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Post by Nephele on Jun 9, 2023 3:34:21 GMT -5
The fight wasn't particularly difficult, both C’Leena and Nephele able to find their way around a fight pretty well, especially with only one person with a knife. Nephele kept a close eye on the target’s movements, mostly acting to trip her up and make her stumble while C’Leena made the most offensive blows. It seemed like she was… much angrier than usual. Nephele could barely take the time to process, but from what she was seeing when C’Leena would deal strong attacks to the thief, she wasn't playing around. As expected.
With a harsh jab to the thief’s spine, the offender cried out and C’Leena felled her. The only reason Nephele let up though was the unfurling of a new set of wings on C’Leena's back. She had never seen these before, and as Nephele caught her breath from the exhilaration, her irritation slowly mingled with worry. That wasn't normal, was it? She'd seen that look in her eyes before, but it wasn't often coupled with a new pair of wings and an equally frightening fury.
The thief was on the ground, panting and staring up in barely masked fear at C’Leena’s form. Her mouth opened then closed, as if attempting to speak with her words dying in her throat. Nephele was barely paying her any mind, watching C’Leena in concern. There was still that lingering irritation, but she was ignoring it in favor for watching her fiance and the new development spread across her back. It wasn't even attached to her… how strange. And then Nephele noticed the fire. It was small, but much like a rather protective guard dog as the nymph was hyper focused once she saw it.
Nephele ignored the thief, walking over to her fiance quickly as the thief tried to explain herself. “I-It's in my bag! Just… don't hurt me!”
When Nephele got to C’Leena's side, she could sense something off. C’Leena’s voice was heavy, full of the fury that she hadn't heard since that time in the volcano. Not good. Her mind concluded dumbly. “Cee, angel look at me. Calm down, okay? It's fine--”
The sound of metal scraping against the ground as it was picked up off of the stone floor sent electricity down Nephele's spine, and her face grew serious once more. Nephele snapped her fingers as she turned around, blowing into the palms as she caught the metal of the knife between her middle and index finger where it was thrown. Being as it was made of iron alloy, it was the equivalent of getting cut with a scalding hot knife between the fingers, the flesh there sizzling and the blood that mingled scalding her skin, but only for a moment. Whereas the last time she had used this technique it was used against bare skin, while the metal scorched a scar into the sides of the middle and index finger, the dagger suddenly began to freeze. It reached such a low temperature that it crumbled to the ground, though the damage was already done to Nephele's hand.
It burned, but that didn't matter to her. Shaking out her hand and ignoring the white hot pain surging through her veins, Nephele gave the thief a pitying look. She looked shocked, as though she was planning on running as a distraction was issued. The thief was evidently throwing it out of self-preservation, afraid to surrender. A truly foolish choice.
“Now what did you think was going to happen?” Nephele asked, her hands still freezing and helping to heal the burn in her hand faster. It would sting for a while, as did the gash in her thigh for a few weeks, but she was willing to ignore it. Something told her that C’Leena wouldn't be too kind… and that made her nervous. Those flames were not to be tempered with, and if it spread any further… well, she didn't really want to know.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 9, 2023 6:28:04 GMT -5
C'Leena was willing to let the thief go with only the injuries sustained in the fight. Keyword was. The second the blade flew at Nephele and was then caught by her just tipped C'Leena over the edge. The slow burning of her wings immediately turned into an inferno as the entirety of her wings were engulfed in the flame. Roughly grabbing at the prone woman, C'Leena picked her up and - with an impressive feat of strength - threw her across the rooftop.
"OH YOU'RE A DUMB CUNT, AREN'T YOU?" C'Leena yells, marching over to the woman. "I WAS WILLING TO LET YOU GO," C'Leena reaches the woman and kicks her in the stomach, halting all progress of getting up. Kneeling back down, C'Leena is about to continue her tirade, completely willing to make this woman's life hell but is halted. She seems oblivious to the wings, and internally she's at war with herself. The thief deserves this. It was made painfully obvious that attacking Nephele was a bad idea, and yet she still did it.
However, a little voice in her mind is advocating against it. It was most likely an act done out of fear. The woman is scared shitless and strangely enough is reminding C'Leena of.. herself way back when. C'Leena was in a similar position. Sure, she never mugged someone, but she'd pickpocket people and steal to get by. Looking at the woman further, she doesn't look well at all.
C'Leena breathes. The woman has been staring at C'Leena out of the corner of her eye with abject fear as she looms over the prone thief. "God dammit." She mumbles before sitting down, her wings folding behind her. The flames have since died down and returned to mere fissures across the feathers. "What's your name?" She asks, still coming down from the red-hot rage.
The woman stares at C'Leena before slowly sitting herself up and making some distance from C'Leena. "..Luna." She says hesitantly. C'Leena nods before extending her hand slowly.
"I'm Dr. C'Leena Thomas. That over there," She gestures toward Nephele, "Is Nephele Thomas. Now, I'm not particularly happy with you hurting her. I'm sure she'll be okay, but I'll be spending a good while tending to her after this. Speaking of," Her prosthetics flash with a golden light as her body is flooded with healing magic1, knitting together flesh and clotting wounds. "As a doctor, I'm able to heal people easily. Let me heal you, and we can talk for a second, okay?"
Luna looks between Nephele, C'Leena and her extended hand hesitantly, visibly at war with herself. With slow movements, Luna extends her hand and carefully places her hand in C'Leenas. Her prosthetics pulse once again, funneling magic into her body and repairing her wounds. "There we go. Look, despite how little it means, I'm sorry for.. this." C'Leena releases Luna's hand, returning it to her lap.
Luna looks beyond confused as she checks over herself. The various cuts through her clothing are stained with blood, but there is no wound to speak of. Looking back up to C'Leena, she opens her mouth, pauses before finally choosing her words. "..Why? You had me dead to rights, but you just.. Why?" Her confusion grows with each moment as the aftermath of the fight slowly dawns on her. C'Leena looks regretful as her wings fade before vanishing completely.
"I was where you are now. Stealing just to survive? I've known that life for.. a long time. I know the difficulty of everything and.. I dunno. Look, it's not my money but I'm not going to take it back from you. Do you know how much is in it?"
"Not much.. Like, 20 Solars or so? Wait, you're not taking it? What was all this for?"
C'Leena chuckles. "To get it back. You look like you're in bad times, Luna. So uh, whether or not you want to accept it is up to you but.. Here." C'Leena opens up her Space Pocket and pulls out her own small coin pouch. She counts out a hundred Solars before placing it on the ground between them. She puts her coin purse back into the rift as it closes up.
"I don't want to tell you to do something you're already doing but, if nothing else, use this money to help get yourself out of this life. Whether you want it is up to you, but I'm not taking it back." C'Leena stands up and takes a step back. "I hope everything goes well for you, Luna. Truly I do." C'Leena turns and moves to Nephele.
"Show me your hand," She says. Taking her hand carefully, she looks at the injury as her prosthetics pulse for a third and final time. The burn heals over easily enough, but the scarring remains. "We'll try to do something to help with the pain, alright? Lets go get the other two and tell them that the thief got away, yeah?"
1. Major Healing (x3)
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Post by Nephele on Jun 9, 2023 12:12:59 GMT -5
It was an interesting thing, watching C’Leena get angry. It wasn't anything unusual to see her upset or even really really pissed off during these situations, but the moment that she raised her voice and practically through the thief through a wall and kicked her… Nephele was staring. Every instinct in her, wild or not, was telling her to run in the opposite direction or to stop her. But she didn't know how to react.
But then C’Leena calmed down, impressively so. A few months back Nephele would be certain that she would have just ended her right then and there. The flames on the wings disappeared, thankfully, and C’Leena talked the thief down. Nephele was watching, her eyes wide and unmoving from where she stood.
Luna, as the thief introduced herself nervously, was healed by C’Leena, evidently confused and distrusting. Something like pride swelled in Nephele's chest as she finally put together what she was doing. Her face of previous shock and worry had morphed into a fond, almost prideful smile. It was small, but it was bright enough. She felt a bit guilty for thinking that C’Leena would probably kill this poor girl, but in all honesty she couldn't linger on it for too long.
It made her wonder though, what kind of life was she leading back where C’Leena was from? Nephele could slightly empathize with the thief herself, but her morals were evidently a little bit different than her fiance’s. She came from a mentality of kill or be killed, and don't mess with what and whom doesn't belong to you, ever. It was something deeply ingrained into her since she was born, only toning down once she met C’Leena all those months ago. How far they had come since then…
She watched C’Leena give the girl money, watching her gape in astonishment and shock at the amount she left behind. When her fiance returned to her to check her hand, Nephele lifts her head up. The weird tingly feeling of being healed doesn't miss her, but she opts to ignore it. She was focused on C’Leena’s face, nodding at her words.
“I'm fine. It's nothing I'm not used to.” Nephele assured, half talking half inspecting C'Leena. She casted a look over to Luna, who looked halfway between incredulous and teary eyed. The look she gave her was blank, as if still trying to figure out what just happened and if it was really okay to let her go. With a resigned smile, Nephele nodded, taking C’Leena's hand and squeezing it even if it stung a little bit. “Alright.”
When they got down to the ground, the human and fellblood were both waiting for them. Their concern was evident, as the human was flagged down only to be basically ditched out of nowhere.
“Well did you find it? It seems like you found someone up there if you running off was anything to go by.” The human asked.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 9, 2023 13:46:30 GMT -5
Making their way off the roof, C'Leena's mind is entirely on Nephele. She is snapped out of her concern by the human. Taking a second to process the question, C'Leena responds. "She got away. I couldn't get the pouch." She says easily. The human looks disappointed, and the Fellblood looks annoyed beyond words.
"Of course it's gone. Gods, this day couldn't get worse. Thank you for your efforts, at least. I need to go home and figure out how to move forward." He says before turning heel and leaving with nothing more. The human watches the Fellblood depart before turning back toward the couple. Hearing the translation, he nods before responding.
"I believe I must continue with my day as well. I hope the both of you are alright." He nods in farewell before turning a different direction and walking off.
C'Leena watches them walk through the crowds for a moment before turning back to Nephele. "Are you okay? I don't care that I already asked that, I'm asking you again." She gently takes Nepheles hand back up and looks it over again. Looks exactly the same as it did five minutes ago. After a moment she switches to Nepheles other side and holds her opposite hand, careful not to irritate the burn she received, and begins leading the pair through the crowds.
As they walk, C'Leena mostly goes onto autopilot as she leads them to the church. It's quickly become her favorite place in Eclipse City. After a few minutes, C'Leena speaks up. "I'm sorry for.. all of that. Today very quickly took a turn, huh?" She laughs humorlessly. "If there's anything you want to bring up, please do. I fucked up a lot today so.. be ruthless, I s'pose."
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Post by Nephele on Jun 9, 2023 14:50:59 GMT -5
Nephele watched the two strangers part ways, humming to herself once they were out of sight. “At least it was only 20 solars. He’d probably be more insistent.” It was mostly said absently, and she refocused on C’Leena when she asked if she was alright again.
“I’m fine, as I’ve said. It’s nothing I can’t ignore.” Nephele repeated her sentiment, looking at the darkened, scarred skin between her fingers. It wasn’t pleasant, but what was pleasant about a burn really? On their way to the church, Nephele kept a close eye on their surroundings, the last thing she needed was another mugging.
Luckily, the rest of the walk went smoothly, only ever getting called to by different vendors that they weren't interested in interacting with. Once they're on the roof, C’Leena speaks up. Nephele was equal parts surprised and relieved for an apology, even though she really didn't think that she needed one. She didn't like the idea of C’Leena feeling like she needed to apologize. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the “be ruthless” comment though. It was honestly lucky Nephele had a filter, otherwise she would be expressing how much C’Leena was worrying her in a manic, nigh irate way. Becauseshe worried the hell out of her.
“You didn't mess up, Cee. You were angry, and that’s something you're allowed to feel. I'm not upset about that...” Nephele took a deep breath in, guiding C’Leena to sit down. Fighting down the phantom sting in her hand, Nephele reached forward to hold her hands in her own. “You used manipulation magic earlier today. I remember saying to you that I don't like using it and that it makes me uncomfortable, but I never said you couldn't use it. In that situation it made sense, for example.
I don't want you feeling like you can't use something if it's for a good cause. You’re not comfortable with it either, which we can empathize with. However, my discomfort means nothing and should mean nothing to you if it's for good reason, though it did catch me off guard. But I don't care about that.” Nephele looked at C’Leena, her eyes fixated on her. Her expression was serious, but her tone was calm, still ever so gentle with her words. “I am concerned, however, about your temper. I'm not saying it needs to change or anything of the sort, you are allowed every single emotion you deem necessary. Your body is undergoing a lot of very strange changes ever since you started using magic more often, and it has been reacting, perhaps too harshly and causing mental and physical strains you’re not used to.
At least, that’s what I’ve noticed, I’ve been keeping an eye on you since the incident in the volcano. I suppose I'm just wondering: are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?”
Nephele remembered when she first pointed out C’Leena’s weird celestial magic, semi jesting about her being put in their favor, and how she had pocketed that away for a later date to worry about. However, due to more recent developments in C’Leena’s progress, it had her thinking about it again.
“I've never seen you use that form before. It had fire, C’Leena. You didn't seem to be bothered by it but… I won't lie to you; it scared me.” It wasn't often that Nephele admitted to be scared of anything, and a part of her felt embarrassed for feeling such a way. Fear for her usually manifested into worry or concern, much as it did previously. However, she had quite literally experienced fight or flight when she saw C’Leena in that state. Defending her or not, it was still frightening. Her stare awaited a response, still holding C’Leena as she tried to silently communicate that she wasn’t mad.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 9, 2023 17:13:37 GMT -5
C'Leena listened as Nephele sat them down, nodding as Nephele speaks and processing what she was saying. C'Leena was about to speak up until her wings were brought into question, and the fact that they had fire. C'Leenas head snapped to Nephele, a look of surprise and abject fear.
"They had what?" She asks in a quiet, fearful tone. For C'Leena, this was like telling an arachnophobe they just had a spider in their ear or something. She leans forward into her lap and hangs her head, taking a number of breaths. It's likely not to incite an episode since she didn't actually see it, but it's not at all pleasant to be told it, either. "God, not this shit again." She quietly mumbles before straightening herself out.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, petal. I.. have noted that my temper has gotten a bit severe. It's possible it's an adverse reaction to magic but it's also an ADHD thing when it goes unmedicated. Two fuckies mashing into one, I guess. Not very good." She pauses, as a point occurs to her that C'Leena hasn't mentioned previously. She really should but she doesn't want to cause any unnecessary stress for Nephele.. Ah, fuck it.
"I'm.. not okay. I haven't been okay in years. This is in no way a recent development but with the prosthetics, burn scars and fake organs, I've reached a point where I am genuinely more machine than person. Most of my skin that isn't burnt isn't even mine, I can hardly feel through the scars because of nerve damage, I can't feel through my prosthetics without having to go through hours of meditation and I can't even cry.
"I feel.. Less than human. A poor excuse and only kept alive by luck and technology. It's been driving me up the fucking wall as of late. I didn't tell you sooner cause I didn't want to worry you too much. It's something I've lived with and it's something I can continue to live with. Simple as that."
Then C'Leena begins to go back up the various points Nephele made. She takes a second to form her words, still coming down from the shock that was learning about her wings bursting in flame again.
"Your discomfort will always matter to me, period. You're going to be my wife, for crying out loud. If I didn't care about your discomfort, that would be an awful relationship. Good reason or not, you're my priority always. I'm sorry for catching you off guard with it, and that I can remedy by telling you prior to me using crap like that. Although I plan not to use it ever again."
Despite Nephele not being mad at her, C'Leena still feels guilty, and looks it. She looks back down to Nepheles burn, an echo of fury pulsing through her mind. It vanishes quickly, however, both due to her being too mentally drained to be angry and the fact she still vividly remembers Luna and how she looked. C'Leena sighs and leans into Nephele, resting her head on her shoulder.
"It's not the first time those wings burned," She starts. "Last time was back in Dragons Cradle. I met somebody named Cyran - an elf, really nice guy. After some discussion, I asked if he wanted to spar since he was a lot better at blades than me and I could've used some pointers. You know, always wanting to improve and all.
"At some point during the spar, the wings came out and began burning. I saw them and just.. Fell into a really bad PTSD episode. I was back in the house fire. I couldn't escape, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. I don't know why this shit is happening, Nephele. I don't understand what's happening to me and it's scaring the shit out of me."
"Again, I didn't say anything cause I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily. The episode was over and done with soon enough, hell even Cyran helped me through it. I'm eternally grateful for that, but it was over and done with once we met back up so I just.. didn't say anything. I'm sorry, I shouldn't of done any of that."
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Post by Nephele on Jun 9, 2023 18:26:26 GMT -5
Nephele didn't quite know if telling C’Leena that she saw flames on her wings was a good idea, but wouldn't it be just as bad if she didn't tell her at all and she found out the hard way? She was watching her every movement, scooting a little closer and placing a hand on her thigh as she spoke. There is a large part of Nephele that wanted to tell C’Leena not to apologize, but she allowed it for once. Not because she accepted the apology per se, but because there was no point in interrupting this moment. For now she just let her speak.
The prominent pause in C’Leena’s wording caused Nephele’s brow to pinch together, confused and concerned. And then she continued to speak, and the nymph was completely silent. The sentiment about not feeling human enough brought an interesting expression to her face: profound surprise. Nephele couldn't understand it, and maybe that was because C’Leena was the first human she'd met on a personal level, but this insecurity didn't quite make sense to her. Then again, insecurities weren't supposed to make sense but…
She didn't speak yet, waiting for C’Leena. She stayed mostly silent, only humming once when her fiancé promised to tell her next time she was using manipulative magic. Nephele recalled C’Leena going out while they were in the Dragon's Cradle, as well as other places in general. She didn't tell her about this encounter, though if C’Leena was describing a PTSD episode, it wasn't all that surprising that she didn't tell her.
At the last apology, Nephele shook her head. “Stop apologizing.” Nephele paused to bring her hand up to move C’Leena a little closer.
“Wherever that man is, Cyran, I hope he knows I'm grateful.” Nephele started, her voice soothing and calm. “Your episodes are very severe, and I'm glad another person could help you when I couldn't be there for you.” She didn't know this Cyran person, but wherever they were she was eternally in his debt. There was a lot of things Nephele needed to say, and she hesitated for a moment. It was better to just get it all out, she supposed.
“I'm not sure if you remember, but the very first day that we met, I told you I found all people interesting. It was when I was trying to pick out a poppy for you to go with your hair.” Nephele said, thoughtful. “I told you that people are all different, beautiful even. Everything about a person is beautiful, but the best part about people is that they experience life so much differently than one another, and yet they always find themselves relating to each other. Tell me, how is it that two humans and a fellblood can communicate on the street, having never met each other before, but they all want to help and have a decent conversation after little convincing? They all have lives, but the single purest form of unity is found in the heart of humanity: empathy.
No machine, no matter the advancement, could ever hold the same amount of weight as a human heart. And you may think that your heart was taken from you, but I promise you, C’Leena, no machine could ever release that girl back there. Machines are built for a purpose, and you were not built. You were formed. You were formed through experience; love, loss, hope, strength, a whole bunch of things formed together to make you. While tragic and horribly unfortunate, your experiences make you more human than anyone I have ever seen, because you have been through hell and back, and yet somehow you were able to let that girl go with four times as much money as she left with. So what does that say about the rest of the world if you’re not human?”
Nephele takes a moment to pause, slowly transitioning to giving C’Leena a hug, cradling her head closer as she tightened the embrace.
“I'm bad at sharing things. It takes me years to open up, and yet somehow you know the deepest darkest parts of me. The only reason that is because you were you. I love you more than life itself, and that is because a human took my heart, not a machine.” Nephele pulled back from the hug kiss C’Leena, slow and careful. “I promised I'd help you feel, but I'm making another one right now: I promise to protect this,” - Nephele pointed at C’Leena’s chest, where her heart would were beneath her ear in the middle of the night when she used her as a pillow - “for eons. Because there's an amazing woman in there, an amazing, human woman. And I'm not letting her feel any less than just because she looks a little different. Okay?”
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 9, 2023 21:21:57 GMT -5
C'Leena was quiet when Nephele spoke. Her words cut deep but not in a bad way. Each word hit their intended nerve and got through to C'Leena even in this state. C'Leena was holding onto one of Nepheles hands with both of her own, passively toying with her fingers delicately as she listened.
C'Leena nodded, confirming she remembered the poppy field - hell, how couldn't she? Her memory may not be the best around, but anybody would remember the events of that morning. She continued to listen as Nephele dismantled her insecurities right in front of her. The overall feeling of being Less-Than still remains, and most likely will for quite some time, but the support and care from Nephele is helping.
Now, with C'Leena's already fragile state of mind, and Nephele hitting every single nerve in her damn body by only using words, it's making it very difficult not to burst into tears at this very moment. She's actively at war with herself, trying to keep steady but Nephele would know that she's fighting a losing battle. C'Leena lightly fiddles with Nepheles ring as she speaks, hoping the little activity would help against the tidal wave of 'tears'. Of course, she can't actually cry but that's beside the point.
Once Nephele shifts C'Leena into a position where she was able to cradle her head, the losing battle was called and C'Leena just lost it. Softly sobbing into Nephele, she wraps her arms around her. Being pulled away momentarily was protested against weakly, and all protests then stopped once the kiss was planted. C'Leena looked down to where Nephele placed her finger before softly tsk'ing, still lightly sobbing.
C'Leena tries to speak, but her voice fails her. A pulse of annoyance ripples through her features as she clears her throat and tries again. "I.. Really don't deserve you." Is all she's able to get out before sinking herself back into Nepheles shoulder.
There was no combination of words in any language that could accurately describe just how much C'Leena loved her. It's been stated time and time again; C'Leena cannot wrap her head around her helping her and not wanting something in return. Hell, even if Nephele wanted something back, there would be no way C'Leena could repay it. In this moment, C'Leena doesn't care about people who could be staring. She doesn't care about anything other than the embrace and her future with this amazing woman she has the honor of calling her fiancé.
She doesn't care how long they stay like this. Hell, C'Leena isn't even crying for that long. After a couple of minutes, C'Leena is just in the embrace, well and truly comfortable with who she is while being held by Nephele.
With Nephele? Who gives a shit about how much of you is fake? With her mechanical heart, it might mean even more to say that C'Leena loves Nephele with her entire heart.
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Post by Nephele on Jun 9, 2023 22:54:04 GMT -5
Nephele is surprised that it takes her so long to cry. Usually the floodgates were wide open as soon as she started talking, one of the most emotional people when it came to heartfelt talks. It takes her until C’Leena is shaking in her hold, speaking in a tone that Nephele just caught. It’s heartbreaking to hear, but at least she was safe in her arms. Nephele took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting the tears stream down her face. She didn’t move her position, reaching up to card her fingers through C’Leena’s short haircut, mussing it up a bit as she silently marveled in the way her nails looked emerging from the tresses. She had to cut them, and soon. They were nearly two inches long; that wouldn’t do.
Nephele doesn’t move, but she presses a kiss to the crown of C’Leena’s head. Sensing the need for a conversation change, the nymph smiled, her eyes still closed and teary. “…I want to make you a flower crown for our wedding. I could go back to King’s Valley and find the poppy fields again, I could freeze and preserve the flowers for you afterward. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to, but I want to give them to you anyway. It’s a part of a tradition.
“I also want to dance with you again. Do you think we could do that? I’d love to dance with you again. That waltz you showed me all those months ago was confusing, but I’d love to try it again. It was so fun, I wonder how long we can dance before we have to sit down.
“Also, I have yet to show you the invisibility thing in the river. It doesn’t work with water from baths, which by the way, I desperately need soon. This was not the day for physical exertion, not with this blouse.” Realizing she was rambling within a ramble, Nephele continued to talk, twirling C’Leena’s hair and resting her cheek on her head. “Natural rivers have a weird reaction to my body, I promised to show you at some point…maybe some day soon. I think because I’m only half, I can’t disappear into it completely. Then again its been years since I tried, what if it's a puberty thing? Strange, I don't know.”
She rambles like this for a while, clearly trying to relax C’Leena but also getting lost in her own mind. She doesn’t stop unless she’s interrupted for another ten minutes, until she finally stopped herself. Nephele stopped crying, but she was still holding her fiancé close. Checking on C’Leena, Nephele carefully asked: “Any better? Or are your ears ringing?”
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 9, 2023 23:42:22 GMT -5
C'Leena didn't move as Nephele began to ramble. Hearing the specific choke in her voice too, C'Leena sends a hand up to wipe away tears as she remains in the hold. C'Leena nearly poked her in the eye since she's not actually looking where her hand is going, but she is eventually able to wipe away tears with her thumb.
She listened as Nephele spoke, taken slightly off guard by Nephele bringing up marriage. She supposes it's not that strange a topic. Hell, they haven't spoken a word about it since C'Leena proposed. She's not sure what's been stopping her, but now is as good a time as any. "I'd like that. I do want to try to combine both our peoples traditions in it if that is alright with you. Having said that, when do you want to get married? We haven't spoken about it and I think that might be on me."
As she speaks, she slowly shifts into a more upright position. Still leaning against Nephele and keeping her arms wrapped around her, she simply fixes her posture a bit as it was getting a little uncomfortable leaning like she was for as long as she was. "I'd love to teach you that waltz properly. And we can dance whenever you want, Neph. Just ask and ye shall receive." She says with a faint smile. She wipes away more errant tears from Nepheles cheeks, quietly mumbling to herself "How can any one person cry this damn much?" Before planting a kiss on Nepheles lips, halting her tirade for just a moment.
"..Oops." She says in the most bullshit apologetic tone imaginable. "Continue, continue!" She says, the smile growing just a little bit wider. Listening to Nephele ramble was oddly soothing, so she made no further attempts to interrupt her. C'Leena does wrangle one of Nepheles hands into her own and idly fiddling with her fingers again.
She continues to listen to Nephele ramble which helped escape her own mind for a while. Everything just slows down in C'Leena's mind as she's essentially enchanted by Nepheles voice and body temperature. It takes a second for C'Leena to process that she's being addressed, before finally looking up at Nephele. She found herself resting her head on her shoulder again, still idly fiddling with Nepheles hand. "Huh, what? Yeah, I'm feeling better. Sorry, I just kinda got lost in your voice. I've been listening, I swear!"
"..Thank you." She says after a minor pause. "I think the feeling of being less-than will linger for a while, as does most things. But what you said really meant a lot. Love you, Forever and Always."
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Post by Nephele on Jun 10, 2023 0:31:35 GMT -5
“Oh dear, I don't know. If I could marry you tomorrow I would.” Nephele laughed, not joking at all. “If we could figure it out within the year, then perhaps then. Maybe in the summer or autumn, unless you have any other ideas. I’d just prefer it if it wasn't during winter. I've always loved the spring.”
Nephele was grateful that she was able to elicit responses out of C’Leena, whether they be verbal or physical. She didn't mind at all whenever she would interrupt her, simply pausing to either listen to what she had to say and respond with a few more sentences, or to pause to give C’Leena an incredulous look or to smile at her. For C’Leena's question about Nephele crying, she honestly couldn't find an answer that she was confident in. “...Genetics?” She shrugged, unsure for the real reason. She was about to launch into a possible explanation when she was halted by a kiss, stunning her for 0.2 seconds before giving C’Leena a look. She was back to being an ass, that's good.
By the time that the mostly one sided conversation is over, Nephele turns her head so that she could look C’Leena in the face, fixing her with a teasing frown. Hearing her thanks doesn't quite catch her by surprise, but it makes her eyes widen and smile nonetheless. Staring at her fiancé's face, Nephele mentally pat herself on the back, happy to have helped C’Leena in something like this, no matter how minor.
“Then I have succeeded. I love you too, to the stars and beyond.” Nephele responded in kind, her voice soft and melodic. She tilted her head up to the sky, thoughtful as the clouds rolled above. “Inner peace and self-love can only be achieved by sitting with oneself and examining our flaws. Eventually you will find that such flaws are part of you, and you will learn love yourself more for it. Of that I can promise.”
Then Nephele let out a sigh, trying to alleviate the pressure of another impending, serious topic. So instead of changing the subject for the 15th time in ten minutes, Nephele instead does probably the smartest thing she could ever do on a rooftop wrapped around her fiancé, and she suddenly squeezes C’Leena's sides. That mischief wasn't gone, even after they helped those two complete strangers at the market. A jokingly sinister expression fixated on her face as she proceeded to tickle C’Leena, fully expecting this to go wrong and simply not caring.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 10, 2023 1:23:04 GMT -5
Today has been a rollercoaster of emotions, however it seems to be looking up again. The little chances to toy with Nephele were always a plus, even if it does kick her in the ass sometimes. "..Spring sounds nice. I'd be keen for that." She agrees. It's a good first step, but the more in depth discussion would have to wait for another day.
Looking over the rooftops, a sense of satisfaction settles over C'Leena. Despite the woes of recent life and the many problems C'Leena faces in her own mind day-to-day, things have been looking up for quite some time now. She has a woman who wants to live her life with C'Leena. Not only is she incredibly caring but sweet and genuine. Stronger than C'Leena in many, many ways and she'd have it no other way. This moment is nice.
"AH, YOU EVIL WOMAN! I DON'T KNOW WHY I TRUST YOU WITH ANYTHING EVER!" She exclaims as her sides are wrongly assaulted by the evil woman herself. C'Leena tries oh so desperately to create distance, but it appears Nephele, the sadistic mastermind that she is, knows how to foil her desperate attempts at escape. Either that or she's just not trying hard enough, but she's in no state to think about that in any capacity. It's all Nepheles fault.
"FUCK OFF! FUCKOFFFUCKOFF FUCKOFF-" She pleas, hoping for some level of mercy at the hands of her sinister tyrant of a fiancé. A brief respite from the torture of the attack gives C'Leena the moment she needs to turn the tides of this war. At this point, C'Leena is on her back with Nephele over her, being the little shit that she was. During this brief pause, C'Leena takes a hold of Nepheles wrists and rolls the both of them over.
Now, C'Leena is still recovering from Nepheles attack, but with both of the nymphs hands pinned, escape should be difficult. She hopes. After a few more breaths, C'Leena does the same thing way back when C'Leena had tackled her in the forest and took both the woman's wrists in one hand, and held Nepheles chin.
"Now why have you gone and done that, darling? You should know by now that it doesn't end well for you when you do things like this. Unless.." C'Leena softly gasps in exaggerated realization. "Unless you wanted this to happen? Tsk tsk. My Precious little Petal, fallen to such corruption? Where have I gone wrong?" Grinning in a vengeful way, C'Leena plants a long, drawn out kiss on Nepheles lips.
Today is good.
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Post by Nephele on Jun 10, 2023 1:56:11 GMT -5
Nephele's high pitched peal of laughter as she tickled the ever loving hell out of C’Leena was probably loud enough for passersby to notice and hear. She continues, relishing in the high pitched laughing that C’Leena cries out. She loved that sound, and she wished she could replay it until her dying days, even when she wasn't crying out for mercy.
This goes on for a solid 30 seconds, Nephele ruthless in her attack until finally she lets her go. This would be considered a mistake if she didn't know what she was doing, as next thing she knew he was being pinned down, not much unlike what happened the first time she tried engaging in a tickle fight with C’Leena. Her hands flew up to try and find some leverage, but before she knew it those are pinned down as well, being more or less forced look her fiance in the eye. A happy smile spread across Nephele's face, feeling triumphant for all of two seconds until C’Leena started talking.
She asked for this; she didn't know why she was so painfully flustered. In all honesty and she wouldn't be surprised if C’Leena already could tell, but Nephele was trying to garner attention like this for a few days now. It was mostly so that she could work up the courage to experiment with something, but the problem with that was that she had to actually get past the "painfully flustered" part. That damn voice was not helping in the slightest, even if Nephele was trying to get that attention.
Her face flushed, eyes wide and her lips parted, Nephele looked halfway through saying something when she was suddenly kissed. Whatever she was going to say died in her throat, relaxing into it. It was uncertain how long it took for them break away, but Nephele had to catch her breath when it was said and done, looking halfway between dazed and yet still... there was that something. Something very small, only C’Leena would have picked it up: a nearly imperceptible twitch of the mouth that drew up into a smirk for maybe half a second.
Nephele breathed through her nose, and she tilted her head, blinking slowly and darting her eyes sidelong. She was embarrassed beyond belief, but she pushed through it. The voice that came out of Nephele was seldom used, but with a voice like a low, calming melody the nymph responded without looking at C’Leena: “A-And what if I did? Would you actually do something about it then?”
A part of her physically died, causing her face to grow darker in hue still. This was fine…this was fine (it wasn’t, she was probably seconds away from fainting. Anymore talking and she was done.) She didn’t quite know how to play with C’Leena’s temper, and honestly she felt this wasn’t the time to find out. Still, she couldn’t help but poke the sleeping bear, wondering just what would happen if it awoke.
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Post by C'Leena Thomas on Jun 10, 2023 2:22:21 GMT -5
C'Leena has a toothy grin as she watched Nephele essentially melt under her. This will never get old. Teasing aside, C'Leena liked the hue of the darker blue when she blushed since it made her eyes stand out just a little bit more. Now, C'Leena is expecting her to tap out, but seeing what could only be described as a flicker of a smirk surprised her. Her surprise did show with raised eyebrows.
C'Leena's surprise only heightened as Nephele didn't tap out, but instead continued it. Her surprise quickly morphs into a mischievous smile. "Wow, look at you knowing what you want," She says in that velvety smooth voice Nephele claims to hate. C'Leena gently coerces Nephele to look back at her. There is a light blush to C'Leena as well, but she makes no note of it. "Do you take me for someone who would only go half way, my petal?" C'Leena giggles, the tone matching perfectly with her voice. "Tut tut tut, you have so little faith in me. Of course I'd do something about it," She lowers herself down to Nepheles ear, speaking in a whisper. "I'd have to reward such bravery anyway. Of course, that is what you want, yes?"
C'Leena knew what she was doing.. Mostly. Granted, her experience with this is light teasing that always ended up being incredibly amusing, but this is the furthest this has gotten her. To say that C'Leena wasn't curious would be a blatant lie, hence why she's pushing her luck. Nephele almost always looks like she's moments away from passing out, so she's hoping that Nephele keeps her consciousness for long enough to at least satisfy her curiosity.
As C'Leena pulls back from whispering in her ear, she plants another kiss on Nepheles cheek, unapologetic in her ministrations. For, why would she be apologetic? This is incredibly entertaining.
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Post by Nephele on Jun 10, 2023 3:48:07 GMT -5
Nephele was having a battle with herself right now. She looked like she was completely frozen, the only signs of life being her erratic heartbeat and the incredulous stare. Okay, it looked like she had to work a little harder… even though she really wanted to back out. It wasn't like she wasn't enjoying this, but quite frankly Nephele was having a mini crisis. Should she continue with her experiment and hit C’Leena where it mattered, or did she preserve her sanity for another day? A part of her laughed at that last bit. Nephele had run out of sanity the moment she met C’Leena in all honesty.
But she saw the blush on C’Leena's face, and that was all it took for the next words to basically fly out of her mouth. “Are you going to keep asking me stupid questions or are you actually going to do something? Because the way that I see it, angel, you don't seem to have the wherewithal to continue.”
Just like that another part of her dignity died, and the goody two shoes in her made her want for apologize profusely for calling her questions stupid and retreat into the corner of the roof, never to be seen again. She even mustered the gall to raise her eyebrow, challenging. Nephele was so going to regret this, but despite her better judgment she turned to look away, mustering a bored expression on her very, very blue face.
“What I want is for you to commit, angel. You're the smart one, aren't you?” Nephele goaded, pretending that whatever bird had flown by was infinitely more interesting then whatever C’Leena was doing, despite her heartbeat going a mile a minute and everything in her screaming. Her ears flicked, both equally as flushed as her face, but Nephele persisted. One last push, then she would give up, because at the state that she was in right now, her soul was completely primed and ready to eject from her body.
And so with a barely mustered scoff, Nephele looked back at C’Leena, as stone faced as a prone and flustered nymph could be. “Don't you know that I know when you're bluffing, Mrs. Thomas?”
She was dead silent after that, and she could swear that she was glowing bright red, despite not even having red blood. The confidence in her façade only lasted 10 seconds, her bored expression completely shattered as she slowly processed what she said. Nephele didn't know if this would make her “mad” per se, but the result was bound to be interesting regardless, even if she did end up passing out.
(Nephele wasn’t exaggerating about that by the way, she felt faint. The loss of water from crying and the exhilaration from fighting? Too much stimuli, not to mention C’Leena practically breathing down her neck.)
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