"Yep." Iris flicked her hair. "I proudly identify as an elf, thank you for noticing." Her snotty reply cut through the air, even as the elf trembled. Why, oh why did they need to make the cells a living freezer? She wrapped the gray cloak around herself, though it did little to stop Iris from shivering.
Azriel rolled her eyes, though she noted the elf's shivering with a touch of concern. She wanted to offer her wings, which acted like a heated blanket for Azriel, but… the elf hated her. It would be strange, wouldn't it?
Bella began shivering again, she felt the cold bite more strongly than before. She felt dizzy and freezing. Why didn’t she bring a cloak with her?!? Iris had a cloak, Angels always had wings, but of course Bella was dumb enough to forget one.
The fire human was still asleep, so Iris had nothing but the fabric to contain her minimal body heat. It really was not a smart idea to freeze Arabella's arm as soon as you woke up, she chided herself.
Azriel looked back and forth between the two. Cautiously, she moved over to Arabella and wrapped a wing around her. At least if the girl ended up thinking that she was an idiot, she could pretend not to understand any of it.
Bella stiffened for a moment and then relaxed looking up gratefully at the Azriel. It was very warm and comforting. The biting cold stopped and her lips began to return to their natural color.
Staring at the interaction with what could only be described as envy, Iris composed her shaking form together. It's better this way, she realized, better for them to hate me and never get close, rather than get close with the potential to break me.
Azriel looked nervously at the elf. "I know I said I hated you," she began, "but it is very cold, and… I - I do have more than one wing… if you want," she said quickly before looking back at the ground. Why did you even ask that?
Her mind short-circuited at the purity in Azriel's voice. Remembering what she'd just told herself, Iris was about to decline the offer in her usual rude way. Until she found her teeth chattering and body racking with little stings of coldness. Unable to form a reply without humiliating herself, Iris merely looked away in shame with a slight dip of her chin.
Azriel looked up momentarily before turning back to the ground. "It's not embarrassing, if that's what you're thinking," she said cautiously, extending her wing in an offer. She briefly shivered, realizing how cold it was in the room, but she quickly stifled it, keeping her gaze trained on the floor.
Bella looked up and realized the guard was gone. “guys! The guard! It’s gone!” Her Medien flowing quickly off her tongue.
Both refusing to look at the other, Iris shuffled her body into Azriel's wing, sighing at the heat. The elf muttered an unintelligible, "Thanks," in Brachish, momentarily closing her eyes at the warmth in Azriel's wings.
"The guard is gone?" She questioned in Medein.
“We will get through this. I have a strong feeling that things will get better!” She glanced around the room and sighed, it was hard to keep up a happy face, but being warm made it better.
Not understanding Arabella's words, Azriel tucked her knees into her chest and folded her arms across them, pinching her calf so that she would stop shivering. Still not looking at Iris, Azriel wrapped her wing around the elf gently, cheeks darkening as she realized how close the elf was. She took several deep breaths, focusing on the cracks in the floor.
Arabella looked at Azriel with concern, she was shivering and Arabella was taking away her warmth. After a moment of conflict in her head, she stood up and gingerly wrapped Azriel Wong around herself once more.
Azriel looked up. "Oh, no-that's-not-really-necessary-you-don't-have-a-cloak-or-anything-and-you'll-be-cold-and-I-just-remembered-that-you-can't-understand-a-word-I'm-saying… damn," Azriel said faster than she thought it was possible for a person to speak. Her face was filled with concern.
Arabella could tell from the way Azriel was talking that she was protesting, but Bella just smiled and slumped against a wall. It was cold, but the ones that were strong must stay strong, and if you were weak, well, she had to keep Azriel strong.
Azriel looked at Arabella for a moment longer, cursing herself for shivering, before slowly wrapping her wing around herself again.
Bella walked over to a corner and curled up to conserve as much body heat as possible.
Iris shamelessly curled herself into Azriel's wing and side, stealing her warmth and feeling rather tepid. Of course, Iris would blame this newfound heat for causing her cheeks to tint pink. In Brachish, the elf whispers to Azriel, "Arabella thinks things will get better. The guard is gone. You're warm." The last two words slipped out subconsciously but reached the angel's ears, anyway. Iris immediately did everything in her power to not meet Azriel's eyes. Her eyes lingered on the walls, bars, basically feasted themselves on anything in sight besides the angel next to her.
Azriel's gaze briefly flickered over to Iris. "Thank you," she whispered, glancing at Iris again before returning her gaze to the floor. You could be thinking about literally anything else right now, and this is what you do?
Wow, these tally-marks on the walls were intricately carved, honestly. And, um, um, why is she so warm? Feeling her heart start to race, Iris closes her eyes and carefully leans into a crook of the wing.
Azriel shifted her arm so that Iris could be more comfortable. With the elf sitting right next to her, Azriel found it difficult not to stare. "Stars, you're pretty," she unintentionally murmured, then stiffened, realizing what she'd done. She hid her face in her hands. "I didn't say that," her muffled voice came out.
Bella smiled at the two. I ship it.
The offhanded comment served nothing to reduce the tomato that was Iris's face. She pried open her eyes, barely daring to look at the angel. This was not good, this was not good. "You're not so bad yourself." She quickly stood up, cloak falling into place behind her. "Thank… thank you," she choked out. "I think I'm warm enough, now." Both internally and externally.