The Castle's Toll [Lunasola & Jami]

After the Winter Ball had ended, Lunasola honestly didn't quite know what to feel. Happy? Sad? Estranged? And what was even more bizarre is that he couldn't understand why he would feel anything but absolutely elated. So much good had happened - far more goodness than he'd been prepared to deal with. The thought lingered on his mind as he stood in his dorm, staring at all that he'd acquired.

First there was the medal - which he'd removed from around his neck and instead settled for coiling it around his forearm multiple times, tight enough so that the actual medallion pressed close to his wrist. It shined up at him as he tilted it towards him. Its golden glare was fierce.
Then there was the doll. His finger brushed down her fake locks, an imitation of combing her hair. As lifeless as it was, the feluis was inclined to believe that his roommate's very soul was inhabiting it. It was heart-warming. He hooked her to his belt, so that she'd just bump against the side of his thigh.
Then there were the last, the Secret Santa gift. He'd hardly known Xanyu, though her odd appearance was memorable enough, and all he could remember feeling was a sense of jealousy at her relationship with Larita. But the statue representation was gorgeous nonetheless - but he was more inclined to consider it as his brother rather than himself. He could admire it more that way.

Everything was complete; or at least he wanted to believe that. But there was a missing piece to the puzzle. A gap that yearned to be filled. Was it the knowledge that only a feathered beauty could provide? Or the courage of a brave lion? Or was it... His brows furrowed, and he turned and left the room.

As his feet lightly stepped along the corridors, repeating certain conversations in his mind, he was distracted by a... certain noise. No, he'd heard this noise before, and it had distracted him before, and he could never quite ignore it completely. It was quiet, and he knew that he might've missed it were he doing something other than mulling about. It was like a groan that trembled in the walls - it was no human. It was... something else.
It didn't cease either. It surrounded him, a pained moan in every direction. Ears twitched nervously. Eyes glanced around. Something creaked sharply above him. He glanced up.

He wished he didn't.

He saw his impending fate half a second before it happened - his eyes widened like a deer's caught in headlights. The patch of ceiling, if it could even be called that, seemed hardly held together by a few frail planks of wood. The gap was wide enough to see into the next room, and at the ceiling beyond that. And then--

CRA-SNAP

He scarcely had time to defend himself at the sudden downfall of whatever happened to be above him. His eyes cringed shut, feeling nothing but sharp splinters of wood and rubble raining down. It lasted a little more than a few seconds - when he opened his eyes, his vision was clouded by dust. A cough escaped him, and he stumbled backwards, his back against the wall. Still disorientated, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrist, grateful that he managed to escape unscathed.
Then a sting. Ow. He looked down... then sighted a long, bleeding scratch down the front of his leg.
Apparently not.

Jami felt a sense of pride as she walked through the schools halls. The fairy straightened out her scrubs while she walked, her necklace bumping against her chest with each step. Today felt like a good day for a walk indoors, and later she would probably go flying outside, and get some fresh air. Walking at a moderate tempo she found herself making her way through the floors faster than she had thought she would. Not that that was bad.

Nurse. The title made her smile. So long it had been since she could call herself that name. Nurse. Ah it felt so nice. It was very generous of the Deans to let her have such a work study. Being a student and a nurse suited her well, for she still loved learning. Being the nurse though, gave the healer confidence, and there was no doubt that her powers would grow in her new environment. Thoughts of retrieving old powers she had lost, or gaining new skills, or improving the ones she had filled the girls mind.

A sound, thunderous and deep groaned around the corner. An impact. The castle had been falling to pieces recently, and Jami felt nervous as she peeked around the corner. Part of the ceiling...much of it had collapsed. This would need to be reported to the deans. There was no way such a blockage could stay there. Surveying some more Jami's gaze stopped on a yellow creature. Seeing Lunie on the floor she rushed over. This wasn't good, how w as he hurt?

The healer had him scanned before she reached him. "Hey, it's Jami. I would like to help you. May I?" Standard protocol. "How's your leg feel? Is it numb or does it hurt?" Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a white cloth and reached towards his leg to stop the bleeding. Jami made herself appear calm, not wanting Lunie to be frightened. If the cut was deep, an increased blood pressure wouldn't be helpful.

Ow. Oww oww [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] He cringed his eyes shut, too afraid to look at the wound, before he was too morbidly curious to keep them closed for long. He reached with both hands to inspect it, before drawing them away with a hiss. It stung.

The scratch itself extended from the base of the kneecap to a few inches above the foot. It seemed deceivingly deep, but was not. A mere flesh wound. Bits of splinters seemed embedded within. Blood trickled freely - not a lot, but enough to make the feluis worry.

Then a voice spoke up near him, and he raised his head to give her a squinted glance, sight still blurry from all the dust in his eyes. He didn't think about who she was, just that she was much-needed company. He nodded, but he himself wasn't quite sure what he was nodding at. "I-it hurt--"
Then he stopped. He was staring directly at the fairy's face. His tail twitched once. Then with something of a startled hiss, he hurriedly clambered backwards, away from her and that white cloth. His wide anxious stare remained pinned on her.

Jami nodded a his words and was about to inspect the wound further when the furrball moved away. Sighing she gave him a worried look. "If you keep moving it'll bleed more." Jami kept eye contact, remaining calm as she moved slowly towards him. Jami offered out her free hand, while the rest of her weight was on her knees.

"I want to help you. I am the Nurse here now. I can make the hurting stop, okay?" He had basically given her permission already ... so Jami focused on his wound, and the small area around it not wanting to numb too much, and thought of the nerves relaxing, tingling instead of irritated. Hopefully the numbing sensation wouldn't be to strange. Jami smiled to display she was the one making the pain leave.

"Nuuh!" he exclaimed in disdain, hugging his leg close to him, despite the protesting stings. He remained rigid, staring at her with widened pupils. When she slowly began to approach, he didn't move away, but instead carefully watched her hand, cringing just slightly.

She... she wanted to help. Stop the pain. Yes, yes, it all seemed very nice, but... A bitter feeling clung within him, and he struggled to shake it off, no matter how much he wanted to believe her.
Still, he didn't know what it was, but the pain in his leg seemed to have dulled down. No longer was it burning; now it just felt prickly. Itchy, in a way. He scratched his hand over it - and no longer did he have to recoil from the pain.

Even though Jami was kneeling there, smiling at him, he didn't immediately connect the lack of pain to her doing. He was hardly aware that it was anyone's doing at all. He remained where he was, gazing at her. He bit his lip. "I do not trust you," he breathed, trying to muster a scowl. He looked more afraid than anything.

"No, don't scratch Lunie! You can't feel it, and it might get worse! I made it numb so it wouldn't hurt!"At his words her heart dropped though. Sighing she straightened herself, sitting back on her legs. How to approach this... Why wouldn't he trust her? It couldn't have been history could it? That was so long ago!

"I don't see why. The deans trust me to be the nurse. I think that shows I am good, doesn't it?" Jami eyed his wound again, bothered she couldn't tell if it was a scratch or very deep. Blood tricked the eyes like that. If he didn't let her clean it up she'd no doubt be worrying over it later. "And if I can't fix it, it might hurt more later, and look icky too. It could make you sick!" How good was his immune system at fighting off infection? There were so many possibilities.

It wasn't the logic in her words that caused the feluis to stop, nor any sense of obedience, but the urgent tone of it. He froze, unaware that he'd been doing something wrong, before pulling his hand away.

He stayed where he was, cowering at the sight of something that should've been a lot less frightening than he saw it to be. However, it was fair to say that not all of the feluis's fear was directed at the nurse. The recent collapse of the ceiling on top of him, the large, unfamiliar gash on his leg, and a face he didn't particularly ever want to see again... it all combined into an unruly, overpowering sense of alarm.
He couldn't take the time to consider everything that she was trying to say. He knew one thing; it was bad. It was all very bad.

He ducked his head, raising an arm as if poised to defend himself at any given moment. "You are not good!" He summoned his best attempt at a sneer. "You are very bad! You are a liar! You---" With the hand that wasn't defending himself, he grasped a fallen rock, approximately around the size of his palm, which he then tossed at Jami. There was little force, and absolutely no aim behind the throw, but the intention was clear.

At least he wasn't scratching anymore. Biting her lip she thought. His comments hit her a bit, but she started trying to ignore them. If she just let them get to her, they'd go no where, and Lunie would heal with debris and bacteria in his wound. That would only set him up for further complications, when he doesn't want her to help later either... Now he was throwing things? The rock scraped against her shoulder, not doing much.

Jami stood and backed away a bit. "I am sorry you think that Lunie. I think I am very nice, and want to help you get better." Pausing a moment she looked at the hole, making sure they both wouldn't be in an further danger. She couldn't see anything, but who new when the building would strike. "I advise we should move, I don't want both of us having a chance of getting into more trouble." She looked down at him with a sad look. How was she to get him out of here, and if they couldn't move, how would she get close to him.

"Is there anything you will let me do? Or do you want me gone? I could watch you till you're ready to move if you would like, since you don't seem to want me to start healing you." A faint smile and a sweet voice. An offered hand down towards him. What else would it take?

Lunasola had dearly hoped that Jami would be deterred by his slightly desperate assault, but she wasn't. Words, words, words, so many words. It was babble. Her mouth was moving and there was noise coming out, but he couldn't grasp them. It wasn't to say that he wasn't listening. In fact, it was quite the opposite; his ears were swivelled attentively towards her, alert, and preening her voice for something. Anything. But it was almost as if he'd forgotten what English was.

There were bits than managed to seep through, however. Odd little phrases that he clung to like he depended on it. They were all the understanding that he had. Sorry... Nice... Get better... Don't... Trouble... Gone... Watch... Healing you... The hand hovered in front of him, and he stared at it.... What now?

He threw a look at her, not with any particular emotion other than the one that had already been on his face; a sort of panicked curiosity. He'd been prepared for her to advance, in which he had been prepared to make a run for it. But this was different. Now he had the dreaded responsibility of making a choice.

Her smile, the extended hand, and her words... They all spoke of kindness. Nice, warm, inviting kindness. His hand started towards her.
Then he remembered darkness. Cold, ruthless darkness. Chains. Abandonment. He hesitated.
Then forgiveness. Smiling friends. Warm welcomes.
Empty rooms. No one answering. No goodbyes.
Attachment. Admiration.
Betrayal.
His hand quivered, his mental struggle displayed clearly on his face. His fingertips barely brushed her's. He just wanted to give in. He just wanted to...

Without warning, his hand suddenly twitched, and he brought his arm down, aiming to fiercely rake the offered hand. Whether he struck it or not, it didn't matter. His eyes widened. Regret, sorrow, guilt. It was all there in his face.
Shuffling backwards, he shifted onto his hands and knees as he bowed his head low, close to the ground, not even daring to look.

Jami's eyes widened a bit as her fellow student swatted at her hand. Raising it to her eye level she watched as the blood started to exit the broken skin. Pulling out another cloth she pocketed the first, and pressed the new one to her hand. A faint bright light shone from beneath it making the fabric glow as it was tinted red slightly. Looking at Lunie she gave him a sad look. The poor thing. She had scared him, hadn't she?

Feeling her hand prickle a bit Jami looked under the cloth and watched as the skin seemed to be connecting itself. The bleeding ad completely stopped already, and Jami wiped away any blood that had escaped. It was always fascinating to see her body repair itself. It wasn't completely instant but it had been healing her for 18 years, and was very quick at minor cuts like these. At least the scratches wouldn't scar. Scars were annoying. Full of memories.. Jami pushed away that thought process looking towards Lunie again. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I scared you."

A quick secondary scan over his leg. Ah, splinters. Those would surely start bugging him soon if it had been itchy when she numbed him. Was it still numb? "Does your leg hurt again? I could make it go away again. I would really be happy if you let me help you. I think you would be happy later if you let me too." Sighing Jami stuffed the dirty cloth into her empty pocket making sure she had no blood on her hands before pulling out the one she had set for Lunie. She was careful only touching one face, what would be the outside so any small particles she might miss, wouldn't have contact.

Oh no... what had he done? He didn't dare to take a peek at the results of his action. He didn't really hear anything though, no cries of pain, no scolding... just the vague sound of cloth shuffling. Still, he held his breath, preparing himself for the inevitable when it did happen.

And it did... but it wasn't what he expected at all. Still in his bowed position, he slowly began to raise his head to observe Jami's actions. She was apologising. That much was clear. But why? He'd hurt her, hadn't he?

But she hurt him first. And it was more than just a scratch.
He clenched his hands, simply not knowing what to do. His inclination to forgive was almost overpowering... Truly, it had been a long time... and she was being so nice. With something of a sigh, pushed his chest off the floor, shuffling to sit with one knee against the floor, and with the other knee - the injured one - raised. It did still seem to sting, and the blood that was there had managed to smear itself all around the fur on his leg, giving it a more grotesque appearance than usual.
Then, with look of dismay in his eyes, he reached a hand towards Jami, waiting for her to accept.

A smile pulled at her lips. Jami took a his hand, gently with her own soft,carefully manicured hands. Taking a breath she looked at him a bit longer. Glancing at his leg, she sent some power to numb just the wound a bit, so he could still walk if he wanted to. A small creak came from far above them and her smile disappeared to a frown. No doubt the structure was even weaker missing a large portion of the floors.

"It isn't safe here. Was there anywhere you were trying to get to?" Jami offered a move by taking a smile side step to the direction she had been heading before. The hall they were currently in made her nervous. There wasn't much she could really think of right now but wanting to clean Lunie's wound and tell a Dean about the hallway falling in.

(sorry short, not sure what to do quite yet)

As she took his hand, he said nothing, still blinking up at her with the same dreary eyes. His hold tightened as he pulled himself to his feet, wincing slightly as the scratch started to sting. And then it faded. Again. He didn't understand, really, it was the most peculiar sensation. Did all wounds feel like this?

At the creak, his ears shot up in alarm. 'It isn't safe here.' He didn't need much more warning than that. At her question, he stared blankly, almost as if he hadn't understood. Then slowly, he shook his head, but in an odd inattentive sort of way, as if he weren't communicating, but just making a mindless gesture.
He reluctantly followed her step at first, before bowing his head and slipping his hand out of hers. Then he darted past her, his feet thudding lightly on the floorboards.
He was fast, still. The injury did not seem to hinder him that much at all, being pretty much some scraped skin that he could scarcely feel, on an inflexible part of the leg too. Before long, he reached a split in the corridor, where he halted, twisting around to face Jami with an expectant sort of look. Left or right?

His priority was getting out of here, but maybe this faerie would know where to go. He hoped.

As Lunie got up she felt slightly relived, until he started running that is. After a still moment Jami ran after him. He had stopped though at the end of the hall was looked back at her. Not running away? She kept her pace till she had caught up though taking some deep breaths.

Looking around she got familiar with the surroundings and went right. There were many ways to get around and through the school. Many halls connected. Jami believed as long as you knew the direction you were facing, then you could have a good chance finding your way.

"you don't need to to be scared now, okay? Running isn't a good thing to do right now." the healer pointed at his leg. "I am making it not hurt with magic, so you are comfortable, but you aren't healed yet. If you run it'll start bleeding again." she gave him a careful smile, still taking deep berths. Goodness he was quick.

As Jami followed after him, he'd almost thought that she were pursuing him in some sort of chase. So when he turned around to find her behind him, he flinched backwards in a mixture of surprise and fear.

He listened to her explanation with squinted eyes, and the same perplexed expression remained even after she had finished. "...Wait..."
He looked to his leg again, flexing it slightly, and bending to softly stroke a finger on it. It itched. He looked to Jami again. "Your magic... takes away... pain?" A contemplative look crossed his face, before he decided to continue following Jami.

He lagged behind her. Not because of his leg, but because he was walking purposely slow; he still didn't really want to be anywhere near her. His gaze was held on her warily - her and her every movement.

A true smile finally found it's way to her face as she nodded in reply. "Yes, special magic meant to help people." To example Jami held her hand out towards him, and the skin glowed slightly. Making a little display of it, she added in some sparkling energy. It danced on her palm, bobbing up and down, swirling around . If he touched her hand it would cause a slight numbing, just a tickle though.

"Isn't it pretty?" The fairy kept her careful pace as they walked, glancing around every now and then, seeing their environment, and listening, the best she could with her hearing ability, for any creaks or other sign there might be another collapse.

Special magic... Seemed that there was a lot of people here with 'magic'. He'd been here long enough to know such details, but the thought still plagued him still - why couldn't he do magic? It was a mixture of envy and curiosity he felt as he observed the dancing sparkles.

"It's very pretty," he murmured, outstretching a finger as if willing to touch it, before pulling back his hand at the last moment. He averted his gaze up to her smiling face, seeking to make eye contact. Still, he kept behind her, his watchful eyes completely focused. It was a question that he was terrified to voice that lingered on his tongue, but after a few long moments of hesitation, he finally forced it out. "Are you... being nice to me... or is it just pretend?"
Inside, he knew that he shouldn't feel doubt at all. He should have faith. Yet, the bitter feelings of mistrust remained.

"Why would I pretend to be nice? That would be mean. I really want to help you Lunie." Jami let the magic on her hands disperse and looked ahead. So he wasn't sure if she really wanted to help him? Poor thing. "We are almost at the Infirmary, so I can clean your leg up soon. Is it feeling okay?" The fairy's smile was still on her face but she was trying to appear more calm than excited. While she was glad that she was doing her job already as a nurse, Jami still felt a bit bothered by the cause of Lunie's injury. The castle was getting more and more dangerous it seemed.

(So sorry for the long wait and the short response *dies in corner*)

At first, her words were reassuring. But the reassurance lasted about a grand total of a few seconds, halting abruptly as soon as she mentioned his nickname. Immediately, he bore his teeth, a lowly growl escaping him. "That is not my name." Was nobody going to get it right? He'd clung to the name 'Lunasola' lately like a shining emblem of pride, why was nobody acknowledging that? Surely, he would do the same for others if they asked. Surely!

His irritation hadn't quite diminished at her following question, as unreasonable as it was. He scowled wordlessly, though really, it looked more like a pout. He was okay, he wasn't some helpless little kid that had to be carried along. He could do things by himself. Bristling, he strode forwards sharply, brushing past her, each step taken with a sort of elaborate grandeur -an arrogant display of just how 'okay' it was.

He regretted that decision. It kind of ached a little.

Not his name? Maybe it was a nickname then that she had picked up? "I'm sorry, what would you like to be called?" Jami shook her head as the kid started to walk past her. The healer could tell the boy was in pain. What was it with people and being defiant. It only made more pain!

(shortness D:)

"Lunasola." The response was automatic. He glanced quickly behind himself, before scoffing.
He thought she was going to lead away, but she was slow. Much too slow. It was he, after all, who was a good runner.
Without warning, he began to dart down the corridors.

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