forum All my roleplays are dead please give me attention // closed oxo (I'll do more though)

Started November 22, 2021 by @Fraust

tune

"If she's okay, then why isn't she on the phone?" Saul questioned, closing the distance rapidly between himself and the headmistress' office.

Farah's eyes opened slightly. "Let me… talk to him," she murmured.

"Well, she's… she's really tired, like I said, s-so…" Aiki glanced down when Farah spoke. "Ah, are you sure? Okay… um… she wants to talk to you, so I'm passing the phone to her now." He held the phone up to her ear so she wouldn't have to expend energy to hold it.

She smiled at the small gesture and spoke quickly, yet still whispering. "Saul?"

"Farah?! What's going on?" Saul asked worriedly. "Why are you in Rosalind's office? I thought you were going to look for Aiki."

"I was," she replied. "He was here."

"Where's Rosalind?"

"She left. When you get here… you can't come in… right away. I have to… dispel the veil… Rosalind placed before… she left."

Aiki rubbed at their eyes a bit while Farah spoke, trying to pull themself together before Saul arrived. He knew he'd have to explain what had happened and why Farah was so tired all of a sudden. They sighed softly and curled their tail around themself, rubbing their ears a bit as a nervous habit that helped calm them down.

"Okay, I'm almost there," Saul said. "I haven't seen Rosalind yet."

"Lovely," Farah muttered sarcastically. She looked over at Aiki. "When I dispel… the veil… you need to unlock… the door… for Saul," she instructed.

The amount of energy needed to dispel a veil was slightly greater than the amount needed to create it. Normally, the task was simple, but for Farah, the effects could be concerning. Still, she sat up as much as possible and looked at the door. Slowly, she pulled together as much energy as she could and began the complicated process of dispelling a veil. Few fairies knew how to do this kind of magic.

Aiki nodded along with the instructions and shakily got to his feet, putting the phone on speaker and setting it on the ground so he could do as he was instructed without making Farah expend extra energy. They took a few deep breaths, keeping out of range of the veil to wait for it to be expelled.

Farah used more and more of her energy, and the lightheaded feeling quickly returned. Still, she pushed through and after a few moments, the veil flashed white, then vanished. Farah sighed and fell back against the table she had been leaning on. Her eyes flickered shut.

"Farah? I'm here," Saul said over the phone.

Aiki unlocked the door as soon as he was sure that the veil was gone. They pulled it open to see Saul and moved aside so that he could come into the room. "She got rid of the veil, s-so we should be okay now…" He said softly.

"Right. Thanks." Saul nodded at Aiki, then looked around the room for Farah. The second his eyes located her – weak and nearly unconscious on the floor – he sprinted over and knelt beside her. "Farah? I thought you said you were okay."

"I am," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed. "Just tired."

Aiki closed the door behind Saul and headed over to sit beside him and Farah, fidgeting with their hands and looking guilty and upset still. "I-I… had to use my power with her energy." He said softly, looking around at the scorched items in the office.

Saul whipped his head to look at Aiki. "You what?!"

Farah's eyes opened. "Saul-"

"No, Farah," Saul cut her off. "I want to hear it from them."

Aiki cowered at the look, turning their ears back with a shaky whine. "I-I didn't mean to! I… R-Rosalind was j-just…" He could feel his throat starting to tighten again and he brought one hand up to it, trembling. "I h-had to… she… I-I tried to use it on Rosalind instead, b-but she pushed Farah closer and— a-and I c-can't— control my p-power very well— when I-I'm using it on s— s-somebody else…" They choked and coughed, tears rolling down their cheeks again. "E-Ended up— t— t-taking from whoever— w-was closest… I'm s… I'm s-sorry… I'm s-so sorry… please…"

"Saul…" Farah whispered, cupping his face so he would look at her instead of Aiki. "It wasn't their fault… You can't blame Aiki… It was Rosalind."

Saul shook his head. "Rosalind…"

"Believe me, Saul…" Farah murmured desperately.

"I do," Saul replied shortly. "Rosalind…" His anger began to build again. "She's hurt you too many times Farah. Directly or indirectly. I refuse to let her hurt you anymore."

Aiki drew their knees up to their chest and hugged them tightly, gasping for breath and trembling uncontrollably. He hid his face as he sobbed, curling up to try and make himself small. They still felt sick with guilt and they didn't want to be here. He desperately just wanted to go home so this would all be some horrible nightmare. "S-She keeps calling me 'it' and 'creature' a-and I c— c-can't do it anymore… I'm s-sorry…" They whispered.

"Aiki…" Farah reached for him and touched his arm gently. A flow of calm transferred from her to them through the touch. The energy flow quickly drained her again, but she didn't stop.

Saul looked thoughtful. Ever the strategist, he was already planning Rosalind's demise. "How much longer do you think she'll be like this?"

Aiki looked up at Saul weakly, a couple tears rolling down their cheeks. "I… I-I dunno… it depends on how much she rests…" He replied softly. "If she sleeps for a while, it won't be that long until she's… s-she's pretty much functional again… caffeine also helps sometimes, b-but that's pretty temporary…"

Slowly, Saul scooped her up bridal style, and Farah's face pressed into his shoulder. Her fingers slipped from Aiki's arm, causing the flow to stop, but the energy Farah had sent was able to replenish a bit faster this way.

"Let's go," Saul stated, heading out the office door and down the hall toward the dorms without another word.

Aiki got to his feet shakily, a sinking sense of dread returning to his stomach when Farah stopped touching him. They hurried after Saul, wrapping their arms around themself and keeping their eyes on the ground.

Saul glanced over briefly and noted Aiki's body language that seemed to make him smaller than he really was.

"I'm not mad," he assured them with a sigh. “Not at you, at least."

Aiki looked up at Saul meekly, still trembling a bit as they walked along behind him. "Are… are you sure…?" He asked, his voice soft and tentative. "Y-You have every right to be… it's my fault…"

"Yes, I'm sure," Saul replied. Farah shifted slightly in his arms, so he slowed his pace to readjust her. "Comfortable, darling?" he murmured in her ear.

Farah smiled into his shirt. "Yes, quite."

He held her close and looked back at Aiki. "While I am upset it was your powers that drained her, I also know you would never intentionally hurt Farah. That had to have been Rosalind's doing. So if anyone in the Otherworld will feel my wrath, it will be her."

Aiki rubbed at his eyes a bit, keeping close behind Saul. They didn't want to be separated and captured by Rosalind again. "I-I just… I feel really bad about it…" He whispered weakly. "I didn't… I-I didn't mean to, of course, but still… I should've been stronger. I feel so stupid…"

Saul looked over with an amused expression. "Do you want me to be mad at you?" he asked with a slight chuckle in his words.

"Saul, don't tease him," Farah chided quietly.

Aiki looked down at the ground again, rubbing their arm with their free hand and not replying to Saul. Honestly, he did feel like he deserved to be punished for this. It felt wrong to get away with it, in a way. They exhaled shakily and hugged themself tighter, closing their eyes.

Saul's teasing emotions quickly dropped off his features. "Hey, I meant it as a joke," he said worriedly. "I… I wasn't actually serious."

Farah's eyes opened, and she looked at Aiki with a similarly concerned expression. "Aiki? Saul was kidding. He does that." Discreetly and weakly, she shoved his chest.