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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Aug 23, 2017 8:01:05 GMT
"But that's just i-it..... I'm n-not an Other. Th-they don't kn-know WHAT I am!"
By that point she was simply too exhausted to do more then try and catch her breath. Even the tears had run out inside of her, leaving her feel hollow. Axel seemed to think she was upset about the possibility of being an Other now, but that wasn't it. True, she had just been a regular human her entire life. Heck, she hadn't even had any kind of gift that some people displayed like Elsa and her manipulation over ice. All she had possessed was her intellect and a tendency towards strange things. Otherwise, she was just a run-of-the-mill homo sapien. Despite that, she had felt no negative feelings towards Others and at times had felt a hint of envy towards the powers and abilities they had.
This, however, was something completely different. She wasn't a Human and she wasn't an Other but something that could only be described as an artificial hybrid. And there was no way to tell what DNA she even had, what it would do to her. And her greatest fear in that moment was that the changes would cause her to revert back to the thing that had attacked and tried to kill Sunshine and Dorian, that she would permanently transform into a rabid, bloodthirsty creature that had to be put down.
How could she tell Axel all of that? After everything he had gone through to save her, after admitting that he cared about her as more then just a friend, how could she tell him she was afraid it was all for nothing? That inevitably she would become that monster once more?
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 23, 2017 16:59:03 GMT
"We can figure that out when it comes to it." he said.
She hadn't shown any signs of any further negative symptoms. Her body was probably too weak and recovering before it did so. If there was one thing he could not fight, it was against the serum. He barely saved her. Even then he hadn't been the one to get her to the hospital. That had been those two police officers and their little dog. He had gone in guns blazing, with no plan other than to catch her. He had no means to get her to a hospital from his bike. He had acted without thinking. It could have cost Anna her life if he had been alone.
"You're alive. I think you should be pretty happy about that."
It was a bit of sad thing to take away from what happened. She was alive. No one died. He'd count that as a success. She wasn't showing any abnormal signs of any particular gene. Though if she lost her reflection that one was a dead giveaway.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Aug 24, 2017 11:16:31 GMT
At long last, Anna finally lifted her face out of her lap, her eyes red from the crying and her cheeks still wet from where the tears had fallen. She leaned by against the sofa on which they both sat and rubbed at her eyes with her fists like a small child getting over some hurt that had befallen them.
However, it was still a long time in coming before she finally looked at Axel, really looked at him so that they were eye to eye.
"I'm sorry. I never wanted you or anyone to get dragged into this mess..."
She forced herself with the last of her will to look the Fire Demon in the eyes as she spoke. It was hard. Despite everything everyone had told her, she still felt as if she didn't deserve the kindness that was being shown to her. She couldn't find it in herself to forgive herself yet others had somehow managed to do just that. And she couldn't understand how or why they had.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 24, 2017 14:29:54 GMT
"Don't worry about it." he said. "I've gotten myself into bigger messes on my own."
He had. When he was just a teen, he worked for Cruella. The terrifying bouncer with a short fuse who would occasionally do odd jobs for the woman. Jobs of a of questionable morals. Beat this person up here. Threaten that person there. Collect my money from so-and-so. It wasn't until he really saw himself how other people saw him that he realized he didn't like what he had become under Cruella's grooming. Not to mention the times he tried to play street vigilante. He sent people to the hospital too afraid to say who had nearly burnt them to a crisp. They were bad people, but that was still no excuse for almost making a man into charcoal.
Anna was scared. She didn't make a habit of attacking people. He was pretty sure she was the type to catch and release bugs if they made their way into her apartment (unless Pascal ate them which wasn't out the realm of possibility) but he digressed. Either way, Anna was a sweet girl who didn't have it in her to be violent. Sure, she could defend herself, she had proven that when those thugs tried to attack her, but he had scared them off before anything too crazy happened.
"You're not perfect, Anna. You made a mistake. But you can't let this rule the rest of your life or you're never going to be able to live with yourself. The guilt will consume you." he said.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Aug 25, 2017 2:46:36 GMT
"I'm not sure I know how to let go of the guilt anymore."
She spoke the words softly as she turned her gaze from Axel down to Pascal. The lizard had been sitting on her lap the whole time, trying to comfort her as best he could. She managed the barest of quivering smiles as she looked at her dear pet before gently stroking him with a single finger. Soon enough, he was nuzzling against her hand and for a brief moment she didn't feel quite so horrible although the guilt still lingered.
"How do you forgive yourself after seeing the harm you've done?"
Although she was still looking at the chameleon, she was speaking to Axel. Despite the blanket, she still felt cold and pulled her feet up onto the couch without jostling Pascal too much.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 25, 2017 14:51:55 GMT
"I don't think I've let go of the guilt either." Axel said. "I did some really shitty things. I've been trying to make up for it ever since."
He had left Cruella once he realized the monster she made him. He opened his own bar. He hired individuals who were down on their luck, jobless, homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics, all trying to get better than they were. He helped them through tough love if need be. Some of them needed it. Some of them quit trying and went back to their old ways, but he had success stories. People who were now better off, working better jobs, had happy homes with kids and the whole white picket fence. He protected his patrons from demons and vampires and others who would prey on their drunk vulnerabilities. He wanted his bar to be considered a safe haven, somewhere those people could go and leave safer and better because of it. Which was why he was so tough on harassment and following the law. He would report any crime, protect his staff and his patrons if need be.
"Cold?" he asked.
She was pale and all but shivering on the couch. It couldn't have been good for Pascal either, but he wasn't sure if he should offer himself up as a personal space heater or not. She seemed quite eager to ignore any growing feelings he had for her. He was content to let sleeping dogs lie for now. She had, after all, been through quite an ordeal.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Aug 28, 2017 5:49:53 GMT
For the first time in a long time, the broken and guilt-ridden expression on her face was replaced by another look. It was surprise and while it was still muted and dull, it had for the briefest of moments made her forget her own sorrows.
"I have a hard time believing that. You've always been so.... so kind, so good."
She let the words taper off, looking at Axel for a moment longer before glancing down at Pascal. The little lizard was still sitting on her lap and looking between the two of them almost as if he understood the conversation they were having. She absently stroked him a few more times until the Fire Demon asked if she was cold. She merely gave a small nod.
"A little bit."
And as if to disprove her, her frame suddenly shook with another powerful set of shivers. The doctors from the hospital had told her that her vitals, including her temperature, were all perfectly normal and yet she had felt chilled since leaving. She wasn't sure if it was just because of her weakened immune system.... or a lingering result of the DNA she now carried.
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Post by skyeknight on Aug 28, 2017 15:30:21 GMT
"Anna, I'm a demon." he said. "Bad things are kind of in our nature. And you honestly thing I haven't burned someone before? I have fire powers."
That alone made him dangerous. The way he had almost lost control on the men who had tried to have their way with Anna should have spoken volumes. He was and could be extremely dangerous to someone like her. She didn't see that when she looked at him. Instead, she did most anything in her power to get to know him better. It was that endearing thing about her. She looked past most of those things, to see the person beyond the stereotype.
"C'mere." he said.
He sat on the couch beside her and wrapped an arm around her. He couldn't sit there when she was shivering like that. He was warmer than any heated blanket she could have thrown on. He had to admit, he was also better company than any blanket she could have grabbed. But he minded himself around her, not placing his hands anywhere that could have been inappropriate and just trying to circulate the heat back in her.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 1, 2017 5:54:21 GMT
"I know, it just.... never seemed to matter..."
Anna's words were soft but despite her own guilty, regretful thoughts it was clear that she spoke the truth. A Demon Axel might have been, but that had never been important to the young woman.
She had continued to look down at Pascal in silence for a few moments when she suddenly felt a strong, warm arm wrap around her shoulder. She stiffened for a moment before the muscles loosened and she looked up into Axel's face. Even though she had given him nothing but trouble and heartache lately, the expression on his face contained the same look that had lingered on it for so long now.
Love.
She felt a prickle in her eyes as the tears tried to flow once more, but this time she merely allowed Axel to hold her in his arms, laying her head on his shoulder and pressing closer to him. Immediately the heat from the Fire Demon seeped into her, making her feel as if she had descended into a steaming bath.
Closing her eyes she let out a small sigh as a tension she had been carrying since waking in the hospital eased from her body. Even Pascal seemed to enjoy the heat, moving to the space between the two of them and nestling there with a contented squeak.
"That feels so nice...."
Her words were softly spoken and she could already feel her tired body trying to edge towards sleep.
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Post by skyeknight on Sept 4, 2017 16:42:59 GMT
"Listen, Anna. No one is perfect. I'm sure even your cop buddies have done things they regret." Axel said.
Axel knew a few things about regrets. People came to him every day and poured their regrets to him as he served their drinks. People regretted a lot. They would cry into their drinks and tell him everything they should have done. It was why he tried to give them advice. It was up to them whether or not they listened to him.
Anna settled down next to him. Relaxing in his hold. Even Pascal settled down to soak in his natural heat. He didn't mind sharing especially since it meant Anna stopped shaking and trembling. She invoked the most gentle reactions from him. Had she been anyone else he might have told her to suck it up but he knew how she felt. He had been where she was.
"Glad you think so."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 10, 2017 23:14:27 GMT
"Mmmhmmm."
She nodded her head slowly as the exhaustion began to settle over her once more. Her emotions had been so mixed up and hurtful, so powerful that they had eaten away what little energy she had managed to recover since her release from the hospital. And what sleep she had managed to get recently had been disrupted with horrible dreams.
Now, however, she was falling towards the kind of deep, dreamless sleep in which true healing begins. Axel's words might have been the same as countless others who had spoken to her, but hearing them come from his own mouth somehow made them different. Despite her guilt at what she had done, part of her truly did believe what he said.
Anna couldn't say how long she sat on the couch with the strong arms of the Fire Demon around her. However, she only spoke once before she finally dropped off into sleep.
"...Please don't leave..."
And as she spoke, her own arms went around Axel's chest and rested there with an a almost childlike need. However, there was something more then need in that touch as well....
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Post by skyeknight on Sept 11, 2017 2:05:07 GMT
She snuggled into his side like a heat leech, not that it made any difference to him. He could stand in fire and still be okay. He just thought it was a little amusing to have both her and Pascal using him for his warmth. A smile even tugged at the corner of his lips when she wrapped her arms around him, as if to keep him from moving. It had actually been the furthest thing from his mind. But he leaned back so that she was actually sprawled out comfortably on the couch. He would get a crick in his back later, but it was absolutely worth it.
"Not going anywhere. Got it memorized?" he told her.
He even made sure to move so they didn't squish Pascal. He almost laughed at the things that Anna drove him to. He wasn't a very cuddly person. He didn't do hugs and comforting like this wasn't typically something he did. Normally, he just let them cry it out with copious amounts of alcohol. Pep talks and cuddle therapy just wasn't the first thing he went to when helping someone.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 11, 2017 2:30:18 GMT
As she finally fell asleep, Anna's lips pulled up into a small, content smile. It was the first real smile she had had since her whole life had gone to ruin. And although she couldn't tell Axel in that moment, she felt a deep feeling beginning to stir within the depths of her heart.
(End Plot)
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