[FIN] No Fear of Drowning [Private]

[Lucca]

Felix, in contrast to his guest, felt more energetic than he could remember being in a while, despite the cold and the rain and the--what could really only generously be called a 'swim'--in the lake. He was just so happy that Eldryia had finally come around, and that he'd been able to save her. Felix the life guard! Ha! It was never something he would have ever imagined for himself!

He was quiet during the walk, mainly because he could tell the Feline wasn't going to be very talkative even if he attempted conversation, but she kept up a steady pace behind him and that was all that mattered. As he saw the house, Felix had to resist the sudden urge to speed up to reach it faster. He could almost taste his Mom's home-made dinner rolls, and it made his stomach growl plaintively.

But for the sake of Eldryia, he just grinned back over his shoulder. "We're nearly there!" He pushed open the door, and held it open while he cupped a paw around his mouth and called into the kitchen, "Hey Mom! I'm home and I brought a friend for dinner! She was out on the lake in the storm!"

[Lucca]

Eldy winced at the loudness of the Porcupine's loud tone, as it made her ears ring (even the one that had been bitten down to a stub) and flattened her remaining good ear. She hoped, in that moment, there wasn't still water in her ears, and shook her head a bit to dislodge it if there was. But she managed to somehow drag herself over the threshold and into the warm house, and she sighed, fluffing her fur out a bit in an attempt to dry it.

There was a frantic scrabbling of footsteps, and then Eldy was blinking curious purple eyes as a second spiky creature, without the curved horns that Felix had, appeared out of the doorway through which the heavenly smells were coming. This new Selkie looked older, smarter, and somehow wore an apron despite the mass of death-spikes on her back. Felix's Mom gave a slight gasp upon seeing the Feline, and the next thing Eldy knew she was being hustled into another room, a wonderfully warm and comfortable room with a fire and everything, and what must have been several large, fluffy towels were thrown over her shivering form. Food also appeared almost magically in front of her, and Eldy's stomach gave a plaintive growl.

"Thank you," she managed, too tired to care about what she normally would have considered an unhelpful amount of man-handling, and began to eat. The food tasted even better than it had smelled.

[Lucca]

Felix watched with a smile as his Mom tended to Eldryia. He knew it was the right thing to do, bringing her here like this. He knew she'd get the best care, here, as well as a wonderful home-cooked meal. Gloria threw him a towel as well, and Felix rubbed himself down and followed his mother and their guest into the sitting room. He was about to sit on the couch, but at his Mother's stern look, he instead sat on the floor, a bit away from the Torquehelm.

"Her name's Eldryia," he supplied, knowing how tired the Feline was at the moment. But anything else he'd been about to add about their adventures was lost just then as dinner was set before him, and Felix attacked it as if he'd never seen food in his life before.

Gloria smiled fondly and shook her head. "Welcome, Eldryia...I'm not sure what you were doing out on the lake in such a storm, but I'm glad that my son found you. Why, you could catch your death of cold out there, just from the rain!" she chided, bringing out another few plates for herself and her husband. "Company for the night, dear," she added for the benefit of the Sheep who had followed her in, wondering what was going on.

Norman blinked, shut his mouth (as he'd been about to ask the very question his wife had just answered) and laughed a bit, sitting beside the female Porcupine on the couch. "Well, Felix, brought home another one, have you?" he teased, ignoring Gloria's warning look. But he got the hint as a plate of food was all but thrown onto his lap, and began to eat as well.

[Lucca]

Despite the fact that the food was reviving her somewhat (along with the warmth and the growing realization that hey, I'm not dead!) Eldy didn't particularly feel like explaining the whole, very long story right now, so she just continued to eat her soup, quietly, closing her eyes and letting her memories take her to another time when she had been pulled in out of inclement weather into someone's home and had been served warm soup in front of a fire.

A sudden burst of homesickness took her. So many foreign fires and meals and paws...the rumble of unfamiliar voices...sometimes it was all just too much. She longed to hear her mother's voice again, even if her tone was scolding. She longed to hear Xiven, putting aside her diplomacy for a moment to be herself in the presence of family (however much that wasn't always a pleasant experience). She longed to hear Fluffy's mews, the laughter of the palace children playing, the gossip of the servants, the triumphant shout of the King as he stumbled on a new discovery...all of it was just a distant memory now, after what she'd been through.

It had changed her, she knew, all that she'd been through. She'd meant it to, of course, but she couldn't keep her heart from clenching a bit at the thought that she might find the Court different. That this new Eldryia might not be able to fit into her old niche. Wearily, she opened her eyes and stared into the fire...and with a jolt, remembered where she was. Oh, certainly it was rude, to lose herself in her thoughts so much while in the company of those kind enough to take her in? The room was silent, now, and her ear twitched, hoping they weren't waiting for her to speak.

[Lucca]

At his dad's insinuation, Felix nearly choked on his soup, a slight blush coloring his cheeks beneath his white fur as he quickly turned toward the Feline to see if she'd heard the remark. Luckily, she didn't seem to, or else she was tired enough to just not care. Personally, Felix was betting on the former. He turned to give the Sheep a half-hearted glare. "Dad, it's not like that," he hissed, trying to ignore how much part of him wished it were.

Norman shrugged in slight apology, focusing on his meal instead, and Gloria shook her head and gave her son a smile. "He knows that, Felix...he was just being... ridiculous," she said, though her eyes drifted curiously to their guest, wondering once again just why she had been out in such a storm.

The rest of the meal passed in rather companionable silence, with only the crackling of the fire and the distant drum of rain on the roof as steady background noise. The silence was finally broken by Norman, who stood, stretched, and yawned. "Welp, I'm off to bed. Take care, son," he said, clapping the younger man on the shoulder with a hoof (and somehow managing to avoid the quills in the process). Felix turned with a smile and a hurried goodnight. "Welcome to our home, Eldryia. Please, don't be shy. You're our guest and we're happy to have you." Having said his piece, the ram moved toward the stairs.

"I'll join you in a moment, dear!" Gloria called after him, and began to gather up the dishes. She knelt in front of Eldryia for a moment to give her a smile. "Norman is right, Eldryia. Please, make yourself at home, and don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." After taking all their dishes and setting them in the sink to be cleaned in the morning, she followed her husband upstairs, leaving Felix and Eldy alone in the sitting room.

"Night, Mom!" Felix called after her, and then, reluctantly pushing himself to his feet, he turned to Eldy. "Well, uh, you ready to go to bed?"

[Lucca]

Eldy was very relieved to hear Felix's father say he was going to bed. Because it (hopefully) meant that they hadn't been waiting on her to add something to a conversation that apparently hadn't even been going on. She turned to give the Sheep a smile and a nod. "Thanks! I really do appreciate you taking me in like this. It'll only be for one night," she said, to both of Felix's parents. "G'night!" Waving with a paw as the two vanished up the stairs and the distant shutting of a door drifted back down, Eldy stood and stretched once they were gone.

She turned to regard Felix for a moment. He wasn't so bad, she thought (again, but she was actually more awake now, so it counted for more). Not the smartest guy in the world, certainly...but he had a good heart. Slowly, she nodded, though she wasn't really all that tired. "Yeah, sure." Maybe she could explore their house a bit once they were all asleep if she couldn't get there. Was that bad of her, to think that? She'd explored the Hatter's house, but then, he hadn't seemed to mind it much. And his house had been a lot bigger. It was probably better not to wander, as much as part of her wanted to do so and bring a better end to this rather bad day.

Funny how nearly drowning can put a damper on things.

[Lucca]

Golden eyes never left Eldryia as she stretched. It was always...fascinating to him, to watch Felines do that. They were so graceful and...he mentally shook himself. He couldn't go thinking things like that! The Torque had given Felix plenty of indication that was Not Interested in him, and he wasn't naive enough to think that just because she accepted his offer of a warm place to stay on a stormy night that anything else was going to change between them.

He distantly heard her affirmative, and began to waddle towards the stairs, though he called back, "You sure? You don't hafta go to bed yet if you're not ready. We have books and stuff." And reading any one of them would probably put -him- right to sleep, but he knew a lot of Cards enjoyed the activity as a way to pass time, if nothing else.

Eldy only gave another half affirmative, so the Porcupine dropped it and resumed leading her to the guest bedroom. It was a nicely furnished, if slightly dusty, room, with a comfortable enough bed (he'd wake up in it sometimes when he came home too drunk to remember which room was his own). He flicked on the oil lamp on the small night stand and gestured with a paw. "Here ya go," he said with a smile. "I hope everything is to your liking?"

[Lucca]

Even after so many years of being used to her binding, stairs were still a challenge. Maybe she needed to learn that ability from her Mom too...the ability to climb walls, like a little lizard or a spider. Sticky paws! Hehe. Then she'd be even more ninja-like...but best of all, she wouldn't have to deal with stairs! In order to preserve her dignity, Eldy kept all her mental ramblings to herself, and soldiered bravely up the stairs. At least they weren't slippery with snow, like the cliffs had been in Villa en Miir. She shivered a bit just remembering how cold it had been there.

"Looks fine, Felix," she said, walking to the bed (her legs still screaming a bit from the freaking stairs) and jumping up onto it. It bounced back a bit, much to her secret amusement. She turned, half grinning at Felix. "You know...my friends just call me Eldy." Though she still didn't feel tired, the Feline wiggled a bit, burrowing backwards under the covers. Her paws began to rhythmically knead the fabric out of habit (and because it was pretty soft). A rest sounded good, even if sleep wouldn't be forthcoming...she turned to say goodnight to Felix...and felt an odd, choking sensation.

[Lucca]

Felix hadn't thought there was anything wrong with the room, of course, but it still made something in him lighter that his guest agreed. He flashed her a smile and a thumbs up, still standing in the doorway. He wondered if, in the morning, she'd be back to being grumpy and hissing at him. He hoped not...this nicer, humbler Eldryia was a lot more amenable to making friends, something the Porcupine liked a whole lot more than making enemies.

Maybe there was such a thing as karma, or fate, and that was why the Feline had been through what she had that day, and he had been there to save her. Felix didn't know. The kind of stuff was for Cards wiser than he to think about. Besides, this Eldryia...had just given him a different nickname for her? He laughed, a bit, wondering why she'd let him call her 'Dryia if she preferred a different call sign? "Sure, dude," he said, waving. "G'night, Eldy." He turned to go, shuffling out of the room, but a small, scared-sounding voice made him freeze.

[Lucca]

As Felix turned to go, Eldy felt as if something was choking her, cutting off her air...the blankets that had felt soft and comforting a moment ago suddenly felt too weighty, too heavy...she couldn't breathe...she could vividly remember the water rushing up, claiming her, pulling her down, down...her lungs burning and the world going black...she scrambled, trying to get back out of the covers and merely succeeding in tangling herself in them worse. "Wait!" she choked out in small, scared voice that she barely recognized as her own.

The Porcupine stopped, turned back around, a worried expression on his face, and Eldy tried to get the words to come, struggled as she took in great gasping breaths of air. To her further dismay, she felt hot, wet tears coming down her face. Why was she suddenly so...weak? She just...didn't want to be alone. Not tonight. "Please," she said, looking pleadingly at her savior. "Please...stay..."