(no subject)
Afternoon, and all is quiet. Well, as quiet as the room of a child having yet another nightmare can be. Walter squirms restlessly in his sleep, sleeping facing the wall his good shoulder holding his weight as the covers tangle around his legs. As he has been since he returned, he's shirtless, it simply being more trouble than it's worth to try and wear one. While not truly emaciated, his ribs are somewhat visible through the flesh of his sides.
Nisa heads directly to Walter's room after classes. When no answer follows her knocking, she takes it upon herself to open the door anyways. After all he could have... fallen! Or soemthing. she enters the room quietly, setting her books down on Jones' bed. "Walter," she says with a soothing voice, touching a hand to his side, avoiding the hurt shoulder. "Walter wake up, is ok now."
Walter wakes, once more dropping into a defensive position upon waking. He rolls onto his back, cheeks showing signs of recent tears. He sniffles up at his girlfriend, rubbing under his nose with his good arm.
Nisa sits on the bed and presses her lips to his forehead quickly. "Is ok, is ok. You are awake now," she says, taking on the old words and positioning herself next to him on the bed as her mother used to.
His girlfriend is playing mom... /Great/. Walter squeezes his eyes shut, "How do you make the nightmares go away? How?" With his good arm, he squeezes her thigh, desperately longing for physical contact.
Nisa wraps an arm around Walter and pulls him close, the other hand gently wiping away the tears and smoothing back his hair. "If you like, could try a casting to help," she offers.
Walter nods, "Please?" He holds Nisa with his good arm, finding her presence alone comforting. He kisses her cheek, "Thank you, Nisa."
Nisa nods and rises from the bed to the desk, searching around until she finds an exacto knife. She returns and sits across from Walter cross legged, rattling off sentences in her native language. The edge of the blade slices into the tip of a finger and she grabs Walter's good arm, holding it out to herself palm upwards. Slowly a figure begins to take shape, angular lines jutting out from a central point, marked by the red liquid as Nisa continues to speak, voice falling into a familiar pattern.
Walter tenses slightly as Nisa cuts herself, but then eases, watching as she works. He doesn't interrupt, not daring to.
Finally satisfied with the markings, Nisa lets go of Walter's wrist and sticks her finger in her mouth. "There," she says after removing said figner a few seconds later. "Is quick casting, but should do the trick for now. Need supplies from town to do full casting."
Walter goes wideeyed, "Um, can you find my jean cargo pants? They're around here somewhere?" He searches the floor, pointing towards the pants. "Over there."
Nisa arches an eyebrow, but she fetches the pants, dropping the exacto knife back on the desk where she found it.
Walter reaches into the pocket, rummaging about before he pulls out a bag, dumping the contents, a small box, onto his lap. "I got you a present."
Nisa eyes the box curiously and sits back down on the bed next to Walter. "Did not have to," she says quietly.
Walter nods, "I wanted to." He passes her the box, smiling softly.
Nisa smiles back and kisses Walter on the cheek, and opens the box.
Inside the box is a pair of jade earrings. Nothing particularly fancy, but, considering that they're bought off allowance, very nice. Walter looks anxiously up towards his girlfriend. "It's why I went into town... Do you like them?"
Nisa's eyes widen as she takes in the very pretty earrings and she looks over at Walter. She grabs him on his good side and pulls him in for a big hug and a tender kiss. "I love them, Walter! Thank you very much," she says, hand dropping from Walter so she can pull them out and put them on.
Walter smiles, watching her put on the earrings. This makes him feel a /little/ better about it. Briefly, he glances down at the drying blood on his wrist, before looking back up at his girlfriend.
The blood is almost compeltely dried, as Nisa used only just enough to make the necessary lines. Finished putting them on, she pushes her hair back so that Walter can see the earrings in action.
Walter smiles, laying back on his still damp pillow. "They look nice." He puckers his lips, milking his injury, just a /little/.
Little like a mac truck. Nisa scoots to lay next to him, one hand laying protectively over his chest, the other returning to his hair as her lips gently press against his.
Walter presses into the kiss for a long moment. Pulling away, he sighs contently. "Thanks for helping me feel better, Nisa."
"Is not problem. Did you not help me when I came back to mansion?" Nisa reasons, laying her head next to his. "Besides, what kind of girlfriend would be to /not/ help boyfriend that I care about when he is hurt?"
Walter sighs. "Do the nightmares go away?"
"Eventually," Nisa says, hugging Walter tightly, wishing she could take the horrible dreams from him. she at elast has dealt with them before, but walter doesn't deserve them, not in her mind.
Walter curls up into her, "When did yours go away?"
"Month or two," Nisa says quietly, resting her chin on the top of Walter's head, hand reaching to wipe away a silent tear that escaped her eyes.
Walter looks up towards Nisa, "Is there a way to make them go away faster?"
Nisa hmms for a bit and finally says, "Mother used to sing me to sleep. That would always help. Castings can help take them from you for short while, but... does not last forever."
Walter considers this for a long moment before looking into her blue eyes. "Will you sing to me?" He curls tighter into her, sharing her warmth.
Nisa nods silently and moves her arms to hold Walter tighter. Softly she beings, in Norweigan only at first, but by the end of the verse the words are in English. "Legger ned, Deres st og trett hode. Natt faller. De kommer til reises slutt. Sover n, og drm av de som kom fr. De er calling, fra over den fjern shore. Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face? Soon you will see. All of your fears will pass away. Safe in my arms, youre only sleeping." Not /exactly/ traditional, but ever since River had shone her the last LotR movie, a song she likes very much.
Walter looks like he could drift off to sleep at any moment. Either the song was really effective, or it's the codeine. Maybe both. "Love you, Nisa," he mutters sleepily
"Love you Walter," Nisa replies, singing dropping down to humming as she holds the almost asleep teen.
For the second time in the last 24 hours, Walter falls asleep in his girlfriend's arms. Breathing steadies, muscles relax, and he slips into a dreamless sleep. No good, no bad, just rest.
Nisa waits for several minutes before she stirs quietly from Walter's side. She quietly gathers her books and gently closes the door. She makes a note to check in on him after she finishes her homework as she heads for her room.
Walter sits up in his bed, eating pastries graciously provided by Madam Varga. He can't help but feel a little worried, having thought Nisa would have already come to visit him. Dressed only in a bandage, a sling, and a pair of grey cotton shorts, he waits, worried eyes lingering on the still silent door.
Nisa finally comes through the door, not bothering to knock in case she were to disturb his sleep. She tiptoes to Jones' bed, not looking in Walter's direction yet with a lumpy bag in her hands.
No knock? What if he had been--Oh, she's seen that. "Hi Nisa." He holds up his plate of pastries, "Want one?" Eyes linger on the bag, "What's in the there?"
Walter sits up in his bed, eating pastries graciously provided by Madam Varga. He can't help but feel a little worried, having thought Nisa would have already come to visit him. Dressed only in a bandage, a sling, and a pair of grey cotton shorts, he waits, worried eyes lingering on the still silent door.
Nisa finally comes through the door, not bothering to knock in case she were to disturb his sleep. She tiptoes to Jones' bed, not looking in Walter's direction yet with a lumpy bag in her hands.
No knock? What if he had been--Oh, she's seen that. "Hi Nisa." He holds up his plate of pastries, "Want one?" Eyes linger on the bag, "What's in the there?"
Nisa jumps a mile and shrieks slightly, cluthing the bag to her chest. She turns to look at Walter and the offered sweets and smiles. "Should not scare me like that," she says, setting the back down on the bed.
Walter blushes, smiling apologetically. "Sorry" a pause "Peter came to visit," he informs. He swings his legs off of the bed, walking over to hug his girlfriend with the arm not currently in a sling.
Nisa hugs Walter back gently. "Well that is very nice. Did you have a good day? Get rest and get to spend time with Piotr?"
Walter nods, "He said it's alright if you stay in here overnight." Frowning, he continues, "Maybe it'll help with the nightmares." Once again, he looks towards the bag, "What's in there?"
Nisa arches an eyebrow. "/Piotr/? Said I could stay night. Here?" Nisa asks, squinting slightly at Walter wondering if he'd been sedatives. she looks back down to the bag. "Is things I've been working on for you. Is why was not here right after classes."
/Has/ been on sedatives, but not hallucigens. "Yes, he'll be checking in on us though, make sure we're alright." Making sure the /reason/ for that particular rule isn't happening more like it. He tries to peek in the bag, "Like what?"
Nisa motions for Walter to sit as she sits on the floor in front of his bed. From the back she first pulls six different colored vials from the bag, lining them up in a row at her feet.
Walter watches curiously, letting the questions go assumed.
Nisa points to the vials. "These you must put small drop on skin once in morning, once in evening." She hands the first to him and points to the label which reads 'Left Wrist'. "Have labeled where each goes. Is very important that you put on same spot and not mix them up."
Walter nods, putting the vials up on his dresser for safekeeping. The floor is not the place for breakables. He looks into Nisa's bag, "What else is there?"
Nisa pulls out a small, square sacquet about the sixe of her hand with Walter's initials embroidered on it. "This is for under your pillow. Is to drive away nightmares," she adds quietly.
Walter takes the bag, running his thumb along his initals as he studies it. Satisfied with whatever it is he found, he tosses it up onto his bed. "That all?" he asks, wondering just how much work Nisa put into this.
"Is not. You are going to need to move so I can move your mattress," she says, standing, but not taking anything out of the bag yet.
Walter steps out of the way, looking down at his free arm. "Do you need help?" he asks, wondering why exactly his matress needs to be moved.
"I can do it," Nisa says, grabbing the edge of the mattress near the headboard and scooting it over. She reaches back for the bag and pulls out a folded peice of leather. She flips it open to show Walter the collection of runes embossed into the material. The middle as a string of rather uncomplicated ones that could almost spell the boy's name. The rest are more complex, a total of ten of them surrounding the middle. "This is yours. Made bindrunes specific to you. This you should /always/ sleep on."
"It goes under the mattress?" Walter asks, considering, eyes lingering especially on the strange, runic parody of his name. "What does it do?" he asks, having really only been given the purpose of the sacquet.
Nisa thinks for a moment. "Suppose you could just put it under sheet," she concedes, sliding the mattress back and sitting on it. She points to each individual rune as she explains, "This is your name, for personal protective power, for mind power, for dynamic power, for peace, tranquility and unity, to promote medical healing, for emotional strength, for quick results, for success in risk taking and... and for love."
Walter leans over, kissing Nisa's cheek as he lifts up the matress with his good hand, sliding the leather underneath. "Runes up, or runes down?"
Walter leans over, kissing Nisa's cheek. "Under the mattress is fine."
"/Always/ up," Nisa says, smiling at the kiss. "Other wise will mean the opposite." She stands and returns to the bag o pagan goodies and pulls out a small bundle of dried white sage. She plucks one stem from t he bundle
Walter leans over, kissing Nisa's cheek. "Under the mattress is fine. Runes up or down?"
"/Always/ up," Nisa says, smiling at the kiss. "Other wise will mean the opposite." She stands and returns to the bag o pagan goodies and pulls out a small bundle of dried white sage. She plucks one stem from the bundle, setting it down ont he window sill closest to Walter's bed. The poor stem gets lit on fire, smoking lightly as Nisa take it from the middle of the room to each corner, calling out in her native language.
Walter watches Nisa envoke... whatever it is she's envoking. He sits crosslegged ontop of his mattress.
Nisa takes several minutes to finish her ritual, stopping back to the bag to pull out a blooming snapdragon stem that she hands to Walter to hold. When finished, she gently places the burning herb into a bowl, setting it aside to burn the rest of its way out.
Walter holds the snapdragon, looking, in all honesty, just a /little/ confused.
Nisa grins and takes it from him, prodcued a small vase and sticking it in there. She pulls out another glass vial, this one small, however, and with a different type of lid. "This you open and take one dropper full with water before go to bed," she says, handing it to Walter.
The works, it seems. Walter nods slowly, trying to keep track of everything.
"Dont' worry, wrote instructions on each vial for you. And this," she says, pulling one last thing out of the bag. a dream catcher dangling from her finger tips. "Is gift from woman at shop to you." She holds it out carefully to Walter, not touching the net. "She says is dream catcher, and you are to hand above where your head lies. Do not know how it works, but she said is ready for you to use."
Walter nods, /this/ he's heard of before. "It's a Native American thing. Bad dreams are supposed to get caught in the strings." He looks up at the ceiling, wondering how exactly he's supposed to hang it.
Ever efficient, Nisa produces a nail and a hook from her jean shorts. "I think wil be enough for now."
Walter climbs off the bed, letting the one with two working hands handle the hanging. "Okay." He's just a /little/ overwhelmed. "Thank you, Nisa."
Nisa pats walter affectionately on the head as she climbs on the bed, pressing the nail into the wall and hanging the hook on it. She moves out f hte way so that Walter can hang his dream catcher.
Always with the head patting. Walter would, under normal circumstances, be annoyed, but the only person he can start to feel /normal/ around is here. He stands on the bed, hanging the dreamcatcher. He sits down near his pillow, looking towards Nisa, "Are you going to stay the night?" Something about the tone says he wishes the answer to be 'yes.'
"If you wish," Nisa says with a nod. "And if you are /sure/ that Piotr will not drag me into hallway by my hair."
Walter pats next to him on the bed. "He said it was okay." Afterall, with sporattic visits throughout the night, it's unlikely they'd do anything inappropriate, even if Walter /was/ in the mood for such things.
"You know is not wise to upset Russians. They have big temper when get upset. And Pior is /big/ man," She says with a grin, sitting on the bed next to Walter and kissing his cheek lightly.
Walter turns his head, making Nisa's lips meet his own instead. His good arm wraps around her. "I'm sorry I made you remember that place," he sighs, resting his forehead on her shoulder.
Nisa returns the kiss, but her eyes open and narrow in confusion. "What?" she asks.
"Your livejournal, I read it, remember?" He leans his bare side against her, feeling her comforting warmth.
Nisa wraps her arms around Walter and guides them backwards, kissing his forehead. "No, no, no, Walter. There is no reason for you to be sorry. Pleas," she says, pressing a cheek against his.
Walter curls up against Nisa, trying to merge with her the same way he has tried to merge with the nearest cushion on occassions with less desired or more uncomfortable visitors. "I love you, Nisa."
"I love you too Walter," Nisa says back quietly. "I meant it. That I would take you pain. I can try, if you like."
Walter shakes his head, "But then /you'd/ feel bad. I don't like it when you're feeling bad. I want you happy." He sighs, burrying his face into her shoulder. "Not like you really can anyway."
"There are ways to try. I will not without your permission though," Nisa says quietly. "Is easier for me to deal with. Have felt those feelings before. You... should not have to."
Walter looks up at Nisa, confusion on his face. "How?"
Did she pick up Blindspot's mutation when no-one was looking?
"There are certain castings can try. have not used them before... so do not know if will work. But can try."
Walter looks up at Nisa, "What do you have to do?" He remembers the bloodletting, wondering what exactly are on the extremes of his girlfriend's religion.
Nisa frowns and taps a finger to her chin. "Is nothing bad... Will have to go back to that shop tomorrow to check with the woman there. Is probably best if I have someone who has done it before."
Walter frowns, "Done /what/ before?"
"Taken other's pain," Nisa replies, the answer seeming obvious to her.
"/How/?"
"Believe involved making... doll, basically. And there is long ritual with candles and wax and string. And should be done outside, I believe," Nisa says.
Walter sighs, curling back up into Nisa. "That'd take too long." He closes his eyes, shutting out everything in the room but him and her. "Can't we just talk, like we did after..."
Nisa nods and wraps an arm around Walter. "Of course, of course. Whatever you wish to talk about," she says softly.
Walter presses into his girlfriend, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. "What was it like, having to fight other mutants?"
Nisa sighs deeply and answers after a few minutes of thought. "Was not fun. Did not want to hurt too badly, but if did not put up good show would get shocked."
Walter holds Nisa the best he can, understanding her just a little bit more. "I thought I was going to die. I didn't-I didn't /want/ to fight, but it kept chasing us. It hurt Eileen, and I-I just started hitting it. I just /hit/ it and /hit/ it, until it stopped moving." He shudders at the recalled memory.
"You did good then. You protected her," Nisa says, with an uneasy smile. "Walter, does not matter what happened to it, you did right thing."
Walter sighs, "I know. Pete said so too, it's just... I don't know, I thought protecting someone would feel /good/. Not like this."
"Well, think usually not getting shot helps with feeling better," Nisa says with a bit of a smile, hoping to elicit the same from her boyfriend.
Walter just curls up even further into his girlfriend. "Why didn't they come to help? I had the button, I pushed it but... they didn't come for a /day/." Nisa's shoulder dampens slightly.
Nisa looks down at Walter and kisses his forehead gently. "I do not know," she finally says softly. "But you are home now, and safe."
Walter just remains silent, moist eyes dampening his girlfriends shirt.
Nisa rubs her hand up and down Walter's back. "I'm sorry, Walter. Wish I could make it better. But is just going to get worse. They will keep coming until they have what they want, is jsut matter of time."
"It isn't the humans that the nightmares are about."
Nisa sighs and holds Walter silently, planting small kisses across his forehead.
"Promise," Nisa says with a small smile. "Will have to go get clothes for tomorrow though."
Walter nods, smiling back at her. "Alright."
Would like me to go get stuff now? Can spend rest of evening with you,unless you want some time alone."
Walter shakes his head. "I get enough time alone." Too much.
Nisa extracts herself from Walters grip and moves for the door. "Ok, will be back in little bit." About 30 minutes later, she does in fact return, hair wet from a shower aand clothes for tomorrow in her hands. She changed out to a simple pair of boxers and a tank top and her books are carried in her other arm.
Walter kisses her again before she leaves, and once more upon his return. Not much has changed in his room, everything is still set up, and he's still in those grey cotton shorts. "How have classes been?"
Rather dull without you," Nisa says, smiling at the kiss and returning it. "Especially German and Fencing."
Walter smiles back. "Am I missing anything important?" He climbs back up onto his bed, trying to start a conversation /any/ conversation to take his mind off his worries.
"Are going through different stances in Fencing. But German... not really sure if you are missing antyhing or not!" Nisa says with a light laugh. "Professor Wagner said will be able to help me after school sometimes to better understand."
Walter smiles, "You can study with Mari and me if you want." He invites her up onto his bed, relaxing somewhat.
"That would be nice," Nisa says, climbing back on the bed next to Walter after place her clothes on his desk.
Walter smiles, "We could study now if you'd like." He kisses her cheek, allowing his lips to linger there for a moment.
Nisa grins and turns her head to meet Walter's lips, her own lips lingering against his skin. "/Should/ study," She says, looking back down at the books on the floor.
Walter gathers her books, helping her study. Eventually, they tire of schoolwork, and spend the evening talking. True to his word, and punctual as always, Piotr checks in on them every 30 minutes precisely. Curfew has come and gone, and Walter yawns widely, snuggled up against his girlfriend.
"Would you like to sleep now?" Nisa asks, patting Walter's head gently at the yawn.
"Why?"
Walter's reply is drowned out by his yawn. Codeine is a cruel mistress. He shifts his head, resting it on his pillow.
Nisa scoots back on the bed and lays down with him, one arm wrapping protectively over his chest.
Walter sleeps peacefully at Nisa's side. No nightmares, no dreams at all. Peaceful, quiet slumber.