Aara Awakens - Closed
Who: Xanth stillseecracks and Aara angha_firebird
Where: Around the barracks -- Then probably in one of their rooms?
When: After Aara wakes from dying( Read more... )
Where: Around the barracks -- Then probably in one of their rooms?
When: After Aara wakes from dying( Read more... )
Scrubbing her body until it was red and raw, Aara didn't really have time to look at Xanth's back. When he started talking to her though, she leaned out off the shower and quickly grabbed the shirt she slipped from her shoulders, hoping to wash the blood she had gotten on it. Only then, casting a quick glance in Xanth's direction, did Aara notice the scars that riddled his frame. She gasped, eyes widening as her pale gaze mapped the patterns on his flesh, her brows coming together in worry and concern. The lines across his skin are not bleeding, or scabbed, so she assumes they must have happened a while ago. Moving back under the spray of water, thoughts slowing as she tries to process what it meant--that Xanth had been hurt...repeatedly...
It does not sit well with Aara ( ... )
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"Thank you..."
Shifting back around, Aara looks down at her bared legs and toes, face slightly more vibrant as she recalls he must have seen her completely unclad for a while now, though she was covered in blood. It was one thing for angha women to to be bared before one another. It was something entirely different for a man and a woman, however. Aara hoped ( ... )
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"S-Sorry, I-I just, you'll-- b-be warmer i-if you've got-- m-more clothes." He draws his shoulders inwards and shrugs. It's that, and he'd really rather not be in bed with a half-naked Aara.
Much too awkward.
"I-I'm-- gonna-- g-get a shirt too, o-okay?"
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"Warmth is good. Nice."
At Xanth's words, Aara nods her head.
"Okay. Are you cold, too?" At least there were plenty of blankets he could wrap up in. Looking down at the pants in hand, Aara slips from the bed and looks at her pale legs now covered in gooseflesh. She looked back at Xanth--the pants covering his own legs from view, then back at her legs. Okay. She could do this.
Awkwardly, Aara slips one foot in and gets it caught part way. A sound gets caught in her throat as her entire form ceases any and all movement as her balance sloooowly shifts off kilter. Her eyes widen as she feels her her body fall, and for some reason she refuses to let go of the pants.
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Without thought to whether Aara would be troubled by her new garments, Xanth takes a step back towards the closet. But then he hears that cut-off sound and looks back, only to see her teetering over.
"W-Woah!" Dropping the towels, Xanth rushes towards Aara and catches her by both shoulders. Very, very carefully, he straightens her back up, though he still supports her weight. For a moment, he just frowns down at her, mouth set in a line.
How does one forget how to put on pants?
With a blink, his expression softens. "Y-You okay?"
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"I...yes. I'm okay." She was unhurt. That was something, wasn't it? Then it hits her--what Xanth had done. Her eyes widen as the pieces fall into place. She stares with perhaps a bit more awe than she should. "You helped me..."
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How one could forget how to catch oneself while they fall escaped him, too. But that thought was silly - she must have just frozen in the moment. He lets out a tiny sigh, relieved that he could catch her in time. The last thing they needed was for her to smash her head on the floor...
"S-So, uh-- just-- I-I'll keep you up, a-and you-- you can p-put those on?"
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"I am done now. Thank you Xanth."
Aara slants her gaze away, her expression clearly amused still, before she chances a peek at him.
"I promise I will not fall."
She beams up at him at that.
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"O-Okay," he says, and then he releases his shoulders. "H--Hold on a sec, th-then." And with that, he backs up a step, then turns and head to his closet. He finds the most comfortable shirt possible, an off-white tunic, and slips it over his head. At the same time, he kicks off his shoes.
A true multitasker is he.
That done, he moves back to the bed and sits on the edge. The grin has faded from his face, but on it remains a hint of a smile.
"A-Are you gonna... s-sleep too?"
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"But...how will I protect you if I am asleep?"
She gives a small, gentle smile, placing her hand lightly on Xanth's shoulder and applying preasure so he would lay down.
"You need your rest more than I do."
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But he doesn't want to upset her, and so he just lets her push him down.
"O-Okay." He pulls a blanket over himself, and with it come sliding a couple more. Usually he'd just let them be, but instead, he takes one and drapes it over Aara's shoulder, turning on his side as he does.
"Th-- Thanks," he says, still wearing that ghost of a smile, and then he closes his eyes. Even if he can't sleep, he can try to rest.
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"You are welcome..."
Really, it was the least she could do.
Shifting carefully, so as not to jostle him, Aara looks down at Xanth as he tries to rest. An uncontrollable urge rises within her, and she slips an arm out of her cocoon, gently smoothing Xanth's hair away from his eyes with the more careful of touches--as if by a soothing warm breeze. She doesn't stop to think whether or not something that would give her comfort might in fact not comfort Xanth. Her wish is only to help ease him into a sleep--whether she was successful or not.
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He blinks his eyes open. Her wish might be to lull him to sleep, but the unexpected touch makes him think something entirely different.
"You... y-you need s--something?"
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"Ah...no. I... apologize."
She presses her lips together awkwardly, afraid to say more, and moves down the length of the bed to place more distance between them so he can sleep. Then she wonders. Maybe, if she was to protect him, she shouldn't be sitting anyway?
"Is...is the door locked?"
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Perhaps she'd come from a place like Xanth did. That would explain things...
At her question, Xanth squeezes his eyes closed, face scrunched in through. "Um..." Truly, he didn't remember whether he'd locked it or not; he'd been caught up in making sure Aara got inside. It was a habit to lock it, of course, but did he even get a moment to?
"I-I don't-- I don't know," he admits, and then he reaches down into his pants pocket. After a moment, he produces the key to his room and offers it to Aara. "H-Here. If-- i-if you-- if you want to l-lock it."
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"I'll check. You just try to clear your mind so you can sleep."
She moves to the door, forgetting there was still a blanket around her shoulders and quickly grasping both ends before it fell to the floor. She was still pretty cold, after all. She makes her way quietly to the door, inserting the key and making sure the door was indeed locked. Then she turns and glances around the room, wondering how best to protect Xanth while enabling him to get as much sleep as he needed. She moves to the chair and Xanth's desk and sits, wrapping the blanket securely around herself, smiling gently as she burrows into the warmth.
She will watch over Xanth from here. She would have preferred staying by the door, but Xanth may not have liked that.
"Sleep well, Xanth."
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