(Okay that parallel you did w him having to breathe at the same time as her was sO GOOD APPLAUSE)
She put on a happy face and set everything, except the water, down in a large heap across the bedsheet. She untied her blanket cape to toss to Dara. Then, she placed the water gently down on the nightstand. Spinning around, she plopped herself down beside the new girl with a bubbly laugh.
“There you go! Food, water, and a change of clothes. They should fit you well.” Annabeth tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “There’s only one bathroom here, so you’ll have to bathe in the morning. Breakfast will be something hot, don’t you worry. I’ll try and come in to relight your fire at least one more time before dawn so you don’t freeze to death. Some things will have to come later, like personal supplies, but I can…” upon seeing Dara, she trailed off. “Are you… you alright? You look upset. I didn’t upset you, did I?”
(Aw thank you)
Dara blinked, astonished and thoroughly confused. “No not at all! I was just rememb— never mind. You didn’t- you didn’t have to bring me all this stuff, thank you— thank you so much.” She was touched at the unimaginable kindness of this woman/- who had ever bothered to treat her like this before? “Thank you.”
“If you’re sure,” Annabeth said, worried. She yawned, a tad sleepy herself, and pulled her fingers through her hair. “You’re very welcome. It’s really not that much. I promise that there’ll be more where that came from if you decide to stay, but I won’t make you.”
The fire crackled and popped. She sighed in comfort, her eyelids already dropping.
“Sorry to say this, Dara, but I’m all tired out. I might try and get some sleep tonight if I can. I’ll still wake up early enough to do your fire, though, and Bella can bring you anything else if you feel like it. Nathan, um, well… I’m not sure where he’ll end up spending the night. She might decide it’s not great for him to walk to his room and risk tearing his stitches. The couch is kind of far away as well. I would’ve given you his room had I thought about it, or even mine… I guess he might have to stay in here if he can’t walk too much, but she’ll set something up for him on he ground. You won’t have to worry about a thing. Besides, by then you’ll probably be long asleep. That… isn’t a problem, is it?”
Dara shook her head quickly. “That’s not- not a problem at all, but I can take the floor.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair, embarrassed. “Let him have the bed, he needs it more than I do.”
“I think not! You’re the guest. Besides, it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t get under the covers. They could mess with his bandages, or he could stain the sheets. If he’s on the floor, he can sleep easily on his stomach. We’ll still give him pillows, but it also means he’ll be closer to the fire.” Annabeth stood and looked towards the door. “He’d be absolutely furious if I let a guest sleep on the ground.”
(G’morning!)
Dara opened her mouth to protest— why would they want her to sleep in this luxury of a bed when there was someone who deserved and needed it more?— but no sound came out. Internal conflict practically written across her face, she managed to nod, almost against her will. “But move me if— if he needs the bed, or wants it. I don’t mind— really.”
(Good morning!!!)
“He most likely won’t, but I promise I’ll tell them that.” Holding back her urge to ruffle Dara’s hair, she crossed all the way to the door and opened it. Then, with a backwards glance, she said, “Goodnight, Dara. Don’t worry about the bed. It’ll all work out. Just get some sleep, alright?”
(how are you?)
Hesitation flickering across her features, Dara gave a small nod, rubbing self-consciously at her arm. "Goodnight– And thank you for everything." She meant it sincerely, how could she not, after everything this woman had done for her even though they'd only just met? I'll repay her one day, she promised herself, heaving a sigh.
(Pretty well! Just need to catch up on homework—I’ve been terribly lazy)
“It’s no problem, truly. See you in the morning.”
She closed the door quietly behind her and, with the grace of a cat, slinked all the way back to her siblings. Nathan was breathing very heavily, but he no longer seemed completely there. His eyes were distant and unfocused. She was glad to see that he wasn’t crying, and that he didn’t flinch when she got near, but the exhaustion in his face made her worried.
Belladonna didn’t look much better. As hard as she tried to remain calm when dealing with patients, it was clear that the stress of what was clearly happening had finally taken its toll.
“She’s all set up for bed. I told her you might send him in to sleep on the floor if he couldn’t make it back to his room.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Anna. It’s looking like you’re right. He’s too heavy for me to support him across the house, so it’ll have to be that room. I can get something ready for him on the floor when when I’m done in a few minutes.”
Annabeth turned to walk down the hall towards the front door, but her sister stopped her with a noise.
“Where are you going?”
“You know where.”
“It’s going to be dangerous and cold. Take your cloak. It’s by the door.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll be back before you know it with food for the morning. And don’t worry about her—she thinks I’m going to bed. No need to stress her out, right?”
“Right,” Bella responded. She averted her eyes and gestured. “Well, go on, then.”
“See you later, Bella.”
(I imagine this part’s not going to be too interesting for Dara because she’s just going to be getting ready to go to bed. Maybe we could skip to her waking up when Nathan knocks on the door to come in? Bella will have already set up a little nest of blankets and pillows for him.)
(Same tho.. two essays due tomorrow and I'm only halfway done the first. Fun.)
(sure, if you want, how much time will have passed by then?)
(Probably only about two hours? I’m assuming Dara will either be asleep or thinking about something. If you want, I can start it??)
(yeah for sure! just for the record, Dara will be lying awake and staring at the ceiling, looking very scared)
(Good to know, good to know)
Nathan had never been in so much pain.
He’d had fights, sure, almost every other day, but they’d mostly ended in scratches, bruises, and bitemarks. One, probably one of his worst, had even finished with a sprained ankle. None of those, not a single one, came close to the ache of his stinging back.
He inhaled deeply as Belladonna patted his arm. They were right by the door to the room Dara was supposed to be in, and he was shaking like a kicked puppy in the rain.
His sister looked at him. “You’ll be alright?”
“I’ll be alright.”
“Good. See you in the morning, then.”
She walked off, her slippers scuffing the ground. He watched her go with nothing but weary admiration in his eyes.
He brought his fist up to the door and gave it a soft knock. “Dara? May I come in?”
Dara lay in bed, her eyes tracing the shadows flickering across the ceiling– her ceiling. The though that it could belong to her, the thought that it had been offered so soon after she'd met the family, never ceased to confuse her– she'd never been wanted before, not like this, and in truth, she was scared of what could happen when they realized how awful she really was. Out in the passage, voices sounded; Nathan and Bella's. Getting up, she made her way to the door and opened it, just as a knock sounded.
(Sorry for being late! I ran into a problem with my car, but all’s well now!)
The door swung open in his face. He stared down at Dara with a hint of something unnameable in his eyes; for some reason, he hadn’t expected her to actually be there. He’d known she would, yet his mind had been convinced that she was someone he made up. It didn’t make sense, but he was so tired that he didn’t care.
“Oh,” he said, “hello. I’m sorry, I know it’s kind of late. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
(no problem, sorry I left abruptly, I had to go to my friend's house to work on a project)
She brushed it away, concerned eyes scanning his features for any sign of pain. "I was already awake. Here, come in." Stepping aside, Dara kept the door open for him, gesturing towards the bed. "Your sister set up some blankets on the floor for you, but you can take the bed," she offered, not planning on taking 'no' for an answer. "How are you feeling?"
(I had an idea for way later in this role play. What if the people in this town decided to hunt down and kill/imprison those with magic due to a series of magical attacks in a nearby strand of towns? That way it’d be an us-vs-then situation with some actual risk, and it’d be a lot of fun to do!)
(ooh yesss that sounds awesome!)
(Okay, great!)
He went straight past her onto the floor, where he sat cross-legged, shirtless, and unapologetic. With a yawn, he stretched out his arms in the dying light of the coals. The tattooed on his chest flickered in and out as the shadows danced around him, and strands of his sweaty hair fell into his lined, worried face. He pulled a sheet up over his legs and looked at her, a hint of a smile—possibly a hysterical grin—teasing the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll take the floor, thanks, and don’t worry. It’s… bad,” he admitted, “but I think I’ll be fine. If Bella’s right, then I’ll be back in action before I know it. Well, more like a week or so, but still.”
Normally, Dara would have flushed at the sight of his bare chest, but the sight of his back, littered with cuts and bandages, only brought guilt rising within her instead. "No, I insist, take the bed. Especially if it's that bad." Approaching him, she kneeled down next to the nest of blankets, trying to convince him to move over. "Honestly, it's fine, I usually sleep on the floor anyways."
“Are we both going to sleep on the ground?” he asked jokingly, actually full on smiling this time. Laughing softly under his breath, he laid himself flat on his stomach. He slid his wrist braces off of his arms and put them next to one another. Propping his head up on both of his arms, he sent her a nonchalant look. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. You saved me, so just let this be me repaying you.”
He was… laughing? Dara tilted her head in confusion, surprised at his humour despite the predicament they were both in. "But.. you've already repaid me by letting me stay here, so wouldn't it be my turn now?" she questioned, peering down at him in the dim light of the crackling fire.
(Okay I am LOVING this imagery of them looking at each other in the fire all cute like sorry anyway)
“Saving my life is at least worth two favors,” Nathan replied calmly. The heat was starting to get to him. He lowered his head down onto one of the pillows, hiding a yawn, and swaddled himself carefully with only his back exposed in two of the other blankets. They were heavenly against his cold skin. “Besides, I’m already asleep. See? It’s too late. You’ll have to stay in the bed.”
(aww same)
(aesthetic)
Dara couldn't help a quiet laugh at his response, shadows playing across her scarred face. "I guess so… But I still feel bad." She pulled her legs into a cross-legged position, tugging at the collar of her– well, Anna's– comfy pyjama shirt. "Are you absolutely sure? Feel free to wake me up in the middle of the night– if I actually fall asleep– if you want the bed."
“I’m sure.”
Lazily, he let his chest rise and fall with breaths. Every part of him still hurt, but he no longer cared. He was at his home, the place he loved most, with his sisters, who he’d never thought he’d see again. When that whip was cracking into his flesh, he’d thought of them, Bella with her bravery and loveliness and Annabeth in all of her cunning, daring nature. He thought about how he’d almost given up earlier that night. It made him sad. He’d been so ridiculous to think that would’ve been better.
“I’m not going to want the bed, Dara. Goodnight.”
