She felt grateful.

In a rush, Jackson’s brute of an arm slammed hard against Seline’s wounded side and tossed her into the wall. He tore the chair away from the door and opened it. He left the house briskly, getting the information he truly wanted.

Seline couldn’t even cry with all the pain. The air was knocked out of her for a moment. Her vision started to go black. There was so much pain that she passed out from it all.

[Axyl]

No. “Ha yeah,” he mumbled as he followed the stranger back into the room. “I got ‘ose from the broad. You ‘eally should ‘ave a go wit ‘er.” In the silence of his mind, he chastised himself not believing the words had even come from his mouth. Axyl took another step closer with bare feet to bring the intruder into arm’s reach. With his left arm stretching out as if for support and attention, Seline’s self-assigned guardian took Jackson’s shirt in a tight-fisted grip. He was about to pull the man back around to face him when the threat turned back onto Axyl’s weary form.

No! This encounter was supposed to end without trouble. None on their side was in any condition to fight and he was unsure as to where Kyla had even gotten to. Brown eyes had watched the large intruder like a hawk. Reactions were slow. His head swam after losing his footing and falling back first into the opposite wall. Momentarily stunned, his body slid down the wall roughly meeting the floor. Groaning in pain and delusion, Axyl worked to regain his bearings with eyes clenched tight and lips parted for shallow but steadying breath.

There it was. His eyes came open. He struggled slightly to push himself back onto his feet with his good hand.

“NO!” Axyl screamed with increasing volume and power. He threw himself at the closing door catching himself hard on both forearms. Ow! “Bastard!” he yelled sharply before backing away again at the man assumed to be threatening Seline. He could hear the conversation happening on the other side, but making out the words was difficult. Still, it was the fact he only heard a male’s voice that scared him all the more. Axyl threw himself again at the door ramming it with his other shoulder. It screamed in protest threatening to pop.

He twisted violently at the door his elbow wheeling around into the wood. His nerves tingled sending pain and numbness at the same time up to his fingers. “Bastard! She didn’t do it!” Axyl slapped the door again obviously not caring about what he was doing to his hand and potentially his work in the near future. “Listen to me! She didn’t do it!” The blacksmith kicked the door with the inside of his foot. “You hear me! She didn’t do it!”

His head spun as he backed away for another attempt. He practically bounced off the mountain of a man in the hurry that he was; his scrawny form would have been barely a match when considering the comparison to Jackson’s muscles. Axyl fell sprawling onto the floor. His eyes snapped open in pain as he had fallen onto his already bandaged wrist and had felt something regrettably pop.

Despite this, he was quickly up and swerving back into Seline’s room only to find Seline unconscious on the floor once again. Axyl came to her on his knees hovering gently over her. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, but he did not know how without inadvertently hurting her. Tenderly, cautiously he slipped the fingers of his left hand down the side of her slender neck. He could tell she had been choked and his rage ignited. However, his concern for her overpowered it this time. Softly, careful fingertips traced up to the nape of her neck.

“Seline,” he whispered, “C’mon, girl. Time to wake up.” His voice was gentle and soft. Worried eyes searched her face. “Seline,” he pleaded again. Axyl raised his head calling for help outside the room. “Kyla!” The inflection of his voice rose in urgency. “HELP!”

[untamed]

Seline faded briefly from the real world. Her mind wrapped up in the sinister she had belonged to. Damien’s group was a mob, killing people who owed them money in the small, poverish town. She was simply his trophy wife. A feminine touch to tough world that surrounded her. She couldn’t remember the times she cleaned dry blood from the floor that wasn’t her own. But that world was fading like her unconsciousness, and soon it was gone. Damien, the leader, was gone and the only thing his underlings wanted was the money that was stored in various places in the home. She was no longer a part of the vicious surroundings that she grew up in and would never be in that again.

Seline felt through her subconscious the gentle touch of calloused fingers. They ran along her fragile neck. The breath in her throat caught for a second, but not from the touches. Each breath rocked her body in waves of pain. Though the pain had caused her to lose her consciousness for a moment, it woke her up too.

Her olive eyes searched Axyl’s face as he cried out for help. Her fingers trembled as she reached for his face. “You–worry too much...” she said weakly, trying to hid the pain she was in. She took in a sharp breath and sat up, nearly doubling over from the pain. She exhaled, after she sat up and leaned against Axyl, unable to sit up straight.

Kyla stumbled into the room, clutching her head. She glanced at Seline and Axyl. “I’m sorry Seline...” she muttered, “I tried to keep you hidden from him.” Seline looked at Kyla and shook her head, “It’s not your fault...”

Seline grasped Axyl’s shoulder, “Help me into the bed...” she said through her teeth. She hated relying on people, but there was no choice. The throbbing was like someone had stabbed her in the side and refused to remove the object.

((occ: eep! I'm sorry Axyl, I got caught up in school and my clubs that I lost track of the time. I hope to be more consistent now that things will begin to slow down.))

[Axyl]

Seline stirred flooding relief through his chest. He could see the pain cross over her weary visage. Honestly, he could only imagine the pain she was experiencing. His wounds from the few battles he had participated in were minimal like his hand – non-life threatening. However, one experience jumped to his mind contradicting the previous statement. Yet, that was an ordeal more often than not he tried to forget.

“Stop givin me a reason to worry then if you really wanit,” he retorted with a weak smile.

A foot step in the doorway drew Axyl’s fading attention; his mind was now having trouble keeping things clear. It felt as if his world was falling into a deeper fog. The blacksmith turned blinking the clarity back into his brown eyes to find Kyla nursing her own wounds. “Kyla, are you okay?” asked the scrawny half-broken man in a weary voice.

He was silent as the friends exchanged sincere words. Then he could not help but ask, “Can you help her?”

His eyes were only able to look away from Seline momentarily for his brief concerned inquiry before she pulled him back in. She grasped at him for support and he cradled her as softly as he could while still providing her a foundations. Axyl was afraid to touch her, afraid of breaking her further, but she was asking for his help and he could not simply forsake her now. Hence he held her with a level of caution unknown to him, and he did not doubt the expression on his face revealed that as obviously as if he could voice it. The blacksmith handled himself around her as if he was handling his steel around a glassworker’s shop because he knew his muscle memory to be harsh and his hands calloused.

Axyl Griess helped her into her bed assisting her in gathering her broken body onto the mattress (if she let him) and rearrange herself into a comfortable position (if she let him) avoiding certain personal areas. He moved lightly around the bed allowing Kyla where she wanted when tending to Seline. Unfortunately, despite his hardest efforts to overcome it, his fatigue was by then shining through in his pale face, glazing eyes, and slower, more deliberate movements. Additionally, he was becoming far clumsier than is acceptable for a man working with hot steel especially of a specialized weapons master; he tripped over his own feet while moving out of the way for Kyla to reach Seline.

As soon as Seline was in Kyla’s knowledgeable hands and he was no longer needed to assist her in tending to their companion’s wounds, Axyl ducked out with only a whispered word to excuse himself. Upon stepping foot into his room, he closed the door. He would have locked it had there been a lock on the healer’s doors. But at least the closed door would muffle any noise he may or may not make.

He took a moment to examine the room around him with tired brown eyes. A few bandaging provisions were on the counter as well as in the plain drawers underneath he assumed. The bed that had originally been assigned as his before the cot had been moved into Seline’s room was against the far wall with a simple chair against the adjacent wall near the head of the bed. Axyl went to his clothes, which were still slightly damp, draped over the chair despite the very tempting invitation given off by the mattress. Weapons master Griess pulled his belt loose enough to twist it around with his left hand. He was so tired that his eyes lost focus momentarily but the pain in his hand was shining through the fog igniting a need to get the restricting bandage off the injury. With a minute fingering the loose leather passed, Axyl released a thin piece of steel from its hidden sheath. The small pocket knife was practically always tucked away.

Leaning against the bedside, the blacksmith settled in to work on a more sensitive project. He placed the handle between his teeth when he suddenly caught himself with a forearm on the mattress causing the old wood to protest. A low groan escaped in surprise. Axyl thought better of his position and pulled himself fully onto the bed. Then he began at the bandage on his hand. With the knife still between his teeth, he pushed a finger between the wrapping and his wrist evaluating the best method to take it off.

Sliding the pocket knife between his wrist and the cloth, Axyl pulled it cutting the bandage. While pealing it off, he accidentally pulled too roughly and the wrong way taking a finger in the wrong direction. The blacksmith yelped loudly and sharply. No coherent words were contained within the quick curse but he cut the sound off as soon as he realized he was screaming against the sudden pain. Still, he continued in removing the old bandages.

I have to finish this. I have things that need cleanin’.

[untamed]

Despite the muscles she knew resided in his arms, Axyl cradled her like she would break with the simplest touch. He eased her onto the bed and laid her down, the only position that was comfortable at the moment. However, breathing pained her, so it did not matter what position she was in.

Kyla took his place at her side and he left. Her eyes widen, wanting to reach out to him, but she saw Kyla shake her head. "You don't want him in here to see you like this, I know you and you are not thinking too clearly..." Seline paused and nodded briefly.

Kyla removed Seline's robe and began to unwrap Seline's bandages around her torso. Her slender, nimble fingers could not be completely painless, so Seline winced and released sharp exhales of breath through her teeth.

Kyla bit her lip when she finally saw Seline's flesh beneath the bandages. The soft, porcelain-like skin was nearly black with the bruises. She gritted her teeth and grabbed a pillow from the other cot and placed it over Seline's face. "Hold that to your face..." she muttered.

Seline barely got "What?" out before Kyla's hands brushed harshly against her side to make the ribs settle like they should. She howled in pain and smashed the pillow against her mouth, trying to drain out the shrill note she had hit. The hot tears streamed down her face and their was no way to avoid them. Her sobs became uncontrollable as Kyla wrapped the delicate skin back up in new bandages.

After Kyla was done, she eased Seline onto her uninjured side and slowly removed the pillow from Seline's death grip. Her eyes, red and puffy from crying, glanced at Kyla.

Kyla patted her friend on the head gently and got up and got a mixture from a jar. She got a glass of water from the kitchen and put the mixture into the water. She stirred it and returned to Seline's room.

"Drink this, it will help to ease the pain and help you sleep..." she said. She held Seline's head as she drank the bitter liquid. It took moments for the drowsy feeling to wash over Seline. Kyla pulled the blanket over Seline and waited until she closed her eyes to leave.

[Axyl]

The old off-white bandages fell aside revealing the mess underneath. Fingers angled away from his palm. Battered with bruises just now beginning to bloom in their full revolting glory, the core of his hand felt tight sending out spontaneous spurts of pain up his tangled nerves. His hand as a whole hung at an odd angle from the arm he held in front of his tired eyes. In horrified dismay, Axyl evaluated the appearance of his hand playing the effects this injury would have on his immediate abilities in protecting Seline, defending himself, and in his work as the Earth military’s weapons master and blacksmith through his fogging head. That’s irony for ya, he thought with a sarcastic smirk curving one corner of his mouth. A purple haze was creeping up his fingers from strangely numbed knuckles which seemed to have acted as gates, for a bit anyway, between his fingers and the rest of his hand.

Sharp sounds and muffled screams leaked through the wall between their rooms. It unnerved Axyl to hear Seline in that kind of pain, to know she was in that pain. He felt even worse when his mind connected the dots into a crooked path from her pain to his fault. Her guardian felt horrible that he had failed to do his job. The man put an elbow to his leg laying limply on the bed and the corresponding hand to his face.

He felt warm and cold, drowning but still clinging on in the silence of his clouded mind. Suddenly, his brown eyes snapped open when his head fell off its perch. Immediately he went back to the work he was determined to do.

Not expecting much, Axyl tried moving his fingers. His thumb and two other fingers at least twitched for him. The other two were frighteningly still. Then he realized he would not be able to do this all on his own. The most he would be able to accomplish is to at least splint the fingers and wrist to keep from further damaging them. However, he would not be able to set the bones to heal properly. He could not afford to not let them heal properly, but something in the back of his mind whispered to him to not trust healers.

Silence faded into the room next door as Seline’s screams stopped. It was a peaceful end to them, but still he could not help but worry. And yet he could not bring himself to go and open his door. The healer was done with her work on her other patient – he would be next if he opened the door.

In a semi-coherent fashion, he argued with himself that Kyla could be trusted, that she would help him and only help him. She had helped Seline and she had not once moved against them in any way since he had met her just the other night. Still, that was only a night ago. What if she was just trying to get close? Healers were very knowledgeable. They knew how to hurt, how to kill, and how to let die; they only needed the opportunity, his buried fears whispered. But he needed help and this was a matter of health not magic.

Still he did not go to the door. Instead he settled in for some painful and unsteadying work. Retrieving his belt from the pile of clothes on the chair within his reach, Axyl folded the leather and bit deep into it to help muffle further cries.

The blacksmith would begin with his thumb. Nothing felt broken only locked. Drawing his knees up closer to his chest to build a sturdier foundation, Axyl pulled his arms behind the wall and gripped his thumb in his good hand. Preparing himself with a few deep and slow breaths, the man tried to empty his mind and collect his blurring vision. Without warning, calloused hands pulled quickly apart. He bit harder into the leather letting out a quick scream. Tears streamed down his face. Unfortunately in his jumbled state, he had not considered the wrist as a factor in his plan only focusing on the actual hand. In his attempt to put his thumb back in place like he had numerous times before, the thumb had stayed put. However, his wrist moved sharply in the other direction.

Axyl spat out the leather onto the bed in front of him. “Damn it all!” he cried in anger and pain. He rolled onto his side facing the door. The blacksmith hugged his dominant hand to his chest closing his eyes tight against the pain and the world.

[untamed]

Kyla set the dirty glass into her sink to clean it and sighed. She pressed the palms of her hands against the edge of the sink, keeping her torso solid as she leaned her weight into the cabinet. She raised her head to look out the window. Her small son playing along the edge of the woods along the back of their house could be seen. She smiled softly, he was completely oblivious to what had happen.

She pushed her weight off her hands and stood by the sink. Her right hand brushed the side of her head, a bruise forming along the side of her face. The ebony skin was tender under her touch. She let it be, thankful for her dark skin. The bruise would not be as visible had it been on Seline's olive toned flesh.

She continued her morning cleaning up the house, but distracted. Axyl hadn't exited his room and she did not want to bother him. And even though she knew Seline was safely sleeping in her room, she continually checked in on her and watched her for a few moments at a time from the door frame.

Her chest raised and lowered with each breath. The medicine had been working, because the movements were fluent, without any jerks from the hollow, painful breaths she had made earlier. Her hands rested, folded near her serene face. Her hair surrounding her head in a dark halo.

Kyla would shake her head, knowing worrying would do nothing. She went back to work and that consisted of her feeding her son and her other two rooms filling up with patients that were suffering from a broken arm and an end of the winter flu. They kept her mind occupied so she didn't bother with Axyl or Seline.

[Axyl]

Gathering his senses, Axyl opened his eyes to stare blankly at the door. Time had seemed to stop for him. No one came in to ask questions. No furnace fire called for attention. No brute was looking to bash him once more. The door and its surrounding walls blurred in his vision. Outside that door, time would begin again. He needed to but he did not want to be on the other side of that thin wooden door. His body ached for sleep, yearned for food, and battered at his conscious for energy, relief, and utter control.

However, there was a mess to be cleaning a short distance away. If it was not cleaned up, only the gods know who will come his way looking for the murderer of an influential man in an impoverish town. The murderer who used steel with his trade mark cut into them.

Rolling off the firm mattress, the weary man lowered himself clumsily onto his feet with the support of his forearms holding his body upright while his head readjusted to the movement. He wandered over to the counter to retrieve a roll of bandaging gauze. Propping himself on the counter, trying to find a stable foundation at least, he began with a firm loop around the base of his wrist. Axyl had decided he needed to at least hold his wrist in place while he did he job in cleaning up. Coming around the inside of his hand, the bandage sent pain through his arm. The soldier bit his lip.

Loosely tying the cloth strip with the help of his teeth, Axyl turned again back to the soldier’s uniform he’s accustomed to now on the chair. With the use of only his left hand, the man stripped down and returned to his partial Earth military uniform. He kept the plain shirt Kyla had allowed him to borrow on his back and left the cloak on the chair for at least the moment. Additionally, he left his sword and the empty sheath of his dagger with the cloak not thinking it was best to let his hostess see him with them.

With that thought aside, he steadied himself as he made his way to the door. It protested with short whines as it opened to the hallway. Slowly, Axyl walked down the narrow hall looking for Kyla. He could smell what would have been breakfast. The closeness of it tormented him pulling his mind in another direction. Around the corner, he found Kyla going about her usual business he presumed. Not wanted to disturb or startled her, but needing her help, Axyl knocked on the wall to draw her attention.

“May I ask a favor?” the soldier asked quietly not exactly being in his usual confident state of mind.

“Do you have somethin fer a headache? And I need somethin to keep me awake a while longer.” Hoping he did not need to specify that the he didn’t want the pain medication if it would put him out, he did not say anything not wanting to disrespect her. He paused not exactly feeling right about asking her the next request since he had been the one to undo her original work.

“And if ya wouldn’t mind, couldja set this,” he raised his right hand a little to his side, “… again?”

[untamed]

Kyla looked up from the middle age man that was moaning from chest congestion. She eased a glass into his hand and got up. "I'm sure I have something..." She got up off her stool next to the man. She eased her way past Axyl and into Seline's room.

She ran her fingers gently across the labels on the glass bottles and cans that held liquids and herbs. She picked up the one bottle of a liquid and headed into the kitchen. She poured into a glass and then closed the bottle. She held it out for Axyl to take, "It will take away the pain of the headache, but I can't give you anything to stay awake. It's best that you sleep. If you are tired, your body needs sleep," she said, spoken like a true doctor.

She pulled out a chair for the both of them at the table and signaled for Axyl to sit down. When he sat down, she gently took his wounded hand. Expertly, she worked his fingers back in the way they were suppose to sit naturally in his hand. She made sure to do it as easily as possible, to make it painless. She re-wrapped his hand to support it. "Make sure you don't mess it up again, it will stay like that if you keep messing it up..." she got up from the table.

She stumbled back slightly, "Seline..." she whispered. She looked back at her dazed friend standing in the doorway. Seline's robe hung off her shoulders a little, "I'm fine, I just needed some sleep.." Kaiya nodded and went back to caring for the sick man.

[Axyl]

He nodded slightly as Kyla recognized his request. Axyl hoped she would be willing to give him his whole request. As she made her way into Seline’s room, he followed partially not exactly sure as to where she wanted him to be. Still those few footsteps gave the soldier the perspective to see at least his companion’s face. His whole body ached to take her pain away.

At least he could do this and close a horrible chapter in her life.

Following a bit behind, Axyl returned to the kitchen with its sweet aromas and homey appeal. Just then he realized he missed the smell of his furnace. Kyla held out the glass to him and he shook the thought of home aside. Business first. Rest later. That’s how it has always been for the blacksmith and weapons master to the Earth military.

Axyl leaned back his head and took in the shot of thick liquid when Kyla told him she wouldn’t provide him with a quick pick-me-up. “Oh c’mon,” he protested quickly while following closely behind the stubborn healer. “I only need ‘nother hour er two of sharp senses. Then,” Axyl tried to explain himself and appease his knowledgeable hostess, “I’ll let m’self rest.”

Kyla pulled out a chair. Axyl stared at it briefly with a dumb expression across his worn visage. For the most part, he was watching her movements, following her actions, realizing now that she could have very well slipped him something to ‘help’ him sleep. He swallowed as he noted there was nothing he could do now but trust her. Seline did so anything Kyla would do would be for the best ultimately. Still he needed to stay stubborn for just a little while longer.

Sitting, Axyl gave him her hand. A jumble of sensations jolted up his arm as Kyla did her work. At least he knew everything was still connected beyond his joints. Soon, she was finished with his hand and he looked back down to see a white bandage surrounding his livelihood.

Her last comment as his acting doctor nearly made him laugh. He held back a silent chuckled at the irony his delusional state of mind conjured up.

Brown eyes looked up in shock as they found Seline in the doorway. Her name escaped his lips in a whisper. Seline being up would make escaping the small home harder.

His attention moved from Seline to Kyla and back to Seline before he went to her. “Seline…” Axyl gently tugged her robe back onto her shoulders fully. “You should still be sleepin’. You’ve had quite ‘n ordeal.” He hoped she wouldn’t mention anything about him being back in uniform; he hoped she wouldn’t even notice the darker pants. The fingers on his good hand danced tenderly over her cheek as his eyes looked to see into hers – and to keep her attention away from the details. Carefully and with an air that wasn’t too determined to make her suspicious, Axyl led her back into the confines of her room.

“Go back t’ bed. For a lil’ while longer. Jus ta be safe.”

[untamed]

Her olive eyes taking in his appearance. He reached tenderly to her shoulder, covering it up with the fabric of the robe. She stared at the clothing that was on his body. He wasn't wearing that before. Her cloudy memory trying to make sense of what was going on.

A caress upon her cheek caused her to focus on him more. The distraction doing what he wanted it to do. Her olive eyes met his brown pair. Sleeping? No, something wasn't right. She needed to be up. She had a hunch, or maybe it was the sleep deprivation giving her odd feelings.

Axyl began to gently ease her back to her room. Her eyes glassy from sleep and her mind cloudy, following any little suggestion. "But Axyl...." she started to protest, but her whisper was weak.

She reached up and grasped his arm, tenderly. "Where are you going?" she asked. Worry filling her eyes once more. It seemed to be a common look she got when she looked at him. "Don't lie to me...." she whispered once more. Seline seemed so fragile. Her grasp upon him weak, but her eyes reflected the strong spirit she had.

[Axyl]

Axyl began to relax again when she followed along with little to no resistance. At least his muscles did. All the while his heart beat at a faster pace feeling like a hammer in his chest. She was still too numb to notice such a detail he told himself. Slowly and carefully he weaved their way back towards her simple bed.

Her whisper reached his ear; it was nearly as quiet as she seemed weak at the moment. He smiled gently down at her. “Shhh…” he whispered back in turn. The soldier tried to be as gentlemanly and forceless as he could as he guided her back onto the mattress. “Ya don’ needa worry ‘bout me. Focus on healin’ up, k?” Axyl kept up the kind, nonchalant façade wanting to keep her guard down. He only needed a few more minutes to get out of the healer’s hut. If he saw her eyes again – the pain and worry again – he wasn’t sure if he would be able to rip himself away. Half of him, the companion, wanted to stay and comfort her. The other half, the soldier, knew to clean up his mess and remove his weapons from the scene otherwise trouble will certainly be around the corner.

“Now, go back t’sleep,” he suggested with a tender voice. He caressed her face once more with the back of his finger and turned to leave.

Seline unexpectedly gripped his arm and everything that was Axyl attached. Brown eyes stared for the escape just out the door. He could feel his heart beat under her soft fingers. His eyes traced the door frame to the floor and around him along the wall. Her big beautiful olive eyes were waiting for him there as he glanced over the shoulder she held still.

“Out.” It was a simple answer he hoped he could get away with… Don’t lie to me… but knew he wouldn’t.

His body turned back to face her in full with a disguising smile turning up his lips.

“Nothing ta worry ‘bout, Seline. Jus’ a few errands. You should know by now I can’t sit around doin’ nothin’. I needa repay Kyla somehow for her help.” Maybe that would be enough. Kyla wouldn’t be walking in with the truth before he was out and on his way. He needed to protect them, protect her and Axyl knew lying around couldn’t be an effective method. “You can stop worrying. You have to else you’ll end up makin’ yerself sick.”

He worked his arm gently out of her hand and ran his fingers lightly through her hair and down her cheek. “I’ll be back. Promise.”

Quietly, he turned to exit closing the door behind him only leaving it open a crack as to not raise more suspicion. He returned to his room to gather up his things for this ‘errand.’ The injured man struggled to strap his sword to his belt and the sheath to his back but managed without dropping anything. Both tips of steel were poised for use by his left hand which was uncomfortable but not foreign to him. After draping his cloak around his shoulders, he left his room.

The weapons were both hidden, but the cloak would be hint enough that he was determined to do this.

Axyl’s brown eyes looked back over his shoulder for Kyla. He said not a word but the look in his stubborn eyes practically asked if she was sure she did not want to help him. He was going with or without it.

The moment gone, a calloused hand reached the knob and opened the door to the outside world. It was not raining anymore, but with the way he was looking at it, it might as well have been on fire – one he was planning on tackling.

ooc: yay... we're going again... let's see where we go

[untamed]

Fingers, weak, let go of the fabric. Eyes of worry looked at his face as his hand ran through her hair and across the flawless skin of her cheek. Her heart pounded within her chest at such a gentle touch. It was all deception....she thought to herself. He was lying, he had to be, otherwise he wouldn't be leaving her at a time like this.

He turned to leave. She followed, as if she were tied to him. The string severed when she got to her bedroom door, unable to pass the doorway. She watched him leave. Her feet not moving to follow. Her head telling her she should rest, like Axyl told her.

Her eyes shifted to the room across from hers. Kyla was busy with the man suffering from the flu. He moaned and groaned from the heated fever. She didn't hear a word. She was still focused upon her task at hand. Nimble hands trying their best to bring relief.

Seline eased back, her feet scuffing against the wood floor. Her fingers gently pushed the door closed. She paused, her hands against the door. Her breaths were shallow within her breasts as she fought back the urge to rip the door open again and run outside to follow, barefoot and all.

She closed her eyes and quieted her mind. Seline eased herself back to the bed and practically collapsed upon the feather-filled furniture piece. She curled up upon the mattress. Her hands rested lightly near her face upon the pillow her head rested on. Eyes stared blankly at the room around her.

Body weakened from injuries, her mind was still rapid sorting through memories and thoughts. Seline was still puzzled about how Axyl had gotten to her. Absorbed in alcohol, she could barely tell which way was up. He had taken her and cared for her, and she in return, cared for him when she had become sober. They returned to the town and she left, trying to protect him. Now with Damien dead, the rest of the house under the control of his minions and her laying broken in Kyla's room, her memories brought her to this moment now.

Her olive eyes blinked away the memories and she nuzzled the soft pillow with the side of her face. So wrapped up in her memories, she hardly noticed she had a visitor. Kyla's son, Kale, stood in the doorway. He walked in and closed the door and went up to the side of Seline's bed.

A weak smile crossed her lips as she reached up and gently ran her fingers along the boy's face. Seline wiggled back on the mattress and made room. She patted the area in front of her and Kale got into bed and laid in bed with Seline. They had an unspoken mother-child bond that was strengthened from her watching him when she stayed with Kyla and those once peaceful days when Kale would play with Alexander. Seline wrapped her arms around Kale, keeping him close to her chest. A calming moment that came briefly in Seline's life.

Tired from her injuries, she laid her face into Kale's hair. Dark and filled with the smell of rain, it was all too calming. Kale was tired from playing outside and fell asleep easily in Seline's arms. Seline, eased into her own sleep, cradling the young boy.

occ: You got me at a good time. I'm filled with muse lol

[Axyl]

Lifting his arm, their stubborn visitor stepped aside leaving Kyla’s son room to push by back into the house. He closed the door when the frame was empty once more.

Axyl pulled his cloak closer against the residual cold. The air was damp but it was clean. He took in a deep breath aiming for a cool wake-up call. It was a short distance before he found himself automatically on the threshold to Seline’s former home.

Waking from his empty state, the soldier pushed the unlocked door open with his right forearm leaving his good hand free for the unexpected. Carefully he picked his way through the house retracing his steps back to the kitchen. The air was eerily quiet and the house smelled heavy of death already.

In the kitchen, he found its source – the lifeless body of that soulless beast. Damien’s corpse lay in the piled heap he had left him in. A pool of blood spread under him seeping from the suicide wound in his chest and the wound of Axyl’s doing in his ankle. His dagger, the one Axyl had knocked down Damien with, was missing from the wound. It was probably outside; Damien having had to remove it in order to get back to the kitchen to kill himself. Cheap son of a bitch taking the easy way out, he cursed that black spirit. The dagger he had given Seline for self-defense, however, was still protruding from the man’s unmoving chest.

He squatted down to the body’s level bracing himself with his elbow on a knee. Axyl reached grasping the cold hilt with his good hand and wretched it from muscle and bone.

The soldier stood now beginning to feel something near him. Something was off and it wasn’t the rank stench of the dead or the fact he had practically handed over a suicidal escape to an acclaimed evil man. Maybe it was his clouded judgment and forced paranoia picking at his tired mind. He hated being around death, but he understood it.

Brown blacksmith eyes noticed a familiar item in the hall just beyond the kitchen cabinets. He went to retrieve the sheath for Seline’s dagger. His fingers graced the smooth leather and he began to straighten.

Death brings out the worst in people. It brings out the worst for people.


ooc: awesome! let's use it. Ha! too bad i couldn't get back to you sooner
take whatever opening you want... or not... that just means he'll get home sooner

[untamed]

Jackson dug through the closet where Seline's words had guided him. He smashed his hand against the floorboards in the closet, waiting for one to become loose. One eventually did jiggle itself out of place and he tore it away.

He reached his hand into the hole that was beneath the floorboard. Pulling out a burlap bag, he set it down on the ground next to him. He reached his large hand into it, pulling out a handful of gold coins. He smiled, a hopeful one.

As he went to place the floorboard back, he heard someone out in the kitchen area. As quietly as he could, he picked up the bag and went to peek around a corner. He saw the man that was at Kyla's pulling a dagger out of Damien's cold body.

Jackson was careful to not make much noise, but the front door was really the only way out. He stuck the bag in his pocket and raised his hands in the air, walking towards Axyl, "Look, bud, I don't want any trouble..." he said.

Jackson honestly did not want trouble. An average farmer on the outside of town, his family ran into debt. Unable to make the demands Damien asked for, Jackson began to work for him. His children's lives were at stake, he couldn't refuse.

"Look, I'm sorry I acted so violently against Seline and Kyla. I didn't want to hurt either of them. It's just...it's impulse when working with Damien to automatically threaten. I panicked.. I-I just wanted the money..." Jackson had begun to plead almost.

He has spoken to Seline one day, when Damien was out. Of course, a weakness for Seline was children in need, and she promised Jackson to give him the money when she could. Little did Seline know that the opportunity had arise to give Jackson the money.

Jackson looked at Axyl, "Listen, I'll burn down the house as soon as it gets dark. I just needed the money for my kids..." he said. His dark eyes reflected the regret of the past, but had a glimmer of hope for the better life he could give his children.

[Axyl]

… Even the simple threat of death.

Axyl Griess wheeled around at the sound of boots and accompanying words. The dagger hung in his left hand and its sheath remained still unnoticed on the floor. He took a defensive stance at least the best he could while still protecting his right hand. A blacksmith’s hands were definitely his livelihood and Axyl did not want to prove Kyla’s words true.

Then what words spilled from this large man’s mouth became clear to the smaller-sized soldier. Axyl even began to relax as Jackson apologized and pleaded with him.

“But you did!” he objected. Axyl found himself angry at the whole situation now that he was once again confronted by the local man, Damien’s former muscle he assumed. He took two steps back and placed the dagger on the kitchen table. His newly freed hand reached up to rub his forehead trying to calm himself down, talk this out, and leave as Jackson wished without trouble.

“You hurt both of them and Seline was already at the brink of who knows what from Damien’s beating,” he couldn’t help but leak his increasing frustration into his voice as he relived the memories. “Was hurtin’ them ‘onestly worth the money of a dead brute?” Axyl could feel his heart beating fast and hard like a drum. He took two deep breaths to calm himself again before continuing.

“Look. I don’t care what ya do with the house,” he assured relatively calmly while thinking, I was planning on finding a new life for her anyway, to himself. “But,” he opened for his condition, “ya hafta come down to Kyla’s place and apologize and explain yerself.” Axyl didn’t want to involve the actual authorities anymore than he assumed Jackson would though he was part of those authorities, indirectly at least. Seline would definitely be called out for her connections with the dead man… and the subsequent burning of his estate. But if the body were not found…

He couldn’t believe he was thinking like this – to destroy both the scene in question and the proof of a man’s death. This was the old justice system. This was two men agreeing to protect those they cared for.

“Is that a deal?”

[untamed]

Jackson nodded at Axyl's request, "I had planned to. It got out of hand, I promise you that. I was just so panicked," he calmly said again. The well-being of his children were at stake and the money would help greatly. "Shall we head over?" he asked, motioning to the door with his head.

----

Seline sat upon the porch on Kyla's wooden hut. Her fingers tenderly playing with the fabric of the shirt Kyla made her wear. Her original outfit was apparently "inappropriate" and Kyla wondered what happened to Seline to make her wear such an immodest outfit.

The dark blue skirt that stretched down to her ankles was plain to her. There was no design and it covered the entirely of her legs. However, she had to wear a tank top style shirt despite Kyla's dislike for so much skin to be visible. The shirt was the easiest to get on her without too much struggle and pain.

Seline's dark hair still hung around her face. It hid the bandages that laid along the side of her face better. She didn't want to many questions asked when she was sitting out in public front yard. The poor little town had many on-lookers that stared with scrutinizing eyes.

Kale kicked his ball over to Seline. She lazily pushed it back with her bare toes, right back to Kale. The couple hours she had slept had been the most restful in a long time. Maybe it was because she felt so at home and the danger that had loomed over her for so long was gone as quickly as a summer thunderstorm.

Seline played with the spoon in her empty bowl. She wanted something more filling than broth, but Kyla was afraid she would get sick if she ate something more filling with all the medicines in her system. The last thing she wanted was Seline to get sick. Seline sighed out loud, not wanting to ask for her third bowl of broth and resisting dipping her fingers into Axyl's stew that sat next to her awaiting his return.

"Aunt Seline!" Kale whined. She looked up, his ball had found its way to her feet again, sitting very patiently to be tossed again. The corners of her lips turned up, "Sorry..." she said and kicked the ball back to Kale.

[Axyl]

“Sure thing,” he agreed. Brown eyes glanced around the room once more skipping over the dead heap in the middle of the floor looking for anything he may have missed. He gathered up the dagger into his hand again. As he walked to the door, he kicked Seline’s sheath against the wall. Rough calloused hands scooped the leather up into his last three fingers next to the dagger’s hilt.

Walking back outside, he took a deep breath his lungs glad to have fresh air again. On the walk back to Kyla’s, the damp air cooled Axyl’s hot head and brought back a small portion of the open man he usually was. “So ya think you’ll need a hand after dark?” he asked. His words were quiet when he saw Seline outside again but loud enough for Jackson to hear. Honestly, Axyl was just ready to be rid of the whole situation, but it was only midday.

He had to smile when he was able to view the whole scene. The little boy seemed so blissful kicking a ball to a woman who was not even able to move too much. Better yet, that woman had a bowl in her hands. Kyla had gotten Seline to eat.

“We’ve a visitor,” he called to her.

Suddenly through his gladness to see Seline about, he realized she could very well be quite angry with him. Two and two equal Axyl Griess lied.

Axyl let out a large breath when he fell to his rump. He sat on the porch on the opposite side of Seline from the bowl he did not recognize as his. Her companion considered it an opening for Seline to take advantage of anyway she wished for his lie or even his bringing Jackson back with him. The dagger and sheath clinked to the wooden floor on his opposite side.

Leaning forward, his good hand braced on his knee caught his chin. This way, his face was poised upwards so he could see both Jackson and turn to see Seline. He looked to Seline with tired brown eyes. “He has something he wants to say.”

Without skipping a beat, blacksmith eyes crossed the empty space to find Jackson’s face. He waited for the farmer’s honest apology.

[untamed]

Jackson looked at Axyl and shook his head, "Besides, it looks like you did something wrong. She may not let you out..." he muttered to Axyl. Seline looked up hearing the gravel from the path be kicked up. Her olive eyes giving Axyl a criticizing glare. Errands my ass...she thought. She turned her head back to Kale, "Go inside..." she demanded softly.

Kale whined a little and picked up his ball. He waddled up to Seline. She placed her lips upon his ebony forehead for a small kiss. Kale giggled softly and then headed inside the hut with a loud shout to his mother.

Her olive irises looked to Axyl, who had plopped down next to her, and still held a rather angry glare upon him. Her eyes shifted, a more gentle gaze upon Jackson, who apparently 'had something to say.'

Jackson kneeled down in front of Seline. His large hands took Seline's frail pair into his hands. "I came to apologize, I-" Jackson started, but Seline quickly cut him off.

"Jackson, it's not necessary. I know why it happened. It's okay, you didn't hurt me anymore than I was before," Seline gave him a weak smile. Jackson went to object, but Seline wouldn't hear it. "Please don't," she said, "You protected me when you could when I was with Damien. Just take the money that you got and take care of the daughter of yours..."

Jackson smiled weakly, "I thought I would get shut down or this apology, but I thought I should try." He got up off his knees and dusted them off with his large hands. He gave a passing 'I tried' glance at Axyl before turning back to Seline. He bowed his head respectfully before turning and heading back towards town.

Seline watched him go. She finally turned back to Axyl, her eyes narrowed. "This is yours..." she hissed, throwing the bowl of stew at him. She got up and stomped inside, slamming the door, annoyed that he lied and that he made Jackson apologize for something that she knew might happen.

Jackson stressed easily over money, especially with his sick daughter. The money was crucial to have and Jackson was worried that Seline had gone back on her word. She stood in her bedroom, trying to be reasonable. Axyl probably didn't know about Jackson's situation at home, but that was not what touched her nerves.

Broken promises and lying words had become so common around her. Axyl should have been aware of that. Telling her where he was going would not have been so terrible. The act of lying had angered her. He had done it once with something minor, but it never stopped there. Lying was like a disease, it got worse and worse as time progressed.

[Axyl]

“You got that right,” he muttered back to Jackson. Somehow he figured the two of them would actually get along though it didn’t mean much now that he was due for a good long shut-out. The comfort of his furnace would not even be present because of his hand and there was no point to drinking. He already felt sick about what he did, the looks he knew he’d be getting from Seline. Axyl could already feel her glare run through him.

Axyl dared not to look up as the boy passed by giggling along the way. His eyes fell to the dirt as Jackson tried to begin apologizing; he could feel the angry emanating off Seline like heat. He shrank further into his own lap when she cut him off. Brown eyes looked up from under his brow when Jackson seemed to shrug the whole thing off verbally. The soldier caught the glance from the farmer which could possibly become the last friendly gaze Axyl would witness in a while. He gave a quick nod in return.

He turned to Seline in time to catch his bowl. It bounced around for what seemed an eternity to tired eyes, but he was able to stabilize it before the whole bowl was in his lap. “Seline! Wait!” he whined calling out to her behind him. The remains of a headache poked at his mind through his increasing shame and extending hunger.

Clumsily, Axyl rolled around further onto the porch and pushed himself onto his knees and then back onto his feet. He scooped up the bowls again before straightening fully. Slowly he found himself back at Seline’s closed door.

“Seline,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. Honest. I didn’t wanchu worryin’,” he tried to explain. And yet no matter how much he tried, his words sounded so empty behind a fog of general sensations – hunger, fatigue, pain.

Turning his back to the wall, he leaned back allowing his head to fall back to the wall as well. “Honest. I didn’t wanna scare ya.” Axyl was running out of things to say as his rump slid to the floor near her door. “I didn’t wanna hurt ya.” His vocabulary was failing him as well; his smooth yet simple tongue tying itself in knots.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered once more. “I didn’t…” the words disappeared from his lips but continued where none would ever hear them, “… know. I wanted to protect you.”

Dammit! No! She needs to know, he argued against himself. Finally, after nearly two days, the blacksmith’s body was taking what it needed. Another hour! Too late. He could not explain to her he hadn’t been out to look for Jackson or for revenge. He could not explain to her he had gone to try to keep others from looking for them. Explanations were pushed off once more. His mind passed into a sleep deeper than the coal pit his furnace boasted back home.

His ear fell to his shoulder closest to her door. A half-filled bowl of stew lay at his open calloused hand. More stew clung to the fabric now settling to his legs. Its heat did nothing to disturb the dreamless forced sleep. The man’s breath fell into a slow and steady pattern shallow from the bend in his neck.

Outside, Seline’s unsheathed dagger remained on the porch once again forgotten.

[untamed]

Kyla was careful to step over Axyl going to Seline's room. She smiled weakly, his body finally getting what it needed and he had been doing so for the past 2 or 3 hours. However, it seemed to have come at a bad time. She settled Kale in his room, knowing full well that Seline's temper was aflame and she had quite the mouth with her temper. She looked lost when she glanced at Axyl wanting to help him into his bed, a more comfortable place of slumber. However, she was unsure she could pick him up by herself without knocking him about the walls. Instead, she placed a pillow behind his head and a blanket over his body a couple minutes after he passed out. The least she could do.

Kyla opened up the door. Seline sitting upon her bed, back to the door. "Seline, dear, what happened? He's passed out, if you wish to talk more openly..." Kyla eased herself behind Seline, sitting on the bed. Her ebony hand reaching for her friend's shoulder, but she quickly retracted it when Seline turned around.

Seline's eyes red and puffy. Her olive cheeks moist from tears. "God, he makes me cry so much..." she muttered. Kyla's forehead creased with concern, "What happened exactly?"

Seline got up off the bed and began to rant off, "Well, it's not like I wouldn't have been mad if he told me he was going up to Damien's house. But he lied about it and told me he had 'errands.'" Seline used her fingers to quote as she paced in her room.

"Honey, it was a small, white lie. I don't understand, wha--"

"They all start out as white lies, Kyla! They all start as fucking little white lies! Do you know how many white lies Damien gave me!? He told me he would only hit me once. He told me I would only bruise once. Well, guess what? Those fucking little white lies that he told in the beginning ended up to be those lies," Seline cried out, her face flustered with anger.

Seline finally got it all off her chest. She fell to her knees and sighed. Deep cleansing breaths in and out, her chest following the deep breaths. She began to wince from the deep breaths, her sides starting to move with the breaths, making her ache.

Kyla watched her friend. She got up from the bed, but didn't help Seline. It wasn't her place. She was there for what she was needed, to help ease it off her chest, but that was it. Seline would only want her help for that and only that. She would fight back if she offered anymore help, even if that was to get her back to bed. Not wanting to upset her anymore, Kyla went back out to the kitchen, passing glances to make sure Seline hadn't passed out or anything.

[Axyl]

Inky blackness surrounded him. Shapes merged, divided, and morphed but formed in no coherent patterns. Dreams escaped him. Respite and release escaped his subconscious. More than anything he wanted to reach for her and take back the pain he had caused her. More than anything he wished her slate could truly be wiped clean. However, wanting was out of his capabilities and wishing was just out of reach.

Inky blackness consumed him. Everything and nothing seemed to swirl around him. Seline. Kyla. There was so much to be done. Too much to think about. So much so his subconscious would not allow it.

The soft comforts of a pillow went unrecognized, yet said comforts pulled him deeper.
The warm embrace of a blanket slipped by unidentified, yet the same embrace held him tighter.

Time passed inexplicably. Hours or minutes or days. It did nothing to matter… to the mind at least. To the body, time passes mercilessly.

Eyes fluttered behind closed lids. Fingers twitched on the end of a cocked wrist. His neck began to scream veiled by a numbing curtain.

Axyl began to wake himself with no real desire to get up. It was slow in coming out of unconsciousness but the pain of stickers through his nervous system started to help in terms of shocking him awake. Blinding light filled his eyes as a jolt to his head and neck shocked him back into the world of the living.

He grimaced against the leaking daylight. Remembering how he had felt prior to passing out – as numb as he had been – he judged the new sensations to be the old ten fold. It felt as if he had tried to drink away a hangover only to fail.

Twisting around to get his bearings, Axyl released himself from the blanket. A calloused hand which was only partially controlled clawed at the wall in an attempt to pull the tired blacksmith to his feet. After what he determined as far too much effort, he succeeded.

Braced by the wall, Axyl wavered. Half of him knew what he needed to say. The other half had no idea how to say it. With his cheek propped against the frame of Seline’s door, he began to plead his case through the door to a woman he hoped would give him the chance to explain…

“I know I really screwed up, Seline,” he admitted with a course dry voice. “I wanted to work hard… to earn yer trust ‘n me agin.” Axyl swallowed to help his parched mouth. “And then I go ‘n lie ta ya.” He closed his eyes again and tried to shake off the pulling need for more sleep before going at it again. “Ya don’t needa fergive me… But ya hafta know things’ll get better.” The broken man pulled away a little. “Well… that’s it I guess.”

… later.

Turning on his heel, Axyl tripped on the blanket Kyla had laid over him. Delayed reactions kept him from catching himself by simply regaining his balance on his feet. However, they did offer the chance to avoid a face-plant into the floor. His hands grappling at the air managed to find the frame to his door. Though as luck and karma would have it, he could feel the wood slice into his good hand.

He lowered himself the rest of the way onto his knees. A spot of blood formed in his palm and though he could not see it through his once again double-vision he could feel the splinter laughing at him.

Rather than grumble about it in the hall, Axyl pulled himself back onto his feet… again… and shuffled into his room. He didn’t notice, and honestly didn’t care, if someone had found their way behind him. All the same he removed his stewed-up uniform pants and replaced them with the lighter pants Kyla had originally provided for the time being.

Oblivious to all else, Axyl backed onto the bed eyes closed and muscles ready to relax properly. The mattress and pillow gave out a slow whoosh as his back pressed against the fabric and cushioning.

Lying on the flat of his back with his broken hand draped across his abdomen and his other arm at his side, his mind began to slip again. Despite the virtually deafening throbbing in his head and the grimace twisting his face, he body felt as though he was melting into the cushion under him. His mouth was parted slightly for air and his chest slowed into the usual rhythmic pattern. Still his mind did not fall so quickly consuming into darkness again. Brown eyes tired and glazed peered through split eyelids into a dimming unfocused world presented above him.


ooc: ;D i like muse

[untamed]

Seline could hardly hear Axyl over her tears. She tried to calm herself down to hear his words, but the pain in her side distracted her. She clutched her bandaged torso, applying pressure hardly helped. Seline picked her head up to look at the doorway only to see Axyl slipping away to his room.

Seline pushed herself up off the ground faster than she thought possible. She used her arms to cushion herself as she hit the doorway. She turned her head to look out, but she could already hear the mattress springs squealing from the excess weight. Axyl was already in bed.

She sighed. He was probably telling her his apologizes and she didn't hear them. She eased herself from the doorway in her room and went back to her bed. She couldn't forgive him just yet. She couldn't tell if it was an ego thing or if her old wounds had been open with his small lie.

Seline reflected briefly on what she told Kyla. Deep, cutting words from her hurt soul resounding in her mind. She looked at the opened door of her bedroom. Silently, she laid back down upon her bed. Her eyes watching the scene outside. She was unable to sleep, in slight pain from her sudden outburst, and couldn't get over her past in order to forgive Axyl's small blunder.

[Axyl]

Axyl slipped in and out of consciousness. He caught few restful periods of sleep between fits of pain. The man did not note the time he spent in bed though it could not have been longer than one or two hours. His headache had not let up. On the contrary, this persistent headache of his picked up strength as he lay on the flat of his back doing nothing to return strength and energy to his system. A sigh escaped as he acknowledged he needed food now that a few hours of sleep had already been forced upon him.

Twisting his legs around, he brought himself to a shaky upright position on the edge of his bed. He rotated his palm upwards to get a view of the splinter from the hall. The small wound was slightly redder around the wood though it was not infected at the moment or swollen. Soon enough it could be. Softly he poked at it with a stiff finger. Unfortunately, he would have to ask for another hand; the small amount of pressure sent a jolt through his nerves.

Once the tingling in the legs ceased, Axyl put them to use on the floor.

I hate feelin' so weak.

Again, he looked for Kyla calling her name quietly unsure whether or not Seline or Kale were sleeping. He wavered on his feet as he walked down the hall. “I gotta get some food in m’system,” he muttered to the moving floor.

“Kyla. Sorry, but I needa hand… again.” The edge of his mouth turned up into his cheek as he raised the embarrassing little annoyance to his side. He irked him horribly that he could not even take care of a tiny little splinter by himself. Sand in the wound... or if considering his pride in his work, salt.

“I hate not havin’ m’hands,” he grumbled to no one in particular.

[untamed]

Kyla picked up her head from the couch where she was sitting. She was taking a rest from being on her feet all day. She sighed and got up and pulled a chair out for him to sit in. She went over to her fire and began to pour Axyl a bowl of stew, "Didn't Seline give you a bowl? I gave her one while she waited for you on the porch with Kale."

She set the bowl by the offered chair with a spoon and then went into one of the back rooms. She grabbed supplies. She set them on the table and sat adjacent to Axyl in a chair. She didn't wait for him to give her permission to take his hand or anything. She simply grabbed his hand and let her tender hands work their magic.

She removed the splinter easily with her tools. She eased an ointment on to it to keep it from getting it anymore infected. She placed a small bandage over it, just incase to allow the skin to heal up some without the threat of infection. With that done, she stole away his other hand. She unwrapped it and ran her fingers over the skin. Her eyes watched the skin, scrutinizing when she felt a bump or anything out of the ordinary. With that inspection, she re wrapped the hand, but tighter. He wouldn't have a chance of moving it around.

Once finished, Kyla got up. A weak smile upon her face as she cleaned up the supplies, "I should put you under house arrest until your healed. Then I wouldn't have to keep worrying about you hurting yourself..." she muttered. She walked away to put her things away.

[Axyl]

Dark eyes followed Kyla around the couch watching her but not exactly focusing on her. He went to the chair he had silently been ordered to and got off his feet by practically slumping forward on the chair. With his arms braced across the table in front of him, Axyl sat in silence waiting for an end to his torture.

“What?” he asked coming out of another haze. “Bowl?” Then things became clear when a fresh bowl of stew appeared in the space in front of him encircled by toned arm muscles. “Oh… food… right.” The words in his head wandered with his thoughts. He found the coherence he wanted but not the understanding he desired.

“Yea… I don’t even know what happened to that one. Half of it ended up in m’lap… the other half… was still in the bowl when I… right… I passed out.”

He stirred the contents of the bowl as Kyla left to fetch supplies surprisingly once more. The spoon was held with a light grip in his left hand. Axyl could feel the soothing heat rise from the stew, pass around his fingers, and tickle his lowered face. Slurping in a small spoonful, he blew on it through his teeth. It tasted delicious.

The spoon clattered back into the stew bowl. Axyl followed as his hand was taken from the food. She was quick in removing the splinter… Evil little annoyance… but his eyes found it time enough to return to the thick stew before him. It was waiting to be eaten; he could hear it calling.

His calloused hand immediately returned to the spoon when it was released. Instinct to eat had taken over main functions; he did not need to think to bring the spoon to his lips. It was already there. He only let the spoon fall to the bowl again when Kyla made it clear he was not going to be moving his right hand any time soon. When had she even gotten to it?

Axyl looked up from the bowl to meet Kyla’s attempt at a smile. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. “No offense, Kyla, but the house is the problem.” The soldier paused to consider his words; he did not need this going off the tracks. “It’s been barely a day ‘n I can’t stand it. I’m drivin’ m’self insane just knowin’ my forge will be outta m’league for a while. I can’t live sittin’ ‘round all day.”

Again, he fell back to playing with the remainder of his stew. Idly he stirred but inside tensions brewed.

“I don’t even understand the whole thing,” he mumbled. “Still new. I aven’t even shown her half of what I do.” In truth, Axyl was acknowledging these things to himself though having an extra set of ears around was nice. He hated being left in the dark and he thought that perhaps Kyla would be able to enlighten him.

Looking back for Kyla, Axyl continued. He felt he needed to explain himself to someone though he was not sure if that someone would be Seline. To her it could very well sound like an excuse. “I didn’t exactly lie to ‘er. I’m a blacksmith… A weapons master,” he emphasized his occupation. “Part of my job is to control loose weaponry. Collecting abandoned arsenal is an errand of mine.” Taking in a deep breath, Axyl turned back down to the cooling bowl of stew. “… Especially when their existence threatens the people I…” the whispered conclusion faded into a path of pondering.

He was protecting them, protecting her. It was all he seemed to have had time for these past few days.

[untamed]

Kyla came back, shaking her head. "If you keep this up, you will always be in this house. Just a couple days, if necessary I can give you a broom and you can sweep the house. It gives you something to do at the very least...."

Kyla walked over to her bowl of stew and stirred it. "As for Seline, she's rather sensitive to this 'lying.' She's calmed down most likely if you want to speak with her," she said gently. Kyla looked back at Axyl and sighed softly. Her hands brushed across her forehead to mess with her bangs of black hair. "I realize she is slightly difficult to understand sometimes, but I'm glad you stick with her..." Kyla gave him a grateful smile.

Kyla had not know Axyl like Seline had. Only briefly meeting him a day ago and knowing he saved Seline from Damien was all she really knew. However, Jackson had done the same for Seline a few times when Damien crippled her enough she couldn't run away. Jackson also had a hand in helping Seline escaped, but here he had violently attacked her in distress. Her dark eyes looked over Axyl, hoping he wouldn't betray Seline in some way. Seline's young heart would hardly be able to stand the heartbreak.

Kyla sighed, wiping her hands on her apron, "I would talk to her before she gets more upset..." she said. She picked up a rag and began to work on dishes.