Snippet #2815981

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The moment Alex had finished talking, he had the sense that he probably shouldn’t have said anything at all. It crushed his heart when Phoenix began to sob, and Phoenix’s words had tears welling up in his eyes: this was all his fault. None of this would have happened if he wasn’t so impulsive and useless and afraid. He wanted to hold Phoenix close, to comfort him and be comforted in turn, but nothing about that felt right. He wasn’t himself, and a part of him wasn’t sure his touch would be well-received, and he didn’t know what to say. What could he say? “I’m sorry,” He half spoke, half mumbled, “I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m just scared, and-” And what? He knew he had needed to express his feelings before that fear turned to anger. He was angry enough with himself, he didn’t need to risk becoming overwhelmed by the combination of the situation and his own emotions. He’d learned the hard way that letting his feelings fester didn’t do him any favors.

Then Phoenix received a text, and like a crashing wave that was it, the moment had been taken over by the next event that required attention. Alex hadn’t thought to warn Triss against silver; honestly, he thought it was a give-in for supernatural creatures to avoid the stuff. Shows what he knew. Phoenix had asked him to grab the burn cream, and Alex nodded immediately, but stood rooted in place for a short moment, studying Phoenix’s face.

He moved on without another word. There wasn’t anything to be said, anyway.

In the bathroom, he found himself a little distracted by his reflection. There was something surreal about looking at yourself in a mirror and seeing someone else. It made everything feel a bit like a dream. He quickly grabbed up what he’d come from and went to rejoin Phoenix, but he hesitated there for a few extra seconds to give Phoenix a moment to- hopefully- compose himself. He briefly considered taking a moment to run and grab one of his hoodies. He’d feel better, he thought, if he had one. He hadn’t realized until that moment how he’d been using them for security.

But that would be hard to explain, and potentially upsetting, so instead he returned to Phoenix. “It’s gonna be okay, I’m just being negative. I need to learn how to keep my thoughts to myself.” He sighed, then reached out and smoothed a stray lock of Phoenix’s hair back in place. But his hands were too small, and it was weird and everything felt a little like it had before. Alex knew, on some level, that he’d been trying to absolve Phoenix of guilt, but he felt like he’d just made everything worse.

He cleared his throat, wanting to move on before either of them got any chance to get too emotional again, “We better get back before Triss ends up breaking an arm. Of course she’d get hurt. Everything goes well, she won’t have to deal with it much longer.” He started to gather up all the things he’d gotten together; hopefully they’d get this done very quickly, and he could bitch about Triss getting him hurt in the comfort of his own body.

Once they were both ready, they could head out easily enough, and Alex figured neither of them would much mind if they didn't discuss the feeling of impending doom that had so nicely settled between them.

Zada frowned when Triss spoke about how the water felt different; she couldn’t even imagine that, if she were being honest. Being in- and around- the water was like breathing to Zada, and the thought of having her connection to water severed was a horrifying thought. Zada sighed and rested a hand on Triss’ shoulder, gently rubbing her thumb across it. She hoped it would be comforting, but she didn’t know. “You’ll be back to normal soon enough, Trisstana.” Zada wasn’t sure she believed it, but she needed to. “And once you’re back, we can have a good, long soak.” Zada would have loved nothing more than to promise Triss they’d go for a swim, but going to the lake had made both of them nervous after what happened the last time. Zada had been so sure then that she was going to lose Triss, she never thought she’d lose her to something as stupid as a demon’s bruised ego.

Zada turned the tap off after Triss removed her hand from the water, and reached out to gently take Triss’ hand in her own, carefully inspecting the burn, “It doesn’t look too bad.” She jumped when her phone went off, and took a second to relax before checking the message. Phoenix’s words were a relief, “They’re going to bring something to help with the pain.”

She tilted her head slightly to the side, as if looking at Triss from a different angle would suddenly give her answers she didn’t have before. “I don’t know what it’s like to feel the water in the way you’ve described it,” She admitted, finally, “But I promise you it’s temporary.” Zada hadn’t felt so deeply devoted to another person since she’d been rejected by her pod, and she wasn’t going to throw it away for anything. “We’ll get you back to normal, you’ll be connected to the water again, and all will be well. I promise, lover, as much as I can promise you such a thing, all will be righted again.”

She grabbed a towel and gently dried off Triss’ hand, careful not to be abrasive on the burns, “And I’ll be with you the whole way.” She wasn’t sure the assurance meant much, but it made her feel better to have said it. It was funny, how a part of comforting others was sometimes comforting yourself.

“I’m going to take off this bracelet.” She said, before turning to leave the room. She didn’t know if Triss would follow or not, but she added, “I’ll just be a moment.” She went to her bedroom, traded silver for a bracelet of a more appropriate composition, and sighed. This was the strangest experience of her life, and certainly not anything she’d expected would actually happen. She’d known strange things would happen living in an inland supernatural community, but she never would have guessed at any of this.

She returned to the main room to wait. The town was small, and it didn’t take long at all to get around, even if you were walking, so she knew it wouldn’t be too terribly long, now. She spotted Phoenix and Triss- no, Alex- through the window and felt an overwhelming sense of relief. They were back. They could fix things now.