Not The News I'd Hoped to Share [End]

[carcinoGeneticist]

Damn, but his body was tender. Apocalypse winced when she stroked his cheek, finding his face to be wickedly sore under her fingers. Then he sighed again, closing his eyes after a moment. So much had happened in the last few days, in the last few weeks, more than he could fully comprehend. The man had no idea when he would finally get a chance to sit back and take a deep breath, deal with his own sorrows rather than those of the people who he considered his family.

Which was not to say that he was bothered by it. Nothing was more important than family, and he had become rather fond of the Queen in the last several months. "You'll adore them, I'm sure." He commented softly. She would, given time. With any luck, they all would. So much potential in the children, and Apocalypse found himself troubled by the lack of attention Heilyn had been giving them before he'd left. He knew that Seth..

Zuberi's words meshed well with his thoughts and he raised his head to look up at her once more. "Exactly. He knew what the risk of carrying the children was, and he went with it anyway. He wanted them."

The sound of footsteps made his hair stand on end for a moment, and he glanced down and found himself face-to-face with a small chicken. For a moment, the man assumed it was a creature being kept as food, but then his eye caught sight of the dark marking against the feathers. An Ace? He had never thought that Zuberi would be the sort to keep one as a pet, but he managed a smile. "Then you haven't been alone out here. That makes me feel a little better." He turned his attention back to the woman. "...You know, I'll feel a lot better having you at the Palace with me."

[Nako]

Was he trying to convince her further, or was he perhaps just being that sincere? Goodness knew he had Xiven and the Courts to worry about; he probably didn't want to shoulder the burden to dealing with the children. And if there were any clubs, well... then Rhiannon would be of little help to any that were. She'd imagine that the process of working around her... ordeal would make it more difficult than having someone else do the job.

"Y-yes... It's been good to have him around." Carefully, she pulled away from Apocalypse to grab hold of the table, carefully helping herself up to her feet. She wouldn't think of help getting up from the king in his condition; it wasn't as if she'd never had to haul her fat ass off the ground a few times already.

The man was struggling to get up himself, causing Zuberi's expression to purse with worry. She extended her hand to help him up. "Come on now. I think if you're to be sitting, you need to be in a proper chair.. or the hammock perhaps. You can relax while I pack."

[carcinoGeneticist]

If Zuberi wasn't going to ask for further clarification, then Apocalypse wasn't going to give it. It wasn't a feeling he was entirely familiar with, but with the rather unpleasant sheen pregnancy had taken in his mind over the last few weeks, he would feel better knowing that Zuberi had access to good medical care and was surrounded by friends and family. Not to say that she didn't have friends and family here, just that... That was where his thoughts got a little sticky and complicated.

He turned to watch her as she stood, then started the slow process of forcing his body up. For the love of the suits, he was 22, and he felt like an 80-year-old. None of his limbs wanted to work quite the way he knew they should, and that was just damn frustrating. The man flashed his teeth in a combination of pain and frustration, but then a hand was offered. He paused for just a moment before taking it. He'd never dreamed that a pregnant woman would be more nimble than he himself was.

"That sounds lovely, actually," he admitted as soon as he was back to his feet, looking a little sheepish. "Bring everything you think you'll need. There's a coach waiting for us, so space isn't as much of an issue as it might have been otherwise."

[Nako]

Zuberi led the man carefully to his preferred resting area, making sure he was settled and offering him something to drink while he waited. Packing didn't take terribly long; it was mostly such things like her little kit which she used for her voodoo, a few personal trinkets and things which she used to groom herself. A small pouch of money was also put to her side, along with a stoppered flask filled with Midori sand. The last thing to scoop up was her ace, which she would insist needed to come along, with how often aces got stolen.

There was an obligation to stop by her mother's house, to let her know what was going on. The woman.. nearly didn't let the woman leave, until Zuberi gave the woman such a stern stare that the woman obviously recoiled. Still, the elderly squirrel insisted that they brought along a basket of biscuits, which Zuberi agreed to do only because she knew the woman would -not- stop pestering them until she took them. Indeed, Zuberi mentioned on the way to the coach that her mother was the sort that would follow them halfway to the capital if she hadn't done what her mother wished. It was a bit of an exaggeration, sure... but it gave one some idea of the old lady's tenacity.

And so they were in the coach, and Zuberi was glad to be off her feet again. She could only imagine that Apocalypse was; the entire walk, he had seemed quite pained. Even Charlie, who normally was very excited about carriage rides, was strangely quiet during the trip, nestled between Zuberi's feet. It was in the silence that Zuberi found herself sniffling every so often, having to bring a hand to her face to wipe a stray tear. The silence was deafening. She -had- to say something or else she'd just start crying all over again.

"How is Xiven?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

No one would have believed it if he'd told them, he was sure, but this was actually Apocalypse's first time resting in a hammock and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. It was rather comfortable, of course, but it moved in ways the man wasn't quite adjusted to and so he decided to lay as still as he possibly could. That was annoying, because what he wanted to do was watch Zuberi, keep an eye on her and make sure that she looked... okay. He didn't expect anything else out of her; he understood that she'd lost something precious, something loved. How could anyone be okay in the light of that?

He followed her on all the missions she'd needed to accomplish, simply standing quietly at her side as she spoke with her mother. He didn't know what to say, so he took the basket from her and gave sincere assurances that her daughter would be well-cared for. In some ways, he did feel guilty for taking her away from her home, her life, but she was the only person Apocalypse could think of. Heilyn needed the help. They all did.

Even when he was settled on the coach, Apocalypse remained uncharacteristically quiet. He asked a few things of her - if she was comfortable, if there was anything she needed, but for the most part the man wanted to give her space. He tried to make his presence as small as possible, to give her room to mourn as freely as her heart required. His own mind was abuzz with a thousand thoughts and questions, things he needed to take care of as soon as he was back. Zuberi's words came to him through a mental haze, and then he almost winced. "She miscarried." He answered softly, not wanting to tell the woman because of the pain that was already thick around them.

But it had been asked, and the man wasn't about to withhold information.

[Nako]

Zuberi practically gave a physical recoil at what Apocalypse had said, her face wincing into a pained, apologetic look before her gaze dropped down to her hands. It seemed trouble always came in threes. Superstition perhaps, but then again one in the voodoo business was sort of prone to that sort of thinking. What made it so -bad- was just how excited that the man had seemed now that the woman was potentially carrying his children. No, actually he'd been sure of it.

A few more awkward moments of silence, and she was nearly afraid to open her mouth again. Goodness knows what other horrid stuff she'd find out. So much death had been going on, and in such a short amount of time. Her lip trembled once more, but forced the tears back. At her feet, charlie made a soft noise. To make things worse, the child within her decided to aim right for her ribs and start kicking fiercely. She kept this to herself, of course.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Something about the situation was funny to Apocalypse. It seemed like things couldn't get any worse than they had, and he half-expected a group of bandits to descend on the coach, one of the Aces to fall over dead, or a bolt of lightning to strike them dead on the spot. He wished almost desperately to have some good news to give the woman, but he just couldn't think of anything.

So he sighed softly, gently rubbing his fingers together as he returned to staring out the window. When he turned back to glance at her, he caught the tremble of her lip, and a softness washed over him. Carefully, the man slipped out of his seat and moved to sit beside her, resting his hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry, Zuberi." He began, then took another deep breath. "Would you like me to ride up front with the driver? If I'm... I don't want to interrupt whatever grieving you need to do." Gently, he reached out, slipping his hand over top of hers and giving it a light squeeze.

[Nako]

It wasn't necessarily panic that Zuberi felt, but it was a similar emotion that made her heart skip a beat before putting her own hand atop his, as if to keep him from moving away. As much as she wanted to keep to herself... but it was different from being alone.

"Ye know... when a person has someone in dey family die.. sometimes friends will come over to the house.. just to sit with them. They don't always talk.. but it's about keeping each other company even in silence." Her hand let up its hold on his own, giving it a soft, motherly pat. "So in short... no, I don't want you to leave. I don't want ye feeling uncomfortable either. I want ye to know that it's nice to have you sitting here with me... Even if ye hadn't got anything to say."

Though there was certainly sadness behind her odd eyes, there was also an encouraging smile that tugged at her lips as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"But." Zuberi looked up rather suddenly. "I think you should tell me what happened to you. I don't want any surprises waitin' for me when I walk into the door." Surprises like Heilyn being as effed up looking as he was.

[carcinoGeneticist]

That look - the slightly widened eyes, the quick glance at him - told Apocalypse everything he needed to know about what Zuberi wanted him to do even before she'd started to speak. When the words did start to flow he let his body relax, settling more naturally against Zuberi's. It was strange to encounter a woman he'd bedded again under such serious circumstances. There was a strange sort of intimacy that had settled around them, something the man wouldn't have expected - but now that it was there, he found that it was almost comfortable.

He gave a small nod, turning his hand beneath hers to lace his fingers between her own, managing to give her a soft half-smile. "As long as I'm not making you feel uncomfortable or anything, I'd be happy to stay." As she rested her head against his shoulder he turned just enough to kiss the top of her head before settling back again, his eyes slowly closing. Her sudden movement made him jump, turning to blink at her.

Right. He probably should tell her what had happened before they arrived. He subconsciously began to chew on his lower lip, a nervous tic of sorts.

"A few days after Seth... Heilyn and Bernard were going to the kitchens together to get food for the babies. Bernard tripped down the stairs. I assume that he died instantly, but there was no way for me to check - by the time I'd arrived Heilyn was hysterical and while I tried to soothe her, a man burst through the window. I guess... He was a stalker of sorts." The man closed his eyes, the memory of everything that had happened still damnably vivid in his mind. Uncomfortably so, if he was going to really think on it, which he wasn't. "The bastard tore Bernard's head off in front of a woman grieving for him. There was a fight. We killed him, but he was..."

Apocalypse shrugged uncomfortably. Normally, he had no issues speaking about his conquests in bed or battle, but it didn't feel like the time or place. "Heilyn and Xiven are both in as bad of shape as I am. It's been a terrible few weeks at the Court. I think the fact that you've agreed to lend us a hand is the best thing to have happened in a long time."

[Nako]

The woman immediately made a sound in her throat, putting a finger to the lip he was assaulting. She didn't want him tearing into that lip beecause of the question she'd asked. Honestly, it looked like his body couldn't really take any more damage. But the story... sometimes, there were stories that transcended the 'oh, that's terrible!' stage and stomps straight into the land of 'what the fuck'. Her face screwed up into horror, then dismay... then 'wtf'... back to horror before finally resting to one that clearly looked fatigued from merely trying to 'process' that clusterfuck of a situation. Stalkers and tearing heads off... Now, her own family collected skulls of the dead, but if this man was some form of stalker then he obviously had no claim to it. The thought that Bernard might have still been alive was disconcerting to say the absolute least.

Zuberi wondered somewhat if the fight had something to do with Xiven's miscarriage, but she would refrain from asking that question. Sometimes, some questions didn't need answers.

With fingers entwined with his, her webbing stretching to compensate the act, she ran her thumb over his sore looking fingers. They looked normal for the most part, but the flesh looked a bit tender. "Well, I must say I'm glad I can be that ray of Midori sunshine to come in." Zuberi said, if not a bit lamely. It was a pretty halfhearted joke, after all. But goodness.. even Heilyn had become injured? It sounded like Zuberi would start her work as a babysitter... very soon.