Reality Knocks [Finished!]

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven noticed that Rhi was leaning on her. She didn't say anything, but stayed there for support. As much as she wanted to crouch down besides Pale that wasn't what the man needed.

The doctor hermed to himself as he briefly looked up to notice the Queen hovering along with the weapon. He looked back down and continued the mend the man, using magic to make some of the worse wounds a bit more bearable and stitches to close up the worst ones. The worst was over.... though the man probably needed a blood transfusion at some point. The doctor's eyebrows perked up when he noticed that the man was awake. Either he had quite a bit of stamina or the wounds were at least tolerable.

Xiven instantly perked when she noticed he was conscious. The smile was enough reassure for her that he was doing all right. She didn't notice that her hand had wandered down to Rhi's shoulder, giving it a rather tight squeeze.

"He's going to be all right. The worst is over. I might as well patch the rest of him right here--there's no sense in moving him and possibly causing him more pain."

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon's eyes were locked on Apocalypse as they had a mental conversation. The man bit his lip after a moment, then his eyes closed as he slipped unconscious again. "It's the pain...[/b]" Rhiannon murmured, looking down and putting her hands against her face. Then she shook herself, feeling Xiven's hand gripping her shoulder, and turned to look at the woman. "He's never felt pain like this. Says that he wishes he could just revert to weapon form and be better.[/b]"

She laughed rather feebly. It came back to that, did it? If she hadn't done something so selfish, she would still have Xiven, and Pale wouldn't be unconscious on the floor, covered in his own blood.

When the doctor spoke to them, she gave a curt nod. "Understood. We'll need to arrange transport to get him back to the court. They can treat him more thoroughly there.[/b]" But what then? He'd almost certainly be off his feet for a while... Rhiannon just hoped that nothing was permanantly damaged. She wasn't sure what she'd do if that was the case. For now she'd have to wait and see, hope for the best.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven's expression remained blank when Rhi explained what was wrong. It was a miserable situation. He wanted to be what he used to be... which made sense really. And she couldn't imagine the amount of pain he was feeling.

It was brief but Xiven reached down and briefly wrapped her arms around Rhi. It was a rather pathetic hug on the spectrum, but it was a spur of the moment sort of thing. She let go to speak with the doctor.

"As far as you can tell, do you think it's bad enough to have lasting effects?" Her face was rather concerned as she looked at the man, but her voice was even.

"Not really. As long as he behaves and stays on bed rest for a while he should make a good recovery." The man didn't bother to look up as he spoke. Finishing his job and leaving was his main priority.

Xiven glanced over at Rhi, her suggestion of arranging transportation was a good idea. Though she couldn't help but wonder who would be faster. Part of Xiven wanted to stay firmly planted here to keep an eye on the doctor and the spectators, but....

"I'll go make arrangements, Rhi..." Did she really need to finish that? She gave the woman a glance before turning away. Getting a carriage wouldn't be that difficult.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon continued to rub her face between her palms, ears flattening back. Xiven had nothing to say to her, which wasn't much of a surprised. After all, this was the first time she'd even seen the woman through her own eyes since she and Apocalypse had returned. She'd been too mortified, too embarassed, too scared... None of it seemed to matter anymore, since here she was, right next to Xiven and still not speaking. The words just wouldn't come out.

Then she felt arms wrapping around her, and her eyes went wide with surprise. A half-formed question on her lips, she started to turn to look at Xiven and then stopped, just leaning into the hug, greatful for the support. Her eyes closed for a moment and she took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself. Then the doctor was speaking again, interrupting the moment. For an instant, Rhiannon wanted to snarl at the man, but she didn't, simply turned her attention to him.

Then she laughed. "Hills, that's awful. Clearly you don't know this man." Pale? Behave and lay in bed all the time? She knew the man like the back of her hand, and she'd never known him to simply rest, inactive, in bed. She glanced at Xiven. They'd have quite a job on their hands. When the other woman spoke about arrangements, Rhiannon simply nodded.

~~~

When she arrived at the court, she moved quickly to the room that she knew they would have brought the battered Apocalypse to. She'd send for Temmin to do an overview and make sure any broken bones were properly set, but for now, the man was sleeping peacefully in a drug-induced haze. That was good. She knew he wouldn't want to be awake, not yet. She switched to her Animal form and jumped up onto the bed, careful not to move him too much.

Then, knowing he wouldn't let her do this if he'd been awake, she curled up beside him, her nose resting between his arm and body.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven had been sitting in her room for a half hour after all the arrangements had been made. She had been staring at the wall unsure of what to do, and unsure of what to say.

Of course sitting here didn't help much did it? She growled at herself as she rose. There was no point sitting here in self doubt. She had to finally do something about the situation. Avoiding it was making things worse, and she couldn't exactly hide it from her children. It was painfully obvious when she was frustrated or upset.

And this would be the perfect time to have a "talk" with Rhi wouldn't it? She took several deep breaths as she walked down the hallways. All she had to do was keep her calm and ask a simple question. She knocked lightly and slipped open the door. Pale wouldn't be awake for a while.... but hopefully Rhi would be there.

And she was, right next to him. "Uh... Rhi... can we have a talk?" she asked, in a soft hesitant tone that was strange for the feline to lose. She mentally smacked herself for using it as she opened the door a bit more. Her expression was one of embarrassment with a hint of hope.

[carcinoGeneticist]

As nice as it felt to be curled up at Apocalypse's side like this, Rhiannon knew that she couldn't get too comfortable. One wing extended over his body, as if it could protect him from the outside world. A doctor would come in and need her to move to work on his battered form, he'd wake up and ask her to move, any number of things would happen.

She just.. didn't want to. She wanted to stay at his side, wanted to be there for him when he opened his eyes again. She didn't want to take him for granted any longer. It was too late for her to fix some things, but... she adored her weapon, even if that wasn't what he was any longer, and while he had every right to be angry with her, she wanted his kindness again. She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder and licking his hair, wincing at the taste of blood. He'd managed to hit his head pretty hard on the way down... That and his stomach wound worried her the most.

The door opened, and Rhiannon's head raised, blinking. "Xiven,[/b]" she said, folding her wings and standing awkwardly. Of course, the Queen would want to check in on her King. "Don't worry, I'll get out of the wa -- Uh?[/b]" She paused where she stood, unsure, looking at the woman. Her tone of voice was... well, it wasn't one she'd heard for years now, and her ears flipped back.

"S-sure. What's up?[/b]" she finally finished, jumping down off the bed and switching into human form as soon as she was down, looking up at Xiven through yellow eyes.

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven's stomach was filled with butterflies as she looked at the woman. She wasn't her King anymore, but a summonable weapon. She didn't have to deal with the responsibilities anymore.

"Well I wanted to tell you...." That wasn't the right way to start. She shifted uncomfortably as she shut the door behind her. Was this even the right place to talk to her, all things considered?

Just saying it should be easy, and let it remained a lump in her throat. Maybe she should take a different approach?

"I missed you. I really missed you." The Queen could feel the blush spreading across her face as she looked into Rhi's eyes. "And... and I really still do love you. I don't know why... really. You made your choice and yet I can't... I'm sorry."

Well that was one horrible non eloquent way of putting just about everything she was thinking in words. Where had all those charismatic political skills gone?

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon stood slowly, realizing this was the first time the'd spoken like this - face to face, both in human forms - for... years. Xiven would have seen hers in passing, as she followed Apocalypse through the halls, but this was the first time she could look into the feline's dark eyes.

The woman was terrified. She stood as straight as she could, expression placid, as she waited for what she was certain was going to come next. It seemed almost inevitable. Before, Xiven likely could have ignored her presence, but now that they'd been around each other, the blow would fall. She understood. The Queen wouldn't want to see her again, and in all honesty, Rhiannon wasn't sure if that was a terrible thing. Day by day, she was learning that the things she did carried consequences, sometimes serious, and she needed to man up and --

What?

Round yellow eyes blinked slowly as Xiven spoke, and fine tremors went through Rhiannon's body as she stared at the woman. What was she saying? How... How could what she was saying be true. Rhiannon opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and licked her lips, then opened it again. She was, for a moment, utterly at a loss for words. So she stepped forward, slowly wrapping one arm around the other woman, and leaned close. Her lips touched Xiven's softly, questioningly, then she pulled away again.

"I chose wrong, Xiven,[/b]" she wispered, staring at the ground. Where her hand rested on the Queen's back it shook, and she could see her own unmarked breast out of the corner of her eye. "I chose wrong, and I'm sorry.[/b]"

Please. Let that be enough. Rhiannon didn't know how much more she could deal with.

[Kari Muffin]

Her entire body was tense as she waited for a response. Her eyes widened when Rhi came closer. She kissed. She pulled away. A small part of Xiven gave a disappointed cry for only the brief touch. The majority of her remained thoroughly awkward.

The words surprised her even more. Rhi regretted it? She honestly and truly regretted it? Xiven stared at her for a few silent minutes. Words weren't forming as much as she wanted them to. Her vision blurred a bit as the tears welled up.

"Okay," she said as she reached up to brush her own tears away. She then reached up to grab hold of Rhi's arm. "All's forgiven assuming you can forgive me for being such a stupid bitch. You've been my best friend since I was six... so... I just hope we don't have to avoid each other anymore."

She gave the woman a hopeful look.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Tears? There were tears in Xiven's eyes. Rhiannon reached up and touched the woman's cheek softly, running her fingers across her skin, her touch lingering against Xiven's lips for a moment. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she bit her lip. "Xiven...[/b]" she said softly, then leaned in and kissed her again. This time, however, she didn't move away nearly as quickly. She swallowed hard.

"Don't cry. You.. you haven't done anything that needs my forgiveness.[/b]" Rhiannon was the one who'd left, the one who'd messed up. The one who'd been abandoned by the person she'd chosen. Bile rose in the back of her throat. Was this the right choice? She'd messed up, so terribly. "I'd love to be in your life again, Xiven, as much as I can. But... Some things have changed. I really.. I took you for granted. I took Pale for granted.[/b]" she glanced at the sleeping man, biting her lower lip.

He'd certainly told her what she'd done in no uncertain terms.

Then, she looked back at Xiven. "I love you, but I don't deserve to be your lover anymore.[/b]" she took the other woman's hand, resting it on her chest where the marking once was, where her heart used to beat. Xiven would feel nothing at all, only emptiness. Rhiannon gave a feeble smile. "I gave up a lot, and... rightfully, it's not mine anymore.[/b]"

Apocalypse had it now, and he was doing a better job with it than Rhiannon ever had.