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[wishmadeinfire]

[ It had been what - a week? - since those terrible days. Since the nightmares. He had slept in fits, though Felix's nightmare charms had helped him. He wasn't sleeping much still, though, as afraid to even try sleeping with the charms. He did not much like disturbing Felix, so he often found himself wandering about at night, sitting in their living room or in the library, or, tonight, in the kitchen, trying to make himself tea. Maybe it would help him sleep.

He could have wished it up, but he wanted to make it himself, give himself something to concentrate on him, to focus on for five minutes. 

He had managed to make the tea and pour it, and now it was time to handle the mug. It was a more daunting prospect than it seemed, given his hands. He was having sessions to heal them, but they still ached from the damage he had done, and a part of him feared they might never be what they one were. His nails had been filed and smoothed out at least, though it was hard for him to look at the pink lines criss-crossing his palms.

Shaking his head, he reached out, taking the tea mug into his hands, glad for its warmth. He brought it up to his face, to smell it, take in the comfort... and pain seized the nerves of his hands and he gasped, grip loosening enough that the mug slipped from his hand. 

The crash of it hitting the floor, shattering was far to loud in Ashura's ears, making him wince. He wanted to curse, staring at the shattered mug, the slowly spreading liquid that was still steaming, but that was not proper, was it? He leaned against the counter, just breathing, letting the tremors in his hands settle down before he went for a cloth. So, you know, watch your step anyone that came in. ]

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[wolf_of_war]

[Probably the last being that Ashura wants to see right now, Bladewolf saunters into the kitchen, having heard the noise of Ashura dropping his tea. Without saying anything, Bladewolf grabs a broom with his tail, and takes the dustpan into his mouth, to sweep up the shattered remnants of mug, and deposit them into a nearby trashcan. After putting the cleaning implements away, he sits a few feet away from Ashura, giving him a once-over with his AR mode.]

Given the extent, and nature of your injuries, you should not push yourself to do so much, so soon.

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ Seeing the metal wolf, he had to admit he was momentarily surprised. He had rather thought him a delusion he had dreamed up in his psychosis and he had been fighting someone else, though further examination of that brought out the fact Ashura had no technology in his world. A thing like Bladewolf simply would not have existed.

Frankly, though... he was glad for what Bladewolf had done on that awful ship. It frightened him, realizing how close he had come to nearly destroying the ship, destroying them all. If not for Bladewolf, what might he have done in the name of "protecting" everyone - both those he made up in his mind and the real ones on the ship?

He could not imagine what Bladewolf thought of him now. ]</sub>

I did not think tea would be such a hard task.

[wolf_of_war]

[Bladewolf, being a judge of character only by what people demonstrated to him, really had no opinion of Ashura, beyond his ever-present curiosity. His AR Mode mask pops open, showing the wolf-esque way it framed his face. and the bare metal underneath.]

Your hands and forearms suffered extensive epidermal and nerve damage as a result of the bare metal implement you were wielding as a weapon, exacerbated by the psychological instability the Event Horizon's Gravity Drive caused in the bulk of it's inhabitants. It will be some time, even with medical treatment, before you will regain full use of your hands.

[It's only for a moment, but there's a flicker of "regret" in Bladewolf's posture, unreadable on his face.]

I apologize for the injuries I inflicted, in my attempt to prevent you from attacking the Gravity Drive. My intent was only to incapacitate, not to injure. However, you proved to be a more difficult opponent than I had anticipated.

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ Ashura shook his head, walking unsteadily to a nearby chair and bringing it out, sitting down heavily on it (a feat for his very slight frame). He cradled his hands in his lap, doing his best to ignore the pink scars he saw there. He had been told they would fade over time with the treatments, but for the moment they were aching reminders of what had happened. ]}

You did the right thing, wolf. You needed to stop me, so do not apologize for it - to me or anyone. I should thank you, actually. I could have... I could have done something much worse if not for you.

[wolf_of_war]

I did only what the circumstances required. Though I have not been in Paradisa long, I am nevertheless bound by my personal code to preserve life, however it may be accomplished. Nevertheless, it is not my wish to inflict harm in any form on anyone, if it may be avoided.

[He walks over to where Ashura is sitting, and sits next to him.]

I do not believe I introduced myself when we met. My name is Bladewolf.

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ He nodded at the greeting, and accepting his apology. He knew men like that, could respect them. It did not change he was glad for his actions though. He had saved more lives than he knew, this Bladewolf. ]}

Thank you then, Bladewolf, for what you did. My name is Ashura, or did I tell you that during the fight? I admit, it all seems to run together now.

[wolf_of_war]

You are welcome, Ashura. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[He never really thought of it like that. He had given himself an order, and he carried it out. For Bladewolf, it was just that simple. Though granted, his orders came from his core programming, what he had learned from his creators.]

There are varying reports on what people have experienced, in the aftermath. For some, what they did is a vivid, painful memory, combined with whatever hallucinations they experienced, yet for others, such as yourself, the memory is hazy.

[wishmadeinfire]

Not hazy, not all of it. Only some. Some is... terribly clear.

_{[ He frowned, instinctively wanting to clench his hands, but winced away from it at the tingle of pain that went through his palms. He could close them, but not with such force, not yet. ]}

Our battle is surprisingly clear.

[wolf_of_war]

Perhaps it is because our fight truly happened. You did not seem to hallucinate fighting another, so your vision was clear. It was only your judgement and intent that were clouded.

[He processes this for a minute, as most of the reports he'd seen had people hallucinating the faces of friends or enemies onto the faces of others.]

Fascinating. Perhaps it is because I am an artificial life-form, unlike anything you have likely encountered before, that this occurred.

we're prosing this up if you don't mind, i am just too damn lazy for html 2nite.

[kethedammit]

Mildmay wanted a sandwich. That happened, sometimes. Something he really appreciated about Paradisa over the Mirador, he could do what he wanted, like getting a late night plate of bacon and fresh bread.

Of course, not with everyone's favorite mutant-eared Felix-fucker in the room. When he hears the glass shatter on the floor, Mildmay let out a mild oath ("Powers!") and immediately turned to skitter off in the opposite direction. Of course, he's not as fast as he used to be, what with that limp and all. It's entirely likely he'll be stopped in the act, escape attempt thwarted by a gentle word of acknowledgement.

let's do this!

[wishmadeinfire]

Ashura saw him out of the corner of his eye, jumpy as ever with the half-nightmares still and the shattering. He winced to see it was Mildmay when he turned his head. Gods, what must the man think of him? Did he know what he had done? He had no doubt he did, considering how close he and Felix were. And what did he think of this whole mess with Gideon?

He licked his lips as he leaned on the counter, hands trembling despite his attempts to quell it.

"It's late, Mildmay, you should be asleep."

[kethedammit]

Guilt stops Mildmay every time. He may not like the man much, but... well, he didn't hate him. Not enough to just up and run off. He went over, and busied himself picking up a few of the bigger pieces of shattered glass.

"I ain't never been good at doing what was 'sposed to be done."

[wishmadeinfire]

"Well, I suppose that comes in handy, at times,"

Slowly he knelt, cupping one hand as he reached out with the other, both still trembling. He tried to pick up a piece of mug, but pain sizzled and he bit his lip, pausing to wait and catching his breath. He turned the cupped hand upside down, not wanting to see the scars on his palms.

"Like now."

[kethedammit]

Mildmay does what's considered respectable and kind in the Lower City: He ignores any sign of weakness in his companion. He finishes picking up the pieces, and hobbles over to the trash to deposit them. "You, uh, need anything?" A singularly vague statement; it could be referring to anything.

[wishmadeinfire]

"A cloth. I should wipe up the tea," he murmured, motioning to the now cool liquid on the floor, though it was clear of shards. He could simply wish it away, but that felt like cheating somehow and he was no cheater. It was almost touching his robe, but he made no move to push away from it.

[kethedammit]

Mildmay notes that Ashura isn't moving from the tea-- he notes almost everything-- but Ashura, in not being Felix, doesn't give Mildmay any cause to think that's out of the ordinary. In fact, it's almost an indication of quasi-normal priorities. Refreshing, that.

He tosses Ashura a rag, and takes one for himself, slowly bending down to clean all the mess. As he goes, his leg makes a popping noise. Oof, gonna be fun getting up later.

He does this all in silence. He won't pry into Ashura's business. He honestly doesn't want to-- what if it involves Felix? Ashura should know pretty quickly that fucking Mildmay's brother means Mildmay institutes an immediate and stringent non-interference policy.

[wishmadeinfire]

He was beginning to figure such things out, though he did not see why. Well, he could, actually, but he would not dream of involving Mildmay in that way. Their relationship was theirs, as Felix's relationship with his brother was his own. But no, it had nothing to do with Felix, so Mildmay could rest easy.

Ashura glanced at him when he heard the popping sound - the ears were not just for show, after all, even if at the moment they stood oddly undecorated. "Heat works on joints," he murmured to him. "It eases the ache of them."

So I am a terrible person-

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke had more or less been on high nerves after the ship, and so when he hears the crash, he doesn't exactly rush to the kitchen. Duke generally doesn't rush anywhere, but that noise was talking to the part that was paying attention to noises like that and reading 'someone hurt' into it and..

Well, he is moving faster than he usually does, and that is liquid and his boots are not quite at good at traction as they were. The bit of mug definitely doesn't help, and so Duke slips and falls.

Fortunately there's a flare of magic that has his head and shoulders shooting upright, making it look like he sat heavily rather than fell. Might have given himself whiplash there... ]

You are, gawd

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ Ashura tried to call out, to warn Duke, knowing the other could not see the spreading liquid or the shattered ceramic. But his warnings did not quite make it before the poor silver haired man was sitting down hard on his rear amidst the tea and shards, Ashura blinking rapidly in surprise. ]}

Duke, are you all right?

_{[ He reached out to touch the man's leg, not wanting to startle him overmuch. ]}

Such a terrible person~

[radiantwingedone]

[ He doesn't jump, at least, but he does reach up for his neck. ]

Neck hurts... [ Which is better than his head and rear hurting. ]

Didn't work quite right...

[ but he looks toward Ashura, gauging where he is by hand and voice. ]

... All right?

Re: Such a terrible person~

[wishmadeinfire]

Yes, just... my hands slipped.

_{[ Which was not the whole of the truth, but it seemed the safter one to go for. Ashura pushed himself up and went to grab a cloth, coming back to Duke and holding out his hand. ]}

Come on, let's get you up and dried off.

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke pauses in carefully shifting his feet under him, turning toward Ashura's voice once more. Now that he wasn't just aching, he did sit in ...something warm from a mug, didn't he? On he other hand- ah, Duke was aware that if Ashura's hands slipped, pulling him up might not be a good idea.

But he probably needed the balance help. So when Duke does his best to find Ashura's hand, he is aiming to grasp between wrist and elbow. ]

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ He finds his actual hand, but Ashura does not withdraw. He won't let himself as he gently brings the other up, ignoring the tiny spots of pain that pepper his nerves. He leads Duke to a seat and has him sit before pressing a cloth into the other's hand. ]}

That should help. I'll clean up the mess.

_{[ He went to grab another cloth and bend to soak up tea and pick up chips. ]}

[radiantwingedone]

[ Darn. He'd been aiming to avoid that-

But here is an agreeing hum, and Duke sets to trying to get what liquid he can out of his clothing.

Although it feels like he's going to be stuck with a damp patch. Duke sets the cloth on the table before rubbing at the back of his neck. ]

... Need help? [ He can try to, at least. ]

[wishmadeinfire]

No, it is fine. I have most of it.

_{[ The rag was sodden and chips were stuck in it, but it was mostly clean. He set the cloth in the sink to dry some and threw the chips into a trash bin before coming over to Duke and sitting down across from him. ]}

I suppose, for the time being, I should just wish for my tea.