Familiar face (Vega and Libelle)

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

Libelle wasn’t often one to go into the town, yet she found as the years had gone on her girls worked hard for her. The least she could do is go get things from the market when they were in between deliveries. Today was that day for her, she was often up with the sun habit really. She liked the warmth, she grew up in Australia where the heat seemed to never weaver. So she often could be found basking in it if she wasn’t cooking or working. Yet today would be different from normal as she put on her most respectable outfit. After all she didn’t plan to run the town half naked like she did in her brothel. She found herself walking the streets in the early morning sun just as others came from their homes to start their days. She paused in the middle of the street for a moment turning her gaze to the warm sun as he beat down on her tanned flesh. Taking a deep breath she got to work on her list of items she needed.

She had an Aura around her one that would make anyone run from her. It was just a curse part of being a drake. She had gotten used to it though, She used it to her advantage. As she walked from store to store she would smile at the people and they seemed more than willing to part with goods at a less than posted price. It made her chuckle to herself as she walked the streets how so many people feared her. Yet if they got past that aura they would see how utterly truly broken she was. Belle had gotten lost in that thought for a moment before shaking her head back and forth quickly no, she wasn’t going to think about Roderick. She hoped he earned everything he deserved. Letting out a frustrated sigh she took her goods and carried them back to the Brothel.

Once there she got to work opening the place. She made breakfast for those who stayed the evening, at a cost of course. She was busy making meals and pouring drinks she hadn’t noticed the day go smoothly. She undid the corset of her dress which caused her breast to fall slightly from where they had been held as she yanked down the sleeves so that she could breath better. Her eyes moved around the Dragon Lady; she knew most of the people there. After all, once some men got a taste they couldn’t stay away. The thought brought a slow smile to her face as she thought on that before she looked to the door open.

Someone new. Someone who didn’t look the type to hang around in a brothel not with how good looking he was. She moved to the bar and picked up a mug. “Come for a drink? Or a lady?” She called out to him with a coo in her gentlest of voices she could project his way. Wondering if he was scared to be in a brothel. “First time?” she asked as she poured a mug of ale. “If so first drink is on the house.” she smiled towards him slowly.

[Vega]

"Mistress Libelle." He quickly corrected with a slight widening of eyes. He sharpness pricking him by surprise. He scoffed at her next words though. Shaking his head as he clicked his tongue. 

"Tell trouble not to follow me then!" 

He glanced at her over his shoulder with a mischievous look in his eyes and a wild smirk on his lips. And then he disappeared in the sunlight. 

In all honesty, he wasn't expecting to see her until tonight when he returned after work. He watched her as she signed and offered her a smile. "No, thank you... Dragonfly." He didn't linger. Still having a long day ahead of him. By the time his day was done, it was well into the night and the brothel had long been open. He greeted the ladies that were still downstairs when he arrived. Careful not to interfere with their work. He gave a silent greeting to Libelle as he passed her realizing how extremely busy she was. He headed to his room and stayed there a while. A normal man might have taken a few days before working after the state he arrived here in. Jeo was far from normal, however, and those few days of rest would make him restless. 

After a moment to himself, he returned downstairs. It wasn't too late yet so people were still here and men still trying to get laid. Jeovani joined in the comradery this time as opposed to last night. Singing the sea shanties with the men he had met at work today and that encouraged Belle's ladies to join in on the fun. By the end of the night, most of Belle's ladies had a partner and those that didn't tried to get Jeo. Who politely declined. 

Eventually, he and Belle were alone again. 

Jeovani staying here with her to help her clean up before retiring for the night. He did this in silence and wouldn't stop helping if she objected. 

"I've been to many brothels throughout my life but never seen the mistress not take a lover for herself."

 He glanced her way quickly as he gathers the various grogs and chalices that laid out. Bringing them to the bar for her. "Now I saw several people offer themselves to you. Willing to pay too. And yet, all were turned away." 

The look in his eyes grew darker. Brimming with curiosity and enchantment as he stared right into her soul. 

"And so I wondered. Maybe she's celibate or saving herself for her love who is away. But no, The Winds tells me my thoughts are wrong."

Once again the devilish smirk from earlier appears at the corner of her lips as he leans on the bar right across from her. 

"So tell me Dragonfly. How much to change your mind? How much for the night?"

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

As he corrected what he was to call her, she gave a gentle smirk from her lips as she watched him leave. “I am sure trouble follows us all, it's all about how it's handled.” Taking in his mischievous look in his eyes gave a wider smirk on her lips before giving a shake of her head.

Night came swiftly and Libelle did what Libelle did best, tease the men that wish to grace her bed. Taking their money for the drinks she pours. With an easy laugh from her lips to each ill tempted jokes and attempts of affections.  Her eyes cast glances Vega’s way once he had returned noticing how he didn’t talk up her girls. It made her wonder why he was not like the other men who graced the Brothel. Yet she couldn’t question him as she was busy working. Eventually he was gone and she could focus on work itself.  Once he returned she didn’t notice as she was busy at the piano playing away for those singing the sea shanties. Sing with them as she laughed out in joy.

The night soon came to the close it often did with her back behind the bar filling the last of the drinks and waiting for the bar to be emptied. Well as emptied as it seemed to get since Vega had reappeared. She got to work to clean up and then she raised a brow as he helped. “You know I don’t pay you nor give you a free room for this help you so willingly offer.” She said as she took the glasses he sat there. 

When the subject turned to her not taking a lover that evening she let out a laugh. “Well you see when I first opened I took more lovers then I care to admit. So now I rather tease these men who think they could grace my bed. I rather find myself with a lovely bath and bed.” She admitted, “Most have never pleased me anyways.” After a long moment she smirked softly. “No coin is worth a fruitless night for myself.”  She said simply as she looked him over.

Watching his eyes grow darker she raised her brow unable to break the eye contact with one another. The smirk upon her lips as the wind called her out for not being celibate. “I must have a talk with this wind you speak of, telling my secrets.” She felt him lean closer, his questions threw her off.

“The only way one could change my mind to grace my bed for an evening, is if they returned with the ruby of the sea. Many men have tried to find it and have failed yet they don’t know that it is in fact buried at the bottom of the open sea where none could find it.” She said simply leaning closer. “So I don’t believe my mind will be changed tonight.” She brushed her lips to his as if she was going to steal a kiss but rather she returned to doing the dishes. “Why do you ask? Are you interested in paying for a night with me?” She looked towards him.

[Vega]

"If they never pleased you. Then you shouldn't give them the honor of being called lover."

His voice was soft. He admired her as she leaned in and smirked as she pulled away. He hummed to himself as he stood upright again. His thoughts clearly passing on his face. "I asked because I found it odd." He shrugged. His thoughts were obviously running, however. 

"Me?" He tilted his head as he looked back toward her. Humming out a chuckle. "You say many men have tried and failed at this." The wind called. He stalled and listened. "And The Wind tells me this... Rubí del mar may not even exist." 

He shook his head and clicked his tongue a few times. "If I were going to risk life and limb for a fable it would be for something much more precious." 

He looked her right in the eyes. "Your heart. Your love." 

He turned his attention to the tables behind him wipping them down and then turning the chairs up on them. "If your schedule remains as consistent as it's been we won't be seeing much of each other. I have early mornings and late nights ahead of me but I promise my payments will be on time." He seemed saddened by the news he shared but nothing out of the ordinary since they had only just met. 

Just like the night before he walked her up the steps and bid her good night. But once the sun rose he was gone. True to his word. Gone before anyone else in the house had woken or at least left the comfort of their room. And when he returned in the hustle of the night he only caught a fleeting glimpse of Libelle and in fact all the other women here as he made his way to his room and collapsed upon the bed. 

This carried on through the whole rest of the month and well into the next one. He often saw Pearl out in the town and of course, would help her with any heavy items or issues a merchant might be giving her. He wasn't a fool to the possibility of her running back and tell Libelle and her ladies of this. He didn't give it much thought though because he wasn't helping her for clout. Or to get on Libelle's good terms. 

It was just the right thing to do. 

At last, the day came when they would see each other again beyond just quick glances as they passed each other by. Except they weren't under pleasant terms. Jeovani stepped in slow and stiff. Removing his boots at the door and faintly struggling to, to not trek the mess covering him on the floor. Though he hid it well, he was in pain. From head to toe, he was covered in tar and mud. Hiding the bruises, burns and cuts under them. 

He had clearly been attacked. 

He was grateful the brothel wasn't open just yet won't because he would hate to disturb the ladies business. He took in a sharp breath and held up his hands to stop the ladies from approaching. 

"People don't like Gypsies. I'm used to it. I'm okay." 

He smiled but there was no happiness there. He just didn't want Libelle or her ladies to worry too much. "I'm sorry I disrupted your moment of peace before you open." He gave them all a nod before stiffly making his way to his room. 

It took hours but he was finally clean enough to relax in the bath he drew for himself. Now trying to focus on his wounds. And also simmer down because he was still pissed. He rubbed his face as his thoughts of revenge stressed him out. 

Eventually dipping his head into the water. Hoping the warmth would soothe him. 

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

She thought about his statement for a moment but only smirked softly to him as his voice soft, “Calling them lovers just boost their pride. It's a habit you develop stroking the pride of the men with the coin who come through that door. At the end of the day it seems some habits are hard to kill. He was a curious one who seemed to have a way about him. A way that would make any of her girls swoon, they had swoon over him if she was honest. Yet his focus seems to be only on her. She wanted to run from it, yet she couldn’t pull herself away from him.

As he said the wind was calling her a liar she gave a chuckle and moved closer to him. “The wind is lying to you.” She said simply, because for her it was semi truth. The Ruby of the sea existed just not in the way one may think, but she never offered that info willingly. Hence why the one to get it would get her heart. It was a good way to keep her heart guarded. No one would go out of their way to find it. “The Rubí del mar…” She said in the spanish tone he did, letting it roll off her tongue. “Is not a fable to me.” She gently said in a tone that held a seriousness to it. Her brow raised as he called her heart and love precious. “You bring me the Rubí del mar and I will give you those things.”

“I doubt that my heart and love are worth the effort though.” She muttered as she moved to clean off the bar. Her heart felt hollow knowing she wouldn’t be seeing much of him. A frown even touched her lips but she didn’t let it touch her words. “As long as payments are made then you will have a room at The Dragon Lady.” She said softly. Once they were finished with what they were doing and they walked to her room she said her good nights and closed the door behind her once again. 

Libelle grew used to Vega being around as the months past even if it was fleeting moments they had in the middle of the nights where he seemed clocked to come down and see her. Or the morning when she would place breakfast in his room before he could wake. He was different then most males she had come upon in her life. The last male she had felt this connection with, was lost to the sea. So She put it out of her mind. Yet her girls gushed about him and his actions which only caused Libelle to chuckle. Cause he had no idea the effect he had on the brothel, the girls, even herself to that day.

As Libelle was in the middle of training a new girl on how to be comfortable when a man hits on her when Jeovani entered the brothel. Her head turned to the door when she saw him. Covered head to toe in tar and mud. She stood up quickly as her eyes were large staring at him. She was grounded in the memory of her own being tied and beaten many years ago at that point. She was frozen. It took Ruby to shake her out of it. She returned to her lesson but her mind was far from work at that moment.

Once the Brothel was open and she had the moment. She stepped back from the bar. Ruby taking over without needing to be asked. She was up the stairs and opened his room door quietly. She closed it softly thinking he would be asleep. Looking around to the mess that he had cleaned off himself made her frown. She moved from where the bed is, to the room divider and saw him dipping into the water. She moved over to the tub. Touching the water with one finger gives a tsk at the temperature. Not giving a care about personal space at that moment. She started heating up the water to make it warmer. 

[Vega]

Buried beneath the water. He hoped its warmth and its soothing nature would calm his rage. It didn't. He sat up unaware he was no longer alone. Until, he emerged from the water and saw Libelle from the corner of his eye. He jerked. Immediately pressing his hand to his ribs. The pain confirming a few were broken. He closed his eyes and hissed out his pain as he groaned. With an inhale solely from his nose, he opened his eyes. He saw her hand in the water and thought she was doing something else simply because he had no clue she could warm it. So he gently took her hand and moved it out of the water. Placing it on the tubs bannister.

"You'd be disappointed with my LITTLE friend you'll find down there." 

He turned away from her. Seething in anger. He tightened his jaw and took hard deep breaths. He didn't want to be around anyone right now. Certainly not Libelle because he feared that in his anger he'd say the wrong thing. He didn't want to offend her. Or place his misguided anger on her. So he stayed quiet for a moment or so trying to string enough words together in his head to ask her to leave without being nasty or rude. The sharp pain coming from his ribs though meant he was going to need some help wrapping himself up. That made things more difficult. And so he let a closed mouthed growl out as his head shot in the opposite direction of where she stood. 

"There are at least fifty men on a nightly basis who try and pay you to bathe them. You're losing money by bathing me instead. I'm okay. Please go back to work." 

He wasn't looking the opposite way anymore. His head instead was hung. His voice very soft. Watching her from the corner of his eyes. Cupping himself. Staying perfectly still to not aggravate his ribs. Closing his eyes and clicking his tongue in aggravation. He took in a breath to speak. But let the breath out as he looked away again. He complained under his breath in Spanish. All because he wanted to be alone and not have to ask her for the help that he needed.

"Some of my ribs are broken. There are bandages on the bed. I need help wrapping myself up." 

He waited for a moment for her to head back into the main bedroom. Using the wind to help him out of the tub and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist as she returned. 

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

Libelle was working on making the water warmer when he came back up and they locked eyes. She was not uncomfortable at all. Yet the way he jerked seeing her made her raise a brow. Confusion crossed her face when she realized what he thought she was there for. Turning her hand off so it didn’t burn him she held the side of the tub. “I am not here for your...Little? Friend.” She felt the question in her tone because she had seen him hiding his member growing before. Yet she didn’t push it. “I was warming the water.” She said in a soft tone, her eyes never drifting from his face since he seemed to be shy about her being there.

She could feel his anger, and pain as it mixed in the room yet he was fighting it all to turn her away. When he gave a closed mouth growl she shifted slightly feeling something swirl inside of her. Desire? No she couldn’t be feeling desire for him. She shifted to straighten up for that moment as he talked about the others who wanted her to bathe them. She rolled her eyes for him to see. “Oh please those men want a handy in the bath because they are not long enough to be worth attempting to ride on. Besides, I am trying to help you. No matter how much you want to hide it, you are hurt, seriously hurt.”

She growled then not on purpose but she was frustrated by him at that moment. “Why do you stay and put up with these horrible people? You deserve a much better life than living in a whore house and getting dirty looks from people who don’t understand how beautiful gypsies are and how they are not bad.” She hated when he spoke in Spanish because she couldn’t understand him but bits and pieces. So she sighed in frustration until the next words left his mouth.

“Yes of course.” She said softly as she stood up from beside the bathtub and moved to the bed and got the bandages before returning seeing he was out of the tub and wrapped in a towel. “You know I see naked people quite often, yes?” She spoke as she moved a stool over for him to sit on to help with the height difference. She placed the bandages on the small table that was left beside the tub to hold various soaps. She moved to take hold of his face and make him look at her, her lips were on his as she pushed in the gas into his mouth as she kissed him. The gas was meant to sooth the pain. Once she was sure she sent enough between their locked lips she pulled back.

Quietly she started to wrap his broken ribs tsking out with a click of her tongue. “I want to know who did this. I want their heads.” She said in a protective manner that even surprised her. She shook her head trying not to over think her words. She had just grown to like him. He kept a bed full and paid on time not asking for sex like others that came through her doors. She rolled the bandages around him. Pressing to him every time she had to roll it along the side across from where she was standing. “Jeovani.” She said softly as she looked at him through her lashes for a moment. “Why do you stay?” she asked softly to him. “Has the wind abandoned you?'' She moved her hand along the bandage but her hand was heated to soothe the pain as she did.

[Vega]

Why was she so stubborn?! It was bittersweet really because he wanted to be left alone but without her here he wouldn't be able to get the help he needed. Did he really want to be alone right now though? If she stayed with him in silence it would help him calm down. That's what some of his younger cousins did on the rare occasion they witnessed him angry. Libelle was sighting a phenomenon. Jeovani rarely let anything but his charm and gentlemanly nature show. Unless he was fighting you. That was different though and this was different too.  

For everything, she said he just stayed quiet. He knew if he replied it wouldn't come across the way he wanted. He would snap she would snap back. The next thing you know they're arguing for no other reason than their pride and stubbornness. Who knows how that would end too? So he just stayed silent until she spoke of seeing others naked all the time. He growled. "Well, I don't want to become just another body on the list of those you've seen." His words seething with anger he didn't mean to direct her way. So he growled again but to himself because he was disappointed in himself. 

He watched her set up the stool and bandages but honestly the bed was better because he could lay down after that and fully relax. Or try to. He was mentally and physically exhausted of fighting it. He walked past her to the bed and cleared the mess he made from off it. Placing everything into the waste bucket and then going to get her and the things she set up to help him. His hand pressed to his ribs as he winced the whole time. Pulling her to the bed as he sat before her.

Surprise, confusion and a bit of fear crossed his face as she took it in her hands. Stiffening when her lips locked on his but that didn't last long as he kissed her back. He had only just begun to relax as her gas sated his taste buds. He seized right back up unaware of what was happening. Believing it was poison as his inward panic just began. However, it was in his system already and all he could do was swallow it as she broke the kiss. He wouldn't naturally assume she was trying to kill him. Yet he was on edge and everything was a threat to him. He was so lost in his inward panic he didn't even notice the lesser pain coursing through him now. 

It took him a while to notice through his invisible anxiety what she was saying and doing. He looked away. Though her concern for him warmed his soul. His head turning back to her when he heard his name. He dropped his head and huffed. "The Wind wants me here. I just... Haven't figured out why yet though." 

"My heart is too heavy for The Wind to carry now. Even though it wants to." He stared into her eyes. His chestnut eyes holding darkness to them that wasn't there before. "My mind is too riddled with revenge. My heart too unforgiving for The Wind to take me." If she had been paying attention she'd have noticed how tethered to the ground he was. How half of that charming allure he carried with him was gone. Even in the faintest of ways his hair fell down his neck and face. He didn't have The Wind. Not while he was seething and ignoring it. 

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

He was a smart man that was for sure. He chose to be quiet while she questioned his choices and decisions. She had never seen him so angry or felt his aura this angry and upset. Yet she didn’t know how to sooth him. She scoffed at his words at that moment, since she herself couldn’t handle her own emotions very well. “I have never had a man say they didn’t want to be part of my list before.”  Even though she felt slightly offended that he had wanted and now all of a sudden he didn’t. Yet it was to be expected with her drake nature he wouldn’t want her at some point. Or maybe he was just lashing out from whatever had happened to lead to him being tarred and feathered. She was letting her ego get in the way.

So she got quiet in that moment getting the things that would be helpful besides her nasty attitude. Yet as he didn’t say anything and started to move to clear the things off the bed she sighed softly to him. “You know I can help so you don’t hurt yourself more.” She tried to take things from him but in the end didn’t fight him because he was so stubborn at that moment. Once he was on the bed, she pushed the gas into his lips. He kissed back, she noted, so it really was her ego getting in the way earlier. When she was sure she gave him enough to fight off the pain and broke the kiss she took him in and noticed how panicked he felt. 

She frowned, this was the first time she was getting a lot of negative emotions out of the gypsy. It was like a candle had been snuffed out and she felt her own heart ache for him. She had never been so affected by anyone this way, besides Daniel. So as she asked about the wind and how it wanted him there she wondered what the wind wanted him to attend to there. She wondered if one day the wind would decide he was done here and she would never see him again. That ache in her chest grew more at the thought.

“Your heart is heavy?” She questioned as she paused her wrapping of his ribs and stared at him. “Revenge?” She questioned as her eyes locked with his again and her hazel eyes searched his chestnut ones that didn’t hold the light they used to have. She finished the wrapping she had stopped mid way through and moved to stand in front of him.

Her hands moved out to take hold of his face and tilt his head up to look at her. She took in how a lot seemed to be different about him. Her fingers moved through his hair slowly then down his neck seeing how all the energy of the once bright man was gone. “What revenge riddles your heart to keep you, so grounded? Please tell me. Let me be your harbor for the darkness that is invading your light.” She found herself saying as she moved her fingers to brush his wet locks back and then holding his face between her delicate hands.

[Vega]

Beware the quiet man. For while others speak, he watched. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest… he strikes.

Jeovani was the silent type but this was multiplied when he was angry. It was far better to watch and listen. See who wears their heart on their sleeves. See who has a bleeding heart. And see who is truly heartless. Libelle's heart was both bleeding and on her sleeve. Her stubbornly wanting to help and know who did this told him so. 

She put on a good amor though. Decorated with allure and reinforced with a cattiness only she could get away with without losing patrons. None of it went without notice from Jeovani's watchfulness. And while many seemed to be turned off by her after a time for some reason he found himself more drawn in. He liked her company where many might have turned away from her due to her Drake nature. Something he knew nothing about. 

He let out a pained growl when she stopped wrapping. A soft wince following after it. His pain was lessened by her gas but still there. He looked away as she repeated the things he said. Shooting a sharp breath from his nose each time she questioned. He worked with these men. Not in the same company but he delivered to them at the docks. Occasionally, helped them unload their shipments from the newly ported ships. He watched them. Well enough to know each one of their weaknesses. But not well enough apparently as he never saw their attack coming until it was too late. 

He flinched fearfully as she took hold of his face. His gaze filled with panic for a moment until her gentle tone hit his hearing. He took a deep breath which allowed him to relax. Searching her eyes as his own grew saddened. When was the last time he could trust someone else with the thing she was asking for now? Could he really trust her? He gently took her hands and moved them from his face. Dropping his head to let it hang. 

"A few men from the town jumped me. And if it wasn't for The Wind I wouldn't have survived despite permanently taking out a few." With his ribs wrapped his body now had the support, it needed to let his pain fully subside. Completely heal the way it should. He took a breath as his body finally entirely relaxed since he returned tonight. Knowing the pain would return whenever he moved. So he remained still for the time being. 

"They knew what they were doing, they moved like hunters. Gypsies have never been chased by hunters  though only by those much like us just not as blessed." He began to think of the danger this put his people and family in. His mind focused on his younger family who endearingly called him uncle. Selina. Lily. Artemis. They weren't defenceless but Vega was the best warrior among all his people. Despite only being human and they still go the better of him. 

"I have to stop them before their method on how to stop us gets out and my whole world comes crashing down."

"I. Have. To. Stop. Them!" The bitterness in his voice grew. His hands gripping the edge of the bed as his nails dug into it. Yet he did what she wanted. He confided in her. He trusted her. He just hoped it wasn't a mistake. 

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

She hated when his gaze filled with panic as she took hold of his face. She never wanted to be a source of pain for anyone, especially him. So watching his reaction made her mentally flinch. Though she didn’t do so physically. Was her Drake nature finally getting him to turn on her. That would hurt her more than any other had. When his eyes searched her, there would have been a mix of anger and sadness, as she was sad he felt panic around her at all, and angry at the people who did this to him, but also sad because maybe he was finally no longer wanting her around.

So they stared at each other for a long time, her heart sank as he removed her hands from his face. She let them fall to her side as his head came to hang.  Her eyes rested on the back of his head as she didn’t move from where she stood. “Well at least the wind protected you from the small minded people in this city.” She looked up from his head and out the window at the darkness of the night that was creeping in.  She wanted more than anything to know who they were so she could remove them from this plane of existence. For hurting what was hers… wait… no he wasn’t hers. 

What was happening in her brain all of a sudden. Was it because he had wormed his way into her thoughts so when he wasn’t around she was thinking about him. Daniel. His name flashed in her head reminding her she was a married woman. Her hand moved to rest on her corset where the ring was pressed to her skin underneath with a long chain that was around her neck disappearing between her breasts. He almost made her forget about Daniel bringing on the mental scolding of herself for forgetting her husband. Yet she wanted to reach out and comfort him. 

She hadn’t been that way in a long time. “Hunters?” she questioned as her gaze moved back to take him in, noticing the bitterness and anger flare off of him. She felt the dragon in her stir and she let out a small gasp before swallowing hard for a moment to focus back on what the right words would be. “Hunters have been here before Jeovani.” She said as she shifted on her knees in front of him so her gaze could hold his again without making him move. “If anyone has the strength to take care of them. It’s you. Not at the cost of your wind though.” She said a little sternly as her cognitive cogs moved to think of answers.

“We have dealt with the people that wished to wipe my people out. You will stop them. I have fate.” She moved her hands then to rest on his. “The scars they will leave, will be deep if not dealt with swiftly though.  I could cash in a favor with the duke if you know the men. He has been begging for a night.” She would gladly use her body if it meant keeping him safe. “But for tonight. You need to rest.”

She shifted on the floor to get up but stopped, “If I leave, are you going to lay down and sleep or do I need to stay and make sure you lay down and go to sleep?”

[Vega]

This role reversal between them was messing with his head. He wasn't expecting he'd ever see her kindness to this degree. Her care was throwing him off. Why did she care so much? Why did he? He took in a sharp breath but stifled all sounds escaping as he breathed it out through his nose slowly. He forwarded his brow as he searched her eyes. Seeing her sadness and anger. He had to turn away and close his eyes. He was in far too emotional a state to be close to someone right now. So the resounding thought of wanting to be alone right now returned. 

Despite having spoken already he fell silent again. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that if he spoke again it would come across as nasty. And there was nothing he could do to stop that. Nothing but stay silent. So he did. Until she offered to cash in her favor from the Duke. His anger kicked up. His instincts kicked in. He wasn't a jealous man but she was offering to give herself to another man for him when he couldn't even have her. Something about that pissed him off more than any other anger he was already dealing with tonight. 

He growled. Grabbing her corset. His fingers slipping into the front of it to grab it. Pulling her closer to him as he moved his face closer to hers. "No! You are..." His lips twitched as he caught himself. Breathing hard through his nose. He let her go and leaned back upright. Letting out a growling wince. He recomposed himself. Looking away from her with a sharp breath shot from his nose. She had managed to do what others had failed. And that was get him to break and show a side of him that wasn't charming at all. At least that's what he believed.

His harsh glare returned to her as she shifted. Thinking this time before just blurting out the first thing on his mind through anger. Through his stubbornness, he pushed himself farther onto the bed without her help. Managing to lay on his back at first. He grimaced at the pain from the pressure of laying on his ribs this way. Turning on his side and groaning in frustration. His back to her now but not on purpose. It was the only position that took the pressure off his ribs. 

"I'm too angry to sleep." He glanced over his shoulder to her. He never addressed what she said about losing his wind. Right now, he wasn't thinking straight and doing just that was playing out in his mind. "Stay." He looked away from her and out of the window. "Stay. So I can't go do something stupid and so you know I stayed and rested instead." 

[Libelle "Onyx" Ryoko - Council]

She knew he wanted to be left alone but couldn’t bare the thought for she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t do something stupid. She was offering anything she could think to get him healed, fixed up, not in pain. The fact he was in pain was driving her mad. The fact he was angry at the world and not his charming carefree self made her mad. What could she do, how could she make it better. The truth is she couldn’t. She knew the cruelty of the world when you were different. She had almost lost her life several times, and had scars that she hid from the world. Yet that gut feeling of wanting to make everything okay for him was pulsing away. There was only one other person ever who made her view the world that way. Daniel.

Tears burned in her eyes for a brief moment as she blinked a few times forcing them away. It wasn’t until the surge of aggression ripped through the room as his hands grabbed her pulling her body to his. A sound left her lips unlike before, a faint gasp of shock, a tremble in her legs as her body twitched with fire to be claimed by him. She stared at him in awe as the words left his angry lips but not a full sentence. Yet she was weak so when he let her go she stumbled for a moment to gain her composure. 

Watching this side of him, this side he wanted to hide made her tremble with desire. She cursed herself mentally for being attracted to the good guy having such a raw reaction. Something about knowing he had a rough rugged side made her weak. There was so much more than the easy smile, and bowing gentleman to him. As his harsh glare turned to her she raised her hand to rest just above her breast feeling her heart beating away rapidly. She felt like a teenager at that moment, she was sure if he stared hard enough for too long he would see the blush on her cheek. He made a whore blush, how?

Watching him lay in the bed struggling though caused the ache of wanting to help return. As his back came to her, she shifted the corset off of her body, stripping to just the slip that was under the dress she often wore. She shifted into the bed behind him. “Jeovani.” She cooed softly as she pressed her hand to his back with gentleness, letting her hands warm up slightly like she did for Daniel the day he jumped into the ocean to save another crewmate. “I will stay.” She said faintly as she leaned her head to the back of his neck.

Her warmed hands moved slowly and gently around his body moving over his ribs trying to help the pain. She opened her mouth slightly and released the gas that was meant to help with his pain. Wanting him to relax and find sleep so his body could heal. She brushed her nose against the back of his neck as she shifted closer, pressing her body to his as she tried to help him find escape from the pain with her gas and heated hands.