forum Calling Ella Erransmith!

Started January 07, 2019 by @blue_topaz

tune

(oh lol it's totally fine! Unless a roleplay has 'no stalkers' in the title, it's totally okay for you toread it, and thank you for the compliment! I'm actually in two with Autumn, which are you referring to?)

"Good night.." she murmured, rising to her feet. Dara hesitated, opening her mouth as if to add on, but decided against and turned away.

Hours later, a complete silence had fallen over the cozy household. Dara was still lying awake, her eyes fixed to the ceiling as memories passed before her mind's eye.

(don't worry about it! if you'd like, I could PM you a short list of vocab and general unspoken rules for the forums
Oh that one! Yeah I love Kasey and Barry xD
Yeah sure! Well, Dara will likely be awake, but sure!)

It was quiet in the morning. Belladonna, already dressing herself up for work, tied her hair up into a bun that she hid snugly under a nurse’s cap. She smoothed down the folds of her uniform and checked her makeup once more in the mirror. Not an eyelash was out of place. Quickly, she made her way out of her room to their kitchen table, which was leaning to one side. Annabeth was in the kitchen in an apron, her braids loose and eyes sparkling with mischief.
“So, sister of mine, they actually ended up staying in the same room?”
“That they did. Not the same bed, though.” Laughing, Bella wiggled her shoulders. “Maybe that’ll come later.”
“I hope so! It wouldn’t kill him to have a spot of fun.”
With a flash of a grin, the darker-haired, younger girl peeked over the counter. She saw a pan of something—was that bacon?—sizzling next to a few pieces of buttered bread on a plate. Her stomach growled.
“What a feast! You did very well, Anna. I’m proud.”
“Thank you. Hold on, here are some berries to go with it. There’s also cider.” She spun around the kitchen in a whirlwind, grabbing things left and right. What she ended up with was a platter with some different helpings of good-looking food. “Take this to them, will you? And here, take the cider, too. They need to eat.”
“Especially Dara! She looks so skinny,” Belladonna agreed. She picked up the plates and went to their door, which she bumped open with her hip.
“Good morning, you two! Breakfast is here, along with some something sweet to drink.”
Nathan, grumbling something groggily, only shifted in his nest. She resisted the urge to toe him in the ribs and instead looked to Dara. To her surprise, it looked like the other girl was awake. She also looked extremely tired. Bella decided not to mention that, instead plopping everything nicely down on a smooth spot of the bedspread.
“Eat up, you two! And Nathan, please leave some for her. I know you eat like a starving bear, but there’s no need to do so today.”
“Leave m’ alone,” he groaned. She snorted.
“Here, Dara, you’d better eat before he gets all of it.”

Dara sat up in bed, sagging against the wall. “Th-Thank you so much,” she mumbled, her tongue heavy in her mouth. “And good— good morning.” She rubbed at the dark circles beneath her eyes, drawing her knees up to her chest. “How are the both of you?”

“Great, thank you very much,” Belladonna answered. She caught sight of every hint of wariness in the girl’s movements and felt her heart sink.
Nathan, sounding and looking very much like a bear coming out of hibernation after a long winter, grabbed a piece of bacon, tore it, and shoved it in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing it, he rolled his shoulders. A zing of pain went through him. He wheezed under his breath in surprise, alerting Bella. She came to his side and studied his back.
“It’s looking a little better than yesterday, but you’ve still got a long way to go. Maybe soon you can try washing it off and replacing the bandages.”
“Why’d y’wake me up?” he huffed, voice low and husky with sleep.
“I thought you’d want to eat,” she retorted. “Go on, Dara, the food’s not going to bite you. Now, I’ve got to go to work. Have a nice day.”
A beat after she left, Nathan lunged for the cider. He took a sip and let out a long, needy sigh as the drink washed the dryness out of his throat.
“Y’don’t look like you slept much,” he remarked casually, “is there something wrong with the bed?”

Dara leaned forward, her muscles complaining as she reached for a strip of bacon. She kept her eyes on the duvet in front of her, not daring to look Nathan in the eye. “I slept… fine.” It was a blatant lie, and not a very convincing one either. “What about you?”

“Got a crick in my neck, but I’m pretty much fine otherwise,” he responded.
Slowly, he managed to grab the edge of the bed and lift himself up so that he was sitting right beside the tray. He took another sip of his cider while eyeing her. The bags under her eyes indicated that she was obviously lying, but he wasn’t sure if he should call her out on it.
“So,” he said, choosing otherwise, “tell me a little about yourself. You’ve seen my house and my sisters. Now, I think it’s time I know a bit about you.”

Dara could practically feel Nathaniel’s eyes burning holes into her skin, barely resisting the temptation to squirm under his scrutiny. “I—“ She flinched, debating whether to lie, be vague, or tell the truth. Her exhaustion had slowly melted away her walls, leaving her vulnerable core exposed to the man across form her, and she was too tired to rebuild them. “My parents left me with my aunt.”

Worry, anger, and fear chased each other through his face. His eyebrows scrunched together in disgust, and his eyes narrowed considerably, like an animal hunting its prey.
“What kind of people do that?” he spat. “My aunt turned us out, too, but she was a widow at the time and we were crappy, whiny kids. I’m sorry, Dara. That’s… really tough.” His face went soft with genuine compassion. “You can stay here. It’ll be safe. You can have food, and this bed, and… and you won’t have to worry about being outside, or being hunted for your magic. I can’t promise it’ll be perfect, but we look out for each other.”

Dara’s head jerked upwards as his words hit home, her eyes widening in disbelief. “You—“ She choked up, voice thick with emotion as tears began to well up in her eyes. Almost angrily, she wiped them away before she could fall— what right did she have to cry, wen Nathan had just survived a brutal whipping. “You really want me around? Me? Even my aunt—“ Dara blanched, cutting herself off abruptly.

Something darkened in his eyes. “Even your aunt didn’t want you?”
His stomach grew sick with rage, and for once, just once, he wished he was starting a fight. He clenched his hands into fists in the blankets, bare torso heaving, until he saw her unfallen tears. Only then did he calm himself down enough to open his arms to her. Inside, something screamed at him. He hadn’t touched someone so openly in such a long time, but he needed to reassure her, needed to tell her that she was wanted.
“C’mere. It’s alright, you can…” He closed his eyes. “You can cry if you need to. It’s alright. I’ve cried in front of you already. Just… c’mere, please.”

(Awwwww
And so it begins~)

Every single instinct in Dara’s body screamed at her to say no, to lean away, but for fear of offending him, she allowed him to encase her lithe, trembling form in his embrace. “I’m sorry—“ was all she could say, over and over again, hot shame burning within her. And if she was being honest— the hug felt nice. It was maybe the first gentle physical contact she’d had in… months? Years? And for once, it felt good to be touched.

(The very first hint of romance aww)

He held her with feelings racing through him. Mainly, he felt sad, sad that she should be treated so badly, sad that she felt she should have to apologize over and over again, sad that she was shaking as hard as she was, but there was also still fury in his heart and bitterness in his head. He pushed it all aside for her, the girl in his arms. The only thing he could do was just hold her and murmur comforting things quietly, scared she’d back away if he asked her anything else.
And then he remembered that he was shirtless, in a bed, a bed he owned, and-
“I’m so sorry,” he gasped, moving away, “this must seem like I’m, um, taking advantage of you. I’m sorry, that wasn’t- I didn’t mean to- I was trying to, um, comfort you. I promise that isn’t what I meant to do.” Inside, he cursed himself. What was he doing? She was probably creeped out now, possibly even afraid that he was manipulating her. “Was that inappropriate of me?”

(and he ruined it)

(Big Oof
lol)

Dara shrank back against the wall, shaking her head rapidly as her pulse skyrocketed. What is wrong with you?? Pull yourself together! Her hands found the duvet, bunched it up in her fists. “Not at all— you weren’t— you weren’t doing anything wrong. At all— I’m sorry.”

“I, um- oh.” Nathan turned his burning face away. He found the food and picked up a piece of toast to play with while his heart pounded. His throat was too tight to swallow it, but he still toyed with the buttered bread in his hands.
Making a bold decision, he mumbled, “Don’t be sorry. It felt kind of… nice.”

(nvm he saved it)

(xD
Time for Dara to ruin it again because she’s like that)

Dara’s face burned, her heart stumbling over its next few beats. Could she not have physical contact without being afraid of romantic interaction? Was that really too much to ask? Turbulence reflected in her dark eyes, she rose abruptly from the bed. “Where’s your washroom? I- I need to wash my face.”

Confusion swept across his features. Nathan got to his feet quite unsteadily and went to the door, which he opened wide to point at another similar one around the corner. He stammered out a few things about towels and their soap being under the sink before pulling back to the bed. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dropped down his brow as he chomped into his toast, embarrassed, nervous, and feeling guilty.

Once encased in the blessed safety of the bathroom, Dara sagged against the wall, beginning to work away at the hard knot of emotion in her gut. Good job. This was only her second day, and she’d already messed up. Fantastic. A heavy blanket of guilt settled on her shoulders as her eyes fell shut. Battling utter exhaustion, she forced them open again and stared at her reflection in the mirror; the bags under her eyes, the dried blood on her bottom lip, the scars littering almost every inch of visible skin. How could Nathaniel bear to touch her, to look at her? It was a mystery, as was how on earth she was going to make up her awfuk behavipus to him.

Gut twisting, she half-heartedly splashed some water onto her face and returned to the shared bedroom, eyes glued to the floor.

Nathan had been sick the night before, but that was nothing compared to how nauseous he’d felt when she’d left the room.
Of course she would want to leave after he’d pulled something like that. He honestly hadn’t meant to, but the way it looked must’ve frightened her. He’d screwed it up with his desperation. Maybe, just maybe, he thought, he should’ve left the issue alone entirely. As much as he wanted to help her, he’d just made things worse. He supposed that she’d never tell him anything ever again, anyway, as he sat there with cheeks as hot as coals.
He found himself unable to look at her when she re-entered the room. The berries were his new focal point, and he picked up one at a time to put into his mouth. Even their bursts of freshly-washed sweetness couldn’t cheer him up.
“Dara, listen, I’m really sorry. I guess I just, um, saw that you were hurting, and… I don’t know what I was thinking. Honestly, I just wanted to make you feel better. You don’t deserve that.”

“It— it’s fine,” she forced out, and for once she wasn’t sure whether or not she was telling the truth. “It’s my fault— I freaked unnecessarily. I just… I haven’t been touched like that in a long time. I’m sorry.” Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, she reached for another strip of bacon, but let her hand drop to the duvet instead.

He saw her hand fall. In his mind, he played out a scene where he rested his on top of hers comfortingly, but that was one hundred percent guaranteed to get her to hate him. Rather than follow that instinct, he clutched his cooled cider in his hands. The amber liquid still tasted delightful when cold, so he took a couple of long, drawn out drinks.
“Either way, just know that I’m sorry to have made you uncomfortable. I promise that it won’t happen again. You can even request that I move rooms, if you’d like.”