For a split second, Dara’s hesitation was plain on her face before she gave a smile and shook the hand he’d offered. “Pleasure to meet you too, Nathan. And yes, we should go.” She let him lead, wave upon wave if exhaustion hitting her as they ducked into side streets, kicking up snow as they went. The cold nipped at her heels, urging her on, and snowflakes drifted down from the overcast sky to land on her nose. Overall, the neighbourhood was quite a pretty sight.
Nathan trekked with her for a couple of minutes forward, scoping the area for people, and stopped every now and then to take a break. The snowflakes only fell faster every time he’d pause. He urged both of them forward despite his condition, knowing halting for real would mean going back to the state of mind in which he wanted to lay in the below freezing piles of powder at their feet.
Before much longer, he came up upon a small, crooked house a little closer to the outskirts than the middle of the city. The shingles on the roof were peeling off, the paint was flaking, the bushes outside were sparse and wilting, and one of the windows was cracked. It wasn’t much to look at, but he still sighed with relief when he saw it.
He came up to the reddish door and knocked. It swung open tor reveal a dusty floor, pale eggshell walls, and a girl who looked nothing at all like Nathan. She had large, angular jade eyes that narrowed when she saw them, black hair down to her waist, and pink lips. She looked like she hadn’t spent a day on the streets.
“Nathan?”
“Bella,” he said softly, “I need your help.”
“Nathan, what’s- is that blood?”
“This is Dara.”
Dara stepped out from behind Nathan, raising a hand in greeting. A neutral, relaxed expression was plastered to her face, but her eyes, exhausted and spent, gave the act away. "Hello. Dara, pleasure to meet you. Your brother needs immediate medical attention; can we come in?" She didn't bother beating around the bush, rather went straight to the point without missing a beat.
Belladonna, with a hefty groan, put a hand on her slim waist and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She moved aside for them to enter, and Nathan ushered Dara inside.
“Anna,” she called sharply, “get my room set up. Nathan’s home.” Her eyebrows screwed up in concentration. “And get some snow from outside, will you?”
“Sure,” came a humming, strong voice from somewhere deeper in the house. There was a rustling sound as someone got up and presumably did what she asked.
Her pointed gaze turned to her brother. “Come down the hall. The lantern’s by the kitchen.”
As soon as he staggered to the connected living room and kitchen into the bright lights, his sister froze. She ducked around him immediately to his back. There, she brushed a finger lightly across his wounds. He audibly gasped.
“Oh, Nate, how are you still standing? This looks like it hurts. You need to- here, sit down.” She helped him to the ground and whipped her head around. “Anna, I changed my mind. Bring it in here!”
(Did I make my response too hard to reply to?)
(If so, should I rewrite it for you?)
(oh not at all, I'm sorry if I'm coming off as reluctant, I can be slow to reply to roleplays, especially since I'm in a lot
Sorry ):
Dara stood to the side, watching the scene unfold before her eyes. She shifted and bit her lip, rubbing anxiously at her forearm. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked tentatively, watching Nathan with concerned eyes. "I could re-stimulate any exhaustion he might have so that he falls asleep while you work on him, if that would help."
(Oh ok no that’s fine sorry if I seemed pushy)
(it's not a problem, it's my fault anyway)
Her gaze flickered to Dara in interest. She looked like she was pondering the idea and figuring out whether it’d work. With a quick shake of her head, she knelt next to Nathan, who’d hunched over with a groan.
“You look exhausted. I already have one patient, and there’s no need for another.” She pushed her hair back with a quiet noise. “Besides, I need him awake. We have to talk about what happened.”
“What happened is that I screwed up, Bella,” he muttered gruffly, “and got myself caught trying to get some more food. We’ve been low lately.”
“Of course you screwed up, you big oaf. You’re as clumsy as an ox,” she teased.
A girl that had the same hair and complexion as Nathan approached from down the hall with a bucket full of bandages and supplies in her arms. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Dara, but she said nothing. Instead, she set the stuff down and whispered something to her sister. Belladonna mumbled something inaudible back while rummaging through the container. The girl, Anna, Nathan’s other sister, stood to face Dara.
“You should stay the night. It’s awfully cold out. Here, I’ll take you to the guest room.”
Hesitation flickered across Dara's features. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." She sagged against the wall, unable to properly support herself for much longer. "I'm Dara, by the way– and I don't want to put you in any danger, I don't know if anyone saw my face back there."
Annabeth smiled cheerfully. “Dara—that’s a lovely name, by the way—of course it’s alright. You obviously helped him out in some way, seeing as he’s home safe, so you can stay as long as you’d like. Besides, if we threw you out for being a danger we’d have to throw this dummy-" she pointed at her brother, “-out as well.”
“You do look really tired,” Belladonna said, not even looking up.
“It’s settled!” Without even giving her a chance to speak, Annabeth, thrilled, shoved Dara forward into a nearby doorway. Inside was a room with similarly painted walls, a basic carpet, a fireplace, an old bed, and an empty nightstand with a lamp. She twisted the switch of the lamp. The whole room flooded with cozy yellow light.
“How’s this? I can get a fire going to warm you up. It must’ve been frigid out there!”
(Oh my gosh I’m sorry wait was that too pushy I forgot I read once that people don’t like it when you make their character do things)
Dara, slightly shocked and wide-eyed, turned in a full circle to get a good look at the room. This was luxury compared to what she normally had– what on earth had she done to deserve this? Was it really okay for her to stay? "It's– It's perfect," she managed, "I don't know how I could possibly thank you, I'd be happy to sleep in your shed if you want me to."
Clearly more than a little surprised, Annabeth went still. She hesitated for a moment awkwardly. Multiple feelings crossed her face, and the one she finally decided on, sympathy, made her look softer than she’d first appeared.
“It’s… no problem. Glad you like it.” With all the sincerity she could muster, she widened her smile. “I know you’re tired, but would you like something to eat? How about water? I can’t offer you tea or much more than that, but we have some crackers, peanuts, and dried fruit. Nathan finished all of the meat we’d had yesterday, so he’ll have to… well, I guess he can’t go hunting for a while now can he? Oh well. Anyway, anything sound good to you?”
(Hey, sorry for interrupting for the billionth time, but I’ve been kind of nervous that I’m doing things wrong. Please tell me if I do something you’re not too fond of so I can fix it! I want this to be a good experience for both of us!)
(it's no problem whatsoever, I'm so sorry for making you nervous
I just saw that thing you posted about you being pushy I'm so sorry I didn't see it before
You're doing amazingly!
I'm the one who's messing up
I'm inconsistent on roleplays, meaning I'll sometimes leave notebook for like seven hours at a time and jump on briefly, and when I do jump on briefly, I usually only check the roleplays at the top of my unread
Shit, I'm really sorry for making you nervous, I should have warned you)
Dara's eyes somehow managed to widen further. "You're– you're okay with me eating your food?" She sounded halfway between pleasantly shocked and apprehensive; as if she was afraid this was a trap. "I- I don't want to eat up your resources– Honestly, you don't have to waste all this on me."
(and I'm sorry my replies keep getting shorter and shorter, I'm just stressed and tired and my writing isn't that great as of rn)
(Oh, no, it’s okay! You’re fine, I promise! Thank you. If you’re tired of this role play, please tell me! I’d hate to stress you out. Don’t worry about it—just worry about you.)
“Of course you can have something to eat. We don’t have much, like I said, but that’s not a problem. I’ll make a run to get some food later in the night, don’t you worry. I just want to make sure you’re alright. Nathan… think of it as an apology for having to put up with him! He can be quite a stubborn pain sometimes, although maybe that’s just the sister in me speaking.” She turned pink. “Anyway, what would you like to eat? Do you need more blankets? I’ll get you some of my old clothes to wear for the night so you won’t be so wet, but they may be a little tight.” A scream—Nathan’s scream—echoed through the house, and she paused. “I… I’ll get started on the fire. You just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it.”
(Okay you're legit one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of talking to both online and in real life, thank you so much
I don't think I'd ever get tired of this– but the same goes to you! If I ever disappear for hours at a time, I'm sorry)
Dara stood there, rooted the spot, an effect of two things. Firstly, Nathan's horrible, heart-wrenching scream, and second, this woman's incredible kindness– something she hadn't experienced in years. "I– As long as I'm not troubling you.." She trailed off, biting her tongue. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
(Wow, thank you! You’re a very pleasant person as well, I quite enjoy this. I’d be sad to see it go, but things definitely happen. I’m more worried about you than this story.)
Annabeth, unsure of whether or not she could pat the girl’s head comfortingly, struggled to repress the surge of warmth bubbling in her chest. The girl reminded her of Belladonna when she was really young. Bella had always insisted that she was some sort of problem, even though Anna and Nathan has doted over her constantly. Forcing back a dopey grin and some tears, she placed a hand over her own heart.
“I promise that you’re not being a bother. It’s actually pleasant to have some company. Sure, Bella’s here, but she works more often than not. Nathaniel leaves so much to see Clarissa or get whatever we need that I often have the house to myself. You don’t have to stay, but… just know that it’d be our pleasure to give you this room. I’ll have to talk to my siblings, but they’ll probably be fine with it.” Realizing that she was getting ahead of herself, she coughed in embarrassment. “That is, if you even want it.”
(thanks, Ella [can I call you Ella?]
I'd be sad to see it go as well)
Dara blinked, mouth fumbling for the right words to say. But nothing came out, not a sound, for at least twenty seconds while she did her best to pull her sorry self together and come up with a respectable answer. "Stay– you mean, stay?" Goddammit. Not what counts as a respectable answer. She tried again, wiping her sweating palms on her black, soiled trousers. "I mean– That sounded really ungrateful, I'm sorry."
(You can call me whatever you like! Some people call me Ella, but others call me El or Ellie. It’s up to you!)
Laughing under her breath, Anna crouched by the fire and began poking at the embers with a matchbox. She lit a single stick to throw in some barely singed logs. In a little under a second, the whole room was wondrously heated.
“Stay meaning that you can stay as long as you’d like. Don’t worry about it too much. If the morning comes and you’re not feeling it, that’s fine. You can still eat whatever we have for breakfast before you go.”
Another scream. She actually tensed up this time.
“And, uh, let me go fetch you that stuff. We can talk for a minute or two as soon as I bring it back. How does that sound?
(great, thanks!)
"Y-Yeah," Dara replied, clearly dazed. She flinched, the scream still echoing in her ears, but nodded. "That sounds- That sounds good. Thank you." Sitting down carefully on the bed, she let her eyes drift close, basking in the room's newfound warmth.
Her journey around her small home was quick. She started with her room, where she picked some loose flannel pajama pants, a fuzzy gray top, and some mismatching socks from her tiny closet. Without pausing, she went to the kitchen, got one of their paper cups, filled it with the water they’d stored in a jar with snow, snatched a bag of mixed nuts and berries, and, all while wearing a blanket she’d snatched from their old, creaky couch, like a cape, made her way back to Nathan and Belladonna. She set the objects down and stopped next to her brother, who was openly weeping as his torn, abused back was spritzed with a mix of water and serum. He was biting hard into something leather, but that didn’t stop the noises he was making from coming out. When he saw her, he stuck out his arm. She squeezed his hand tightly.
“Good, do that for one more second while I pack it with snow. Try and breathe, brother,” their younger sister murmured. She scooped a heaping of powdery, cold snow out to put on his back. He sobbed hard as it went on. “There, there, Nathaniel. Breathe in and out.”
“I’m sorry this happened,” Anna said in a small voice. Though his eyes were watery, he managed to give her a reassuring glance. That was, until Belladonna put more in his wounds. He cried out sharply, grabbed something in his lap—the bucket—and spat the leather out. Annabeth turned and gathered her stuff as he began to retch and gag.
“Dara,” she called once at the girl’s door, “I’m back. May i come in?”
Dara had been trailing her fingers over the wooden headboard of the bead when she’d heard the broken sobs, lost in thought and confusion. At the sudden sounds, she’d stiffened and squeezed her eyes shut— they were familiar, so painfully familiar that they hurt to hear. Breathe… she reminded herself, He’s going to be okay..
A knock on her door jolted her out of her reverie, a familiar voice soon following after. “Come in,” she called, voice slightly weak.