Farah had prepared to tell Aiki about Saul and the battalion's history, but she clammed up when Ben and Andreas returned, specifically Andreas. Suddenly, she became very self-consious of letting her hair down, and she reached up to tie it back into a knot.
"Don't do that," Andreas protested, approaching her from behind. "You look great with it down."
Farah froze and shot Saul a side-eye look, and she saw him eying the situation with a fire behind his stare. In one swift motion, Farah put her hair in a tail and shifted her seat so she faced away from Andreas and more towards Saul, Aiki, and Ben. The weary smile on her lips didn't spread to her eyes. She briefly cleared her throat and asked, "How's the food, Aiki?"
Aiki, despite being a bit distracted with eating, still noticed and felt the tension in the room whenever Andreas spoke. His eyes flashed for a moment as he turned a pointed look towards Andreas. They didn't know Farah all that well, of course, but they still didn't like to see someone being made to be so uncomfortable. Something about Andreas just made Aiki very wary to trust him.
He looked away when Farah addressed him again, turning his attention to her instead. "It's very good, thank you…" They replied softly, smiling to reassure her. "I'm feeling a bit better already. You guys have been very helpful."
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Farah replied. "We'll get you back in no time, I promise. Eiji will barely have had any time to miss you."
Saul's gaze shifted from Farah to Andreas, who was already looking at him with narrowed eyes. Saul looked as though he was about to challenge Andreas when footsteps appeared at the door. The entire battalion turned their heads to see Rosalind at the entrance to the dormitory wearing the same jumpsuit from earlier.
"Farah. Come here," she said coolly before disappearing into the hallway again.
Farah drew in a breath and stood to follow Rosalind into the hallway.
Aiki laughed weakly. "Y-Yeah… he's probably worried by now. I wander off sometimes, but I've been gone for long enough that he's probably started to get a bit nervous." They took another bite of their food, averting their eyes. He glanced up when Rosalind came through the door, feeling himself tense up at her imposing presence.
They were clearly uneasy when Farah was called away, but it wasn't like they could really do anything about it. He watched her stand up, glancing to Saul to see if he would allow it.
Saul crossed his arms over his broad chest and shifted his weight from his left leg to his right and back again as Farah left, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't contradict Rosalind's orders. He sighed anxiously when Farah rounded the door and disappeared from sight.
"Close the door," Rosalind ordered. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes shut.
Farah's heart began to race. She reached back inside the room to pull the door shut. When she did, she spared a look at Saul, who was already looking at her. Their eyes made contact, and he saw the fear threatening to break through the surface of her normally gentle and cool features. The second Farah pulled the door shut, Rosalind's eyes flew open, and her power unleashed. Farah's eyes turned grey like Rosalind's were, and she winced as Rosalind's voice rang in her mind.
"What the hell, Farah? What took you two so long to bring back the Burned One, and why did you come back with this creature?"
"Aiki is not a creature," Farah replied out loud. "He was weak in the forest when we found him, and–" Searing pain ripped through her head. Farah cried out and fell to her knees, whimpering.
"Pitiful," Rosalind sneered. "Now tell me. What role did this creature have in your fight against the Burned One?"
"We protected him from it," Farah whispered.
"Don't lie to me." Another bolt of pain forced Farah to curl into a ball. "Don't make me push further, Farah."
Aiki couldn't fully relax while Farah was alone outside with Rosalind, but there wasn't anything he could do. They finished eating the food that was offered to them and sighed softly, their ears twitching and pricking to catch any noise from outside. He winced upon hearing that Rosalind had referred to him as a "creature", turning his ears back and deciding he didn't want to listen anymore.
There wasn't a ton of things that made Aiki super uncomfortable, but being referred to as an animal was one of them. He stared blankly down into his lap, his eyes closed and his ears back. Animalistic terms just brought back bad memories of a time when he was younger when he had gone missing as well, and had fallen into the hands of some less than kind people. They seemed to be trembling slightly, and they were tense and uncomfortable.
"Tell me why he really is here. Tell me why you and Saul suddenly decided not to brief me about your mission. Tell me why it took so long for you to track, kill, and return with the Burned One!"
Farah's head pounded as the agonizing pain built up. It was too much for her to bear, but Rosalind continued to push. A painful scream erupted from her lips.
–
Farah's screams reached Saul's ears through the door, and white-hot fury consumed him. He stormed towards the door only to be intercepted by Ben.
"There's nothing you can do," Ben muttered as Saul strained against him. "Farah is strong. She can handle it. She has before."
"This isn't right," Saul countered, shoving himself towards the door. "She doesn't deserve this!"
Aiki covered their ears with their hands, whimpering shakily and visibly trembling. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and he really just wanted to escape, but that wasn't really an option considering he didn't know how to get home and wasn't in any condition to be traveling. They drew their knees up to their chest, shaking their head a bit.
He hated listening to the screams. He hated that Farah was essentially being tortured for his sake. They choked a bit and hid their face, the fur on their tail bristling with fear and anger. Please… just leave her alone… she doesn't deserve this…
The screams stopped abruptly. After a few minutes of silence, the door reopened, and Farah entered. "Andreas," she addressed him quietly. "Could I have a moment alone with Saul, Ben, and Aiki, please?"
Andreas' eyes narrowed slightly, but he respected Farah's wish. He left promptly, shutting the door behind him. The second he was gone, Farah sank to her knees, racked with sobs. Saul was at her side in less than an second, hugging her and whispering in her ear, and Ben knelt beside her, rubbing her back gently.
"It's okay. She's gone. He's gone. I'm here. Ben's here. Aiki's here."
At Aiki's name, Farah quickly looked up at him. "Oh, Aiki… I'm so sorry you had to hear that," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Did you tell her?" Saul asked, and Farah replied by shaking her head slowly.
"No."
Saul closed his eyes and sighed. "Farah…"
She trembled violently and burst into another round of tears. Saul hugged her close, and she buried her face in his chest while he gently placed kisses in her hair.
Aiki looked up when Farah returned, his eyes stinging with tears. His gaze looked distant, and he didn't seem to be fully there. Their ears were turned back and they honestly looked pretty pitiful; drastically different from the aggressive display they had initially employed to try and intimate Saul in the woods.
His breath caught in his throat and he coughed weakly, his chest growing tight. They were struggling to draw in a full breath; all they could do was weakly gasp for empty, shallow air. "It's— it's— f-fine…" He choked in reply, trying to breathe in, but unable to do so due to the tightness in his throat and chest. "S'not— y-your fault…"
After another minute of ragged breaths and choking sobs, Farah forced herself to stand and walked over to Aiki, much to the surprise of Saul and Ben.
She sat on the edge of the bed. Her warm chocolate eyes shone with tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered again, wrapping Aiki in a hug. "You're going to be fine. Rosalind won't hurt you."
Aiki seemed unsure what to do at first, his air still caught in the tight knot in his chest. After a few seconds, they clung to Farah and buried their face in her shoulder. "I-It's stupid… really…" He whispered. "J-Just… something she said really struck a chord, a-and…" They shook their head a bit, keeping their face hidden. "I-I'm the one who should be s— s-sorry… you're going through so much worse…"
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Farah whispered, trying to keep her voice level despite the cries that wanted to come out. "This isn't your fault either. I can handle it."
Saul's vision blurred at Farah's words, and he turned away. His beautiful, precious Farah was hurting, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Nothing hurt him more.
Aiki fought back tears, trying to retain what little dignity he had left. "You shouldn't h-have to handle it…" He replied in a weak whisper. Their breathing hitched and they started trembling a bit harder. "T-This isn't… this isn't good for you. For any of you…" He choked a bit, his tail puffing up more. "I-I don't even wanna know what Rosalind wants from me… I doubt she'd be very kind. T-To her, I'm just a 'creature', after all…" They said the word with disgust, struggling more to fight back their tears now.
"Shhh, shhh," Farah whispered. "It's alright. It's okay." She exchanged a look with Ben. "Don't worry about Rosalind. I will protect you from her. She won't get near you, and she certainly won't call you a 'creature' again if I have any say in it. And… don't worry too much about me. This… wasn't the first time. I've gotten used to it," she tried to joke, but her voice was tight. Her head still pounded violently.
At that, Saul whirled around, his anger back. "Damn it!" he exclaimed, lashing out at the air. Farah hugged Aiki tighter against her, and Ben moved out of Saul's way and sat down on the opposite side of the bed as Farah. They both knew better than to get in Saul's way when he was angry.
Aiki hiccuped weakly, unable to bite back their tears any longer. A couple of tears managed to get past his eyes and roll down his cheeks as he quivered in Farah's arms. I'm not a 'creature'… I'm not…. I'm not an animal. I'm a person. He insisted to himself in his thoughts. "You shouldn't… h-have to get used to bad things like this…" They said weakly, glancing up at Saul and holding a bit closer to Farah, clearly anxious and uncomfortable.
Farah smoothed Aiki's hair comfortingly as Saul sporadically lashed out at the air until he ran out of energy. When he finished, he looked over at Farah with a fiery gaze and paced over to her quickly.
"Saul?" she asked in a small, quiet voice.
Without speaking, he pulled her to her feet, cupped her face in his hands, and then slowly guided her in for a soft kiss – just the opposite of his behavior mere seconds before. She gasped quietly, but she let herself embrace the comforting feeling. After a few seconds, they broke apart, but Saul continued to keep her trembling body close.
Aiki shied away when Saul pulled Farah away. He was uneasy with Saul acting like this, but he still knew that Saul wasn't going to hurt Farah. They looked up at the two of them, smiling weakly when they kissed.
He sighed shakily and lay back down on the bed, still visibly trembling. They were struggling to focus, and for once they were not thankful for the mental clarity that came with actually eating something.
"Saul," Farah whispered, shaking in his arms. "You know I don't like when you do that."
"I'm sorry, Farah," Saul murmured. "Rosalind just…" He inhaled sharply. "It makes me so angry I can't contain it. I hate that she can do this to you and get away with it every time. I don't want her to hurt you, Farah, I… I don't want anyone to hurt you."
She whimpered quietly and buried her face in his chest.
(Sorry, it's just hard to reply since you're kinda just doing your own thing with your characters and Aiki is sort of sidelined at the moment ^^;)
(Sorry, my b! Let me change it)
"Saul," Farah whispered, shaking in his arms. "You know I don't like when you do that."
"I'm sorry, Farah," Saul murmured. "Rosalind just…" He inhaled sharply. "It makes me so angry I can't contain it. I hate that she can do this to you and get away with it every time. I don't want her to hurt you, Farah, I… I don't want anyone to hurt you."
Farah whimpered quietly and buried her face in his chest. Saul held her against him protectively and looked to Aiki, only now noticing how the fox boy had shied away from him. "Aiki, I'm so sorry," he apologized genuinely. "Are you alright?"
Aiki wouldn't meet Saul's eyes as they nodded hesitantly, rubbing at their eyes with one fist as subtly as they could. His ears were still turned back, and he looked pretty uncomfortable. "Y-Yeah… m'fine…" They mumbled in reply. His gaze was distant and he still hadn't really quite recovered. Their mind was clearly elsewhere, and their hands were trembling. "It's nothing…"
Saul felt bad for scaring Aiki, but he didn't know what to say. "I… I didn't mean to…" Saul tried to apologize, but Farah silenced him with a chaste kiss on his lips.
"Shh," Farah whispered. "It's okay. Why don't you and Ben go take a walk for a minute? Get out of this stuffy dorm. Some fresh air will do you good," she murmured, running her fingers slowly through his hair.
Saul's eyes closed for a brief moment, savoring her touch one last time before he let her slide out of his grip. Ben stood and clapped Saul's shoulder as he passed. "C'mon, Saul," he urged. "There's something I've been meaning to show you, anyway."
Not breaking eye contact with Farah, Saul backtracked until backed into the door. Farah covered her lips with her hand and giggled. Saul winced and rubbed the back of his head, but he grinned when he saw it had made Farah laugh. "I love you," he whispered, and she blew him a kiss in response. His eyes melted, but Ben shut the door behind them as they left.
Once Saul left, Farah again let her façade drop, and she sank onto the bed tiredly. "I'm so sorry, Aiki," she whispered. "What's going on?"
Aiki watched the three of them messing around with tired eyes, fidgeting nervously with his hands. They still couldn't make eye contact with any of them, and they seemed really antsy and uncomfortable. He definitely didn't really want to talk, but he felt obligated to.
"You can't… talk about this." They said softly. "I-I never even told Eiji what actually happened…" He took a couple deep breaths to muster up the courage to actually speak. "U-Um… when… when I was about ten, I wandered off on my own and got lost in the woods, and… some people picked me up." They trailed off, their face pale and their heart pounding with nerves. "They… um… weren't great people, a-and basically treated me like an animal…? Kept me in a cage, talked down to me and about me like I was a pet or something… s-so when Rosalind called me a 'creature', like… like they used to do… it struck a really bad chord." He drew in a shaky breath. "I was stuck with them for about a month, a-and when I got back to my family, I just… told them I was lost in the woods."
Tears shone in Farah's dark eyes as listened to Aiki's story. Her heart broke for them and all the pain they had to have dealt with. She listened with compassion and care, and when they were finished, she slowly opened her arms if he wanted a hug. She wasn't sure if they would, but she vowed then and there that she would be there to provide whatever kind of support Aiki needed at any time. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Aiki looked up at Farah quietly and hesitated before hugging her. He gripped her tightly and buried his face in her shoulder, trembling lightly. "I-I thought… I thought I was over it by now…" They whispered weakly. "I didn't… d-didn't think that it bothered me so much anymore… b-but it's really hard to forget stuff like that…" They hiccuped and tightened their grip, flattening their ears against their head.
Farah took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. Only moments ago, she had been the one trembling and needing a rock to cling to, but now Aiki was the one who needed someone strong and sure. She gasped quietly when the hug tightened, but in no way did she move to let go. Instead, she gently rubbed Aiki's back in long, soothing strokes. "It's alright. I get it. There is so much I wish I could forget, but instead, I have the images burned into my memory." Literally, she thought and did her best not to shudder. Rosalind's abilities were immense, and her power was not something she reserved. Many hours during training were forever pressed into Farah's memory, keeping her up at night in terror, but at the same time, somehow, loyal to her mentor. "I wish I could give you peace," she whispered, feeling her heart continue to break for them. "But even if I did, it would only be temporary. I'm sorry. You're so young. You didn't deserve any of this."
Aiki drew in a couple harsh, wavering breaths, trying their best to keep from crying. "I'm sorry… I-I'm sorry… you guys have so much to deal with, a-and this isn't even that relevant, it's just that one stupid little comment just… a-and I…" He stammered, struggling to find the right words, or any word at all. Anything they tried to say seemed to get caught behind the lump in their throat. "I'm the… I-I'm supposed to be the fun… funny, upbeat one…" He whispered. "I'm not really supposed to feel the serious emotions…? I love Eiji, but… and it's my fault, but… it's hard to vent about this kinda stuff, because I'm not sure anybody would believe me…"
"Shh, shh. Don't say that. You have nothing to be apologizing for," Farah kindly, but firmly interjected. But as she listened to them speak, she felt pieces of herself breaking off, the pain too much for her to continue to carry. Still, she continued to rub Aiki's back, discreetly transferring a bit of her happier emotions to them. "I'm not allowed to feel many emotions, especially when I'm around Rosalind. I believe you," she whispered.
