Black Winged Solace [Delilah]

[Delilah A. Black]

SPOILER: Click to show

Music : www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmwuhWdjr2w

...Despite her own words and her desire to hear Kyrie's, Delilah realized there was a part of her that really, REALLY didn't want to hear what the blonde was going to say. A dread that pooled like liquid nitrogen in the pit of her stomach had begun to spread throughout her body, sending sudden, tremulous jolts into her muscles. She found herself salivating more heavily, and tempted to yawn (and though she should be tired, found herself wide awake). Anxiety spasms. It had been years since she had felt any...how much more of Kyrie's emotions could she take?

Her upper lip curled in disgust with herself. This wasn't about her, though it was dredging up memories that were best left forgotten. But Kyrie had lived it, had endured, and was living it again now. For her, so would Delilah.

"I just...finished cleaning up, sitting with my back to a wall in Levi's living room, so I could see into the room David was in while keeping an eye on Levi, as well...he came and sat with me, we discussed things, and he checked on everyone else with his extrasensory ability he gained from the gamble fruit. He said there were two unfamiliar qi...one near his level, the other...at an Elder's level. There was a knock--I stood, he stood...and...He kissed my cheek, said 'You never know' and went down to answer the door. I-In that time--"

The mechanic noticed as the young woman's fingers dug into the fabric of her shirt a little more. She held Kyrie a bit tighter, forcing her own breathing to be as regular and steady as possible. Outwardly, she would appear to be calmly listening, exuding comfort.

"...a m-man teleported in. I threw myself back, but--crashed into him. The p-pai-in...like being flayed open with thousands of shards of glass with your skin being ripped away, then salt being rubbed in...but--worse. Much worse. I could not move, could not speak, blink, breathe, wi-ithout the pain exploding and escalating. It was excruciating...I could not even cry out. He took me outside...to see Todd and Levi, who led us down the street."

Delilah realized she had lost track of one thing; was that Kyrie who was shaking, or was it her?

"Todd told Levi to kneel so he could be killed with a knife through his eye, into his skull, or Mason would kill me with the knife he held to my throat in the same manner... So Levi knelt. I could not stop him, but knew if he did...then I...

"Todd did not kill Levi--challenged him to a fight as Mason...as Mason began groping. He said...he s-s-said...I could not pass out because we had a fun n-ight...because if Todd did not kill Levi, he would, and...a-and I would--"

Delilah swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly cotton dry in horror, the kind that Kyrie had doubtless been experiencing every hour since that day. Her pain and vulnerability were palpable...and infectious, she realized; when she exhaled, a salty tear trickled it's way into the corner of her mouth.

God, she didn't want her to continue...

...but she had to hear all the same.

"Be his ff-fuck toy. He groaned as he squeezed."

And then, just like that, a switch was flipped somewhere in Delilah's head. The fear and terror Kyrie was reliving had ignited the old rage that lurked deep in her soul, the righteous anger that burned not hot as fire would, but cold.

She gripped the girl tighter, nodding her head to show she was still listening as she told her the rest of the horrible ordeal. Delilah burned with quiet fire, her eyes now wide open and set determinedly against the far wall of her shop. Qi roiled over her skin, something she semi-conciously delegated to occur on her lower legs so as not to alarm Kyrie.

She was going to find the man who hurt this girl, and kill him.

David knew about it. She would ask him, when she saw him again. Levi...could not be trusted. With what Kyrie had told her, if he were under Delilah's command, she would have stripped him of rank and citizen ship and sent him on his way.

She knew it wasn't much. It wasn't solace, and it would never bring back what Kyrie lost. Never mind the fact that he was a dangerous criminal, one who had hurt an ally, which was reason enough to go after him; she was sick to death of her friends having the last shred of innocence taken from them by sick minded people who fed that innocence to the evil in their soul.

(It's a good thing I had none left, huh?)...she pushed an errant thought of Cain out of her mind.

She had to...the mechanic did NOT like feeling helpless, and that was how she felt in the face of Kyrie's despair and terror. If she had to dirty her hands for it...well. She'd already been doing that for a good, long time.It was about the ability to forgive. You could forgive yourself and the person who wronged you somehow so much easier when that person was no longer alive.

"H-How can I even trust him ev-v-ver again? I th-thought maybe I l-loved him. But n-now? N-N-Ne-Never. N-Never aga-ain. I can--ca-an barely stand to be near him. He--I am not s-safe with him. H-How can I b-be? C-C-Can't trust him..."

Delilah stiffened in alarm as Kyrie's breathing quickened, her terror rising in the blonde's shaking body. She held fast to the girl, but arms loose, not constricting her. She could squirm as she wished, but she would still find that the arms of the Raven still encircled her.

Shit. She couldn't bring back her trust for Levi. She wouldn't dare suggest it; she would have felt the same. And now she was starting to panic...

"Kyrie," she spoke with soft authority, a gentle command that demanded attention without needing to enforce it. "I am here. Just breathe. You are safe now. Nothing will harm you so long as I am here. I promise."

...Lofty words, ones that she couldn't possibly keep with so many variables at play. She pushed the doubt aside; she fully believed her promise.

She would make it so.

"Focus on who you can trust. There are people who love you and will keep you safe at any cost now. I'm just one. I'm here. Remember sanshin no kata. Remember the now."

[Kyrie Blaze]

Her name echoed and reverberated in her being, pulling her out from the intrusive recall of a memory that she was reliving again, so soon after living through and narrating it for Delilah. Her terror did not abate. Would the sound of the name 'Kiyr' have been enough to draw her from the memory and the pain and panic? Though it was her name just as much, it seemed, whether it would have was up in the air. The distraught blonde gave a great, shuddering breath and then...stilled, mostly.

Safe.

She was safe. She was safe, now. The blonde's eyes clenched shut and she seemed to burrow closer to Delilah, though she was as close as she could get. Still, her hands slipped from the woman's shoulders and coiled around her once again, with her head of - now rather unruly for Delilah's description of 'bedraggled' was correct - blonde curls tucked beneath the compassionate woman's chin.

Safe. Now. Safe. Now. Focus on the now.

The words echoed and pinged in the walls of her mind. They cut through the overwhelming amount of thought she normally had, all of which had been amplified to unbelievable levels for the past ten days. She held them like a talisman and trusted Delilah completely. Del was here. And she would protect her. Even, it seemed, from her own mind. And Kyrie believed the promise just as much as the woman that gave it. Pulled back into the now, greedily soaking up the warmth, comfort, and safety that the raven haired woman was offering, she couldn't find herself worrying about the future, when she would have to go her separate way from her. Her breathing had stabilized for the most part. At the very least, she was no longer panicking, and all of her fear was at a bit more of a manageable level.

The tears? They continued as well, when she hadn't thought she would possibly have more. Anything else, too, came as it would. But her mind was startlingly quiet. Or, anyway, she just was no longer tuned in to the din of them--no longer listening to herself but instead focusing completely on Delilah's breathing and her heartbeat.

Breathe. Just breathe...

[Delilah A. Black]

Only when Kyrie began to still...physically, and she thought mentally as well. Perhaps. She seemed quieter, even as the last of the light leeching in through the shop window began to fade into true darkness. There were still tears, of course...which was also good. It meant she was still feeling and hadn't shut everything away, like Delilah had so many years ago.

She herself let her swollen eyes flutter closed again, a small breath escaping her gradually relaxing body. She tried to smile, albeit faintly.

"...it'll be okay. It'll take time, but...you're gonna be okay. You just have to believe that, really really hard. And no matter what happens, or how bad it gets, I'm here. Okay?"

And the truth of the matter was that nothing was going to be the same for her ever again. Things might become more normal, slowly, with time. It could only get better, though, if she believed it would.

[Kyrie Blaze]

A dull, slow shiver trounced its way down the blonde's spine with the light settling to twilight and steadily deepening into the shades of the deep dark of night. With Delilah's slowly-sagging body - relaxing may have been more apt, but the tension in the taller woman's body wasn't borne simply from angerm but at the very least from her own experiences, if not empathy for the blonde - Kyrie's arms wove a bit more snugly around her. The hum in the black-haired woman's chest alerted her that she was speaking.

The small blonde that was curled so trustingly on her lap listened.

Then sniffed: "...'k-'kay."

She didn't quite have the capacity to convey with words how much it meant that Delilah would be there for her. The one word, weighted with emotion and everything that spoke of her feelings on Delilah's words may have been enough. She shivered, small body stiff - but not quite so tense any longer - and shaking as the adrenaline between everything that had gone on seeped out of her system.

She just remained as she was.

[Delilah A. Black]

As would Delilah, who had shifted from stroking the blonde mass of curls to combing her fingers through it to help detangle her hair.

She tried to let peace and calm emanate from her while she was feeling anything but...though it was getting better. Easier to push the errant thoughts from her mind.

[Kyrie Blaze]

While the First Crow's hand smoothing over her hair was helping her to relax, it was when Delilah's fingers quested into her hair and began to trail through the curling tresses that true relaxation started. With the tips of her fingers and edges of her nails brushing against the petite blonde's scalp that her entire body gave a great - in comparison to her movement already - shudder.

Then, the tension began to leak from her body, seeming to drain from her head to her feet as Delilah continued her ministrations of untangling her hair. Safety. Warmth. Comfort. Those feelings and the combing of the black-haired woman's fingers had Kyrie's blue eyes falling from view behind her eyelids, lashes feathering against her cheeks. Her upper body sagged, arms loosening a little as she leaned more fully into the Raven. Her spine wilted, curved, letting her slump.

Safe.

Warm.

Comforted.

Delilah's patience would be rewarded as Kyrie would fall asleep, between ten and twenty minutes after, curled with all of her trust in the mechanic's arms. In light of her exhaustion, it may have been surprising it took so long, but, with everything else in mind, it was no small wonder that she would keep awake long enough to soak up all the care she could in such a short amount of time.

Her breathing evened out, and five minutes after she passed out, the last trembling hitch of her breath passed, letting her breathe easy.

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah wasn't fully aware of when it was Kyrie fell asleep, but her completely relaxed state and slow breathing eventually gave her away. Delilah smirked wistfully, leaning her head back with a tired sigh. Her own eyes drifted closed...for a little while.

But the mechanic would not sleep, though she was unbelievably tired, as tired as Kyrie undoubtedly was. There was so much to do. She had to finish her work...more importantly, she had to help Kyrie.

Delilah had sworn that Kyrie would not be hurt so long as she was around. Now, she was going to make sure of it.

An hour after she had discovered Kyrie asleep, Delilah shifted slowly, carefully out from underneath the exhausted woman so as not to disturb her deep sleep. As Delilah left the couch, Aneko took her place, curling her warm, fuzzy body against Kyrie's chest and drifting into sleep.

Delilah crept silently back to her workstation, snapping on the desk lamp. She looked over the materials laid out before her, the half finished product being designed.

Tonight, she resolved, she would finish it. For her.

The mechanic set back to work.

. . .

Whenever it was that Kyrie awoke, she would find Delilah sitting in her view, bent over her work table with intense concentration. She appeared to be shaping something with a pair of of white hot tweezers, tongue clasped between her teeth and a jewelers scope lodged in her eye.

[Kyrie Blaze]

All was quiet as Kyrie slept, and Delilah's prowess as a mother was displayed when she slowly shifted Kyrie without waking her despite her obviously troubled state. Her face scrunched, as if she might, before Delilah's warmth was substituted for a soft bundle of fur. With a murmur that could have been name or word or nothing at all, the tiny blonde didn't stir, but curled up with the soft bundle of fluffy fur, the feline's purrs keeping her lulled in her deep sleep.




She wasn't sure when she woke. The only thing that reminded her where she was was Aneko's fur snugged up against her chest. Her breathing, which had sped, slowed as her blue eyes, wide, still, sought out Delilah and found her. Receding back to the position she woke in, Kyrie released a shaky sigh. And settled to watch. Even with the physical distance between herself and Delilah, there was the undeniable feeling of safety.

[Delilah A. Black]

It would be some time before Delilah finally leaned away from the desk, bringing both hands up and massaging her face under her fingers. When they finally dropped, her face was now covered in little black soot marks from her hands. With a heavy sigh, she leaned forward again and picked something up with her hand, sifting a chain through her fingers.

--Her eyes moved over to where Kyrie was lying and saw her awake. The mechanic smiled, a little tired looking. And not just from pulling another all-nighter. She scootched herself back from the bench, picking up the object in her hand and carrying it back with her to the couch.

"Sleep okay?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

No longer nearly so on-the-edge as she had been, Kyrie's fathomless blue eyes took in Delilah's state as she worked. She could see the First was tired--exhausted, and there was a look about her that spoke of a different kind, at that.

Immediately, Kyrie wanted to stutter apologies.

Something in her eyes spoke of it.

But, she nodded at Delilah's gentle question, instead, voice small.

"...better than I have since it happened..."

Because she was safe. Her fingers curled against the couch's cushion, her other hand gently burying itself into Aneko's soft, warm, fur.

[Delilah A. Black]

"...better than I have since it happened..."

In response to Kyrie's wide, apologetic gaze, Delilah's head turned a minute amount this way and that, accompanied by a slow blink. There is no need.

Aneko gave a wide yawn and resumed purring under the gentle touch of the no-longer-insane (in the cat's opinion) slender woman. Aw yiss.

The raven haired mechanic nodded, "Good."

...Delilah was never good at this sort of thing. Almost always awkward. She extended her hand towards Kyrie, obviously clasping a little object inside of it.

"I made you something. To help keep my promise."

To keep you safe.

SPOILER: Click to show

A simple pendant, made from tourmaline and wrapped, silver like metal.

This necklace has a special ability when Kyrie is confronted with MORTAL DANGER and extreme amounts of ANGER.

[Kyrie Blaze]

The blonde watched the black-haired woman offer the object she clasped in her hand. She spent a moment or two more, gently stroking teh feline for the kitty's pleasure and her comfort. She didn't think that Delilah needed to give her anything when she'd already given so much.

After those brief moments, the blonde picked herself up from the couch and moved towards Dlilah.

She completely ignored the object that was hidden from view, for the moment, in favour of enveloping Delilah in a tight hug of love and gratitude. Objects and trinkets were nice, and all fair and well especially depending on their purpose, but, what Delilah had done for her a few hours ago was priceless.

"Thank you, Del..."

The use of a nickname was inadvertent. Kyrie paused and then sighed. Delilah likely wouldn't mind, after all. She eased back and opened her hand, palm up, in acceptance. She wasn't sure if she was worthy, still, but...she could not refuse Delilah. Obviously she had worked on it while the blonde slept.

To keep her promise.

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah just nodded tiredly, smiling as Kyrie released her from the hug. No thanks necessary, that nod said. Just doin' my job.

Still, gratitude was nice.

The mechanic pressed the little blue necklace into the smaller, less calloused palms of the blonde. Hopefully, idealistically, she would never need it.

"You're going to be okay, Kyrie. And if you ever need me again, don't hesitate to come find me."

[Kyrie Blaze]

The little blonde's slender fingers curled around the pendant. Gently, but at the same time, very tightly. She brought her hands close to her body. She drew in a breath - which sounded a lot like a sniffle, as it was - and nodded, slowly.

She tipped her chin up, looking at Delilah with quietly stormy eyes and managed a tiny smile. That brave little smile of hers. But it was also given because of what Delilah said.

She wasn't alone.

And that? That was a comfort beyond all measure.

"....I will. I will."