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 Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:10 pm
((OOC: XD The torment never ends. Now they get to deal with emotional agony and indecision instead! While fighting a war!))
No matter how light the touch, Tianara still winced slightly at the feeling of his fingers brushing the broken skin. "Well, now that you mention it..." she murmured, trying to keep it light, even teasing. The wounds did look ugly, to be truthful - they were a deep, angry red, and the abraded skin and bruising were silent testament to how much she had been fighting.
She shook her head. She didn't want to think like that - it would only bring her back to brooding about how it had all ended, and wondering if the unthinkable was true. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders lightly, lowering her hands again. "They ache a bit, that's all. They don't really hurt or anything."
They didn't, it was true. Except when touched, apparently.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:21 pm
The news was on the TV, and was showing the storm's progress live. The waves were kicking up higher, and Mac wondered if Joshua's cabin was going to be alright.
Nira watched as if she was a god watching an anthill being flooded. "Maybe I should go and see how some of our little friends are doing" she said to herself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:23 pm
 The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua dropped her hand instantly as he saw her wince. 'How stupid can one person be?' He berated himself. Even if they didn't hurt when left alone, of course they would hurt if he touched them. "Sorry." He murmured with a sigh. "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have done that."
He shook his head. "Well, let me know if they start to hurt. I'm sure I can find something to help with it." He didn't like the marks and the story they told. It hurt him, to think of the pain and suffering Tianara had been through. "I'm sorry....." He whispered, but the words had the oddest feeling to them, as if he wasn't talking about the marks on her wrists - Or at least, not only the marks.  The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:30 pm
Tianara smiled a little. "You always seem to be the one conned into looking after me, Joshua," she said lightly. "Don't worry - I'm sure they'll be fine."
She didn't quite know how to take Joshua's apology. What was he sorry for? Tentatively, she sought his hand again and took it for a brief moment. "Don't be sorry," she replied, her voice going a little softer while she tried to find the words to answer the unspoken ones in his voice. The ones she didn't quite understand, but was responding to nonetheless. "It isn't your fault."
Her gaze flicked down to her bruised wrists again. "It's not your fault," she repeated. And she meant it. She meant it...she just wasn't sure if it was true. Although she couldn't imagine any way in which Joshua could have been responsible, something in the way he was handling her seemed to imply that he felt guilty, that he thought he was in the wrong somehow.
And she didn't know why.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:50 pm
A knock was heard outside the door, and in walked this gorgeous woman with dark brown hair tied up and in a nurses outfit, and her eyes were a deep purple. "Well how is everything going here?" she asked.
Michael looked at her, and didn't say anything. Mac looked back and felt his vision go katywompus for a second, then he blinked and was fine, "Okay" he replied. Dao just waited for the rest to respond.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:01 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua smiled slightly but it was a sad one and didn't reach his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered. He raised his hand, cupping her cheek for a moment. "Thank you, but it is my fault." He sighed, dropping his hand. "We could have been there in time, could have helped, could have done something! But no, I just had to be too human."
His voice had taken on a bitter tone that was uncharacteristic for him. "I made us all stop while I rested. Jinx and Nezik could easily have been there in time, but I held us all back." His hands curled into fists, shaking slightly. "So much of this could have been prevented!" It was clear this little outburst had been stewing within him for awhile.
He looked to Tianara apologectically. "I'm sorry. I put you through so much...." He wasn't sure if he wanted her to forgive him or yell at him. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:25 pm
Tianara's dark blue eyes widened marginally. She wasn't used to hearing such bitterness from him, and when she knew it came from guilt, it doubled her surprise. And yet it was the words that really left her reeling. They could have made it? It had been that close?
She sat silent a moment. Her reaction was just...nothing. Utter silence. Utter stillness. She couldn't even decide if she was angry with him or not.
Slowly, her eyes lifted to meet his. The guilt, the grief, the self-inflicted pain she could easily read in them cemented her decision. Why should she be angry at him? How could she hurt him any worse than he was already hurting himself?
Her hands rose, gently framing his face. "Joshua," she said softly. "You can't blame yourself. Well," she amended, scrupulously honest, "you can. But you shouldn't, is my point." The shrieking winds outside went unnoticed - she was too busy trying to find the right words. Finally she had them.
"Would you blame Jinx or Nezik if they had needed to rest?" she demanded. "Do you blame them for not going on without you? If they had been the ones who needed to rest, would you be reacting like this? It's not your fault that you're human. It's not your fault you need to rest more often than merfolk do. It's not your fault that my brother - that the brother I loved best of all my merfolk siblings - was infected by a monster, just like it's not his fault. It's not your fault, and I won't have you saying it is."
Her impassioned words softening, she added gently, "And in the end, it turned out all right. I'm fine. And Kistad..." She trailed off, closed her eyes briefly. "Maybe it was for the best." The admission hurt her heart, but she elaborated. "They couldn't have saved him. And it saved my mother the grief of having to allow the clan to cleanse him."
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:43 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua waited for her to start yelling, interpreting her silence as anger. He was surprised to hear her soft voice. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling her hands gently framing his face. "No....I wouldn't blame them." He said softly, then sighed.
"No. I would just consider it inevitable." He could see her point. Now that he'd finished with his little rant, he calmed down slightly, his hands uncurling. "I'm sorry." He whispered, one last time. "I'll be okay. We all will." No one would ever be the same again, but they would move on. He sighed, leaning his forehead against Tianara's shoulder. Yes, he would be alright, but didn't think he would ever forget how close he'd been.
"You should let your mother know you're awake." He told her, not raising his head. He didn't quite want to let go of her just yet. "Katalina wouldn't mind hearing from you either." The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:51 pm
((Short post X3))
The nurse smiled and looked over at Allen, "What about you, do you need anything?" she asked.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:39 pm
Tianara smiled, running her hand over his back once - a kind of absently soothing gesture. "Yes," she answered as she looked off into the distance. "We'll be okay." If there was a subtle nuance there, she soon forgot about it, too busy reaching out to her mother - Sorry knew she was awake, and probably wasn't as worried.
She was met with a flurry of emotions that made her heart ache. "Mother," she murmured softly, and fell into the easy connection in order to calm the mermaid. Jinx and Nezik had indeed brought the news, it seemed, and Tianara's mother had been going almost insane with fear for her daughter.
While she spoke with her mother, she looked at Joshua. "Where was I, Joshua? Where did you and the others find me?" she asked, half listening to him and half paying attention to her mother. "Mother says the matriarch wants to know. They need to cleanse the area of confinement as well, just to be safe."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:13 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua smiled slightly at the soothing gesture. He waited patient as Tianara spoke with her mother. He simply held the girl, letting her presence soothe him. He sat calmly, wondering what they were talking about. He kept out of it though. It was a private conversation and he knew it.
At her question though, he raised his head to look at her. "In a sunken ship." He told her, confusion starting to show in his eyes. "I don't know why, but it seemed to really upset Jinx that he'd taken you there. It looked like just an ordinary ship to me." He wondered why that specific location had upset the Siren so much. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:47 pm
Tianara looked bemused as well for a moment. Then, slowly, her face went cool, went dark. And she started to tremble a little bit in his arms. "I..." She closed her eyes. "Just a moment. I just need to...to tell my mother. I know which ship you mean."
Reaching out to her mother again, she stated simply, "It's my ship." She felt her mother's quick, violent distress, and spent a few minutes calming her again. Gently, she reassured the mermaid that no, it was all right, and no, there was no reason to worry, but yes, she promised, she would keep away while the cleansing was being performed.
That minor task accomplished, she looked up at Joshua and shook her head. "Jinx was angry because Kistad used it to hurt me. It's my ship," she said quietly, repeating what she had said to her mother. "The ship...you remember how I told you I was lost overboard. Well, the same ship came back a week or two later - I suppose on its return journey to wherever it came from. It...sank," she continued, the slightest quiver in her voice. "With everyone aboard. Including..."
Including her family. Including her human parents. So even if she wanted to, she could never know if they'd really thrown her overboard (as Kiro had once told Joshua she suspected). She could never know if she'd been loved or not. And for a girl like Tianara, who so badly wanted to know all she could, that would be very painful.
Emotionlessly, she continued, "I spent a lot of time there as a girl. My mother eventually insisted that I stop going - I came back too sad. I'd almost stopped thinking about it." She shrugged. "For someone who wanted to break me down, it would be a good choice, I suppose."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:00 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua waited in confusion while Tianara spoke to her mother. What in the world was he missing here? He felt like he was the only who didn't understand. So he held trembling girl, waiting for it to be explained.
When she finally did explain, he felt anger burn through him. A word he wouldn't normally say in front of a lady slipped from between clenched teeth. "How could he?" He hissed, amber eyes flashing.
He was shocked at the force of the anger that he felt. It made him want to hunt down Kistad, but he knew the merman was already gone. "That was just wrong." He said, his voice low and tightly controlled, trying to keep a cap on his temper. "That shouldn't have happened." He was usually so placid, but when it came to those close to him, he'd found he actually had quite a bit of a temper. Someone could insult him all day and he'd brush it off. Insult his friends though, and he would make them wish they hadn't. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:59 pm
Tianara felt the anger in Joshua. Oddly, she only felt distantly sorry she'd upset him. Without the actual memories to hurt her, she didn't feel too much about it - sad, certainly. Grieving. She wished it hadn't happened. But she wasn't furious or devastated. Not like she should be.
She wrapped her arms around him in return for a moment, and said softly, "It wasn't him, Joshua. It wasn't really him. You know that. I know that." It still ached a little, but it was a clean sort of pain - knowing that the monster that had taken her brother was gone, the pain no longer festered quite so much.
It was strange; seeing Joshua this angry, Tianara actually felt safer around him than she would have if he had kept his composure. She didn't really know why. If she had had more experience of the world, she might have known - someone who claimed to be a friend and yet did not react to such information could be no friend at all. Instead, she flew on instinct, and instinct told her that someone who responded like this was someone to be trusted.
She let go with one arm so that she had a hand free to touch the side of his face, very lightly. "It's okay, Joshua," she said quietly. "I don't remember what happened there, so it doesn't hurt. It's all right."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:06 pm
((Lucky, are you going to respond to my post? roflmao))
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