despisesthegods | IC Voicemail

[Styxx glances at Ace for a moment.]

Ace, I need to make sure she's okay.

[In other words, calm down. He looks back at Dove.]

Are you injured?

[He's obviously worried, but his face is hardening some. The army general coming out.]

[The houndoom growls lowly, but breaks it off in a whine as he steps out of the way. He likes Styxx... but his mistress is in obvious distress, too. He'll just be watching nearby, ready to set the man aflame should he make one wrong move-]

I'm fine. [Physically, she thinks. She's still extremely pale and shaky for someone who's only just had a chat with a vampire, but she refuses to fall apart in front of anyone, friend or no.] It's just... not something you see everyday. [She turns to head into her kitchen for a glass of water, and... while faded, the span of her bare back definitely showcases those same golden patterns from the night at the beach. Luckily the ones on her arms have almost faded entirely. ]

[Styxx follows her and this time, he wasn't asking.]

Tell me what happened.

[He needed to know.]

[Her head's spinning. Where would she even start? The only thing clear in her mind is that she left, and while half of her knows it was the best move to make and entirely legal to allow the chaos to continue... her archangel's pride is screaming in disappointed rage. She sets the glass on the counter as she tries to make up her mind what to tell him, but the pressure isn't helping.]

I watched him drain a woman dry, failed to heal a man whose chest he ripped out with his bare hands, then watched him summon a small army of demons, all the while knowing it's entirely legal in Everglade.

[She's holding the glass so tightly that her hands shake, even as she fills it with water.] I loathe that city with everything within me.

[He frowns, but he doesn't look too happy with it either. Part of him wants to go and stop it entirely. Completely turn Everglade around so it couldn't happen anymore, but he was one person and he most certainly wasn't his brother or some dark hunter.

Quietly, he gently takes the glass from Dove's hands and his voice calms slightly.]

Breathe. In and out. Long, deep breaths, okay?

[She stands before him like a terrified child, face turned away even as he sets the glass aside.]

I should have stayed. It's my job to stay. [her voice is hushed, but maybe if she actually says it out loud, there's a chance she can convince herself otherwise. She wants nothing more than to be assured it's not her fault or problem.]

It sounds as if there wasn't much you could have done. Not by yourself anyway. So breathe. Just breathe.

[...The fact he's there is the only thing keeping her from going back. In some odd way, he's keeping her grounded, and while it's really the best for her, it won't stop the nagging in her head.

She closes her eyes, head swimming, and breathes as he tells her. ] All the power of my universe at my fingertips, and I can't do a damn thing against the exact enemy I'm supposed to keep in line.

[She shakes her head and runs a hand down her face as the other side bites back.] But I don't have to here? That's not my role and no one is expecting me to...

No, they're not. You're whatever you want to be here.

[It was honestly one of the things Styxx liked about the place even if he didn't entirely understand it.]

[Then why does it keep haunting me...

She takes a few more moments just to breathe, using the counter to keep her steady.

She shakes her head.]

I shouldn't have gone to Everglade. I'm going to kill Stephen tomorrow if he shows his face at rehearsals-

Why were you in Everglade anyway?

[She shakes her head.]

We were meeting with a client for a potential future shoot and the meeting ran over. He had other obligations he couldn't bear to be late to and left me there.

[She sighs and finally glances back at her table where her keys, bag, and a now-strained binder lay.]

I'm going to have to have a new Book made.

I suggest any more clients that need to be met be met outside of Everglade from now on.

[Either that or she could hire a bodyguard.]

You think?

[She's on edge, but she does give him an apologetic look for that snap before she moves toward the table to sit.]

Have you considered hiring a bodyguard? I know their are some for hire here, though I don't know how skilled they are.

[She sets her head in her hands, embarrassed but considering it.] It's been brought up once or twice at work, [she admits, running her hands down her face and sweeping her hair back.]

I should hire someone to train me. I'm not a fan of pushing my issues into other people, especially when I should be able to handle it myself.

Train you to do what? Fight? Fight how?

I'm alright with the elements, if I can keep my distance, but I wasn't about to show my wings until I had to, and my soldiers don't have the patience to teach me hand to hand, let alone how to use the stupid Sword.

[He frowned.]

No offense, but I don't really know how to teach a women how to fight. My instructor was very rough on me, rougher then he would have been on most, so I can try to teach you but I don't know how well I'll do.

[But at least patience was something he had in abundance.]

[She blinked at him, surprised.]

...was that an offer?

[It was, as awkward of an offer as it was.]

If you'd rather find someone else to teach you, that's fine as well.

[She studies him for a moment, then laughs under her breath, shaky as it is.]

If my men weren't patient enough for it even with their prior obligations to me, I highly doubt I'll find anyone else here that would even be willing to try... [She's embarrassed, but...also maybe a little desperate at this point. At least they're friends, and he does seem to care about her wellbeing. Plus he's already seen her almost at her worst. A pitiful sparring match every now and then can't hurt her pride much further.] If you'd be up to it, I'd... really appreciate it.

[He nodded.]

I can teach you. If your men weren't patient enough to do so themselves then they likely weren't as skilled as they could be on the battlefield either. A battle takes patience and focus, and you never show the enemy your underbelly. That is a mistake that is liable to always get you killed.

[She only nods tiredly, knowing full well it might not just be their patience keeping them from wanting to train her. It's more likely they don't have the time, as they're more often than not leading themselves in her stead.]

[Perhaps, but in that case, it would be her job to learn what she needed in order to be a leader. Good leaders couldn't just sit behind everyone else and not help or work with them. They had to know the tactics, who all their men were, and if they didn't know something, had to be the ones to step up and take the time and learn it so it didn't backfire on those under their command.]

As I said, I can teach you. I just make no guarantees on how good I'll be at it. I've only taught men before and it's a different training style. Especially when you go back to my days.

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