As if on cue, the petite frame of Amelia appeared in a nearby doorway, moving towards the bed, looking chipper and ever optimistic as per usual. In her hands she carried an small assortment of food and two drinks on a tray. She thought it would be easier to prompt Sam to get up if he had something to boost his energy.
"I was just checking to see if you were awake. I thought you wanted to get going pretty soon." she smiled, placing the tray on the bedside table.
[ooc: Currently saying nothing has happened between them, but there may have been the odd bit of tension if that works for you.]
Sam glanced over at the woman approaching him. What time was it? And, moreover, how long had he slept.
Memories rushed to the front of his mind as he reached over to take a drink.
"Yeah, I wanted to go see the coroner's to see the body." The newspaper article had said the corpse of the victim was terribly mangled, if he remembered correctly. That possibly meant it was their kind of job.
She nodded in reply, helping herself to an apple and taking a small bite out of the fruit before glancing back at him.
"A while. I wanted to get my usual routine in before we left." she replied.
Of course for Amelia that meant spending a good hour or so training. Her father had encouraged her since she was small to know how to fight, so the habit had never left her even when she was out travelling with Sam. It made her feel better to know that she could handle herself fairly well, not wishing to be a burden on him. Yes, she was a fair bit younger than him, but that was no excuse to not be prepared, especially in what they often got involved in.
"Do you have any suspicions about this case?" she asked after biting into the apple again.
He sipped some of the coffee she had brought with a nod. Sometimes, he went out to train as well. There had been drills when he was young, almost every day he could remember, but the ease of a "normal life" had made him rusty. It was like riding a bike, though, and this last year or so made it come back like it had never gone.
"It sounds like a werewolf," he said, in a tone that was nearly as calm as someone talking about the weather. "But until I see if the heart's missing, we can't be sure."
He winced as he felt a muscle in his back tense. He hoped it was nothing. Honestly, he hadn't healed from his last monster sighting.
Truthfully, she was still a little hesitant about the more graphic aspects of what they did, but Amelia made an effort to put on the bravest face she could. Despite her age, she was nothing if not determined, and never flinched away from things. Getting stronger in body and mind was key; so she would keep training.
Again she nodded as she swallowed another bite of the apple. However, as her eyes flickered over him, she caught the wince, and immediately frowned. Their last encounter had not ended well, and Amelia had been honestly scared of something happening to Sam since then.
"Does it still hurt? Maybe I should take a look..." she spoke softly, leaning over him with concern in her features.
It was that innocence that always pulled at his heartstrings, making him feel guilty for dragging her along at all. She didn't need to be in this life. But who did? And if she wasn't with him, she might have ended up with someone who didn't give a damn about her safety.
At her question, he was about to shake his head and brush her concern away, but another jolt of pain stopped him. Denying her would probably just cause her to worry more.
"If you want to," he said, slipping the coffee into the nightstand. "It probably hasn't changed much since you looked at it last time."
There was no need for her to be there. She had a comfortable lifestyle, one most girls her age would dream of, but she just couldn't settle into it. Her father had always taught her to do good deeds, to bring justice and peace to people, and she could hardly do that by sitting around at home. Naive as she could be, Amelia had to will to keep on going, despite her lack of experience. She just counted herself fortunate that she had ended up being around someone who was so considerate.
On seeing his body tense, she bit her lip, frown deepening. Luckily, she didn't to persuade him further to let her check him over, which made things much more simple.
"It can't make it worse either." she replied, moving around to sit on the mattress, reaching over to gently tug at the shirt so she could examine the source of the discomfort.
He made a "mmm-hm" noise at her statement, mostly doing this to make her happy. While he liked to think he was more reasonable than his father and brother, he could be just as bad when it came to injuries. If it wasn't fatal, it could be put on the back burner.
He helped by pulling up the white v-neck shirt he wore for sleeping. The culprit behind his problem was glaringly obvious: a cut near the small of his back that was angry and red with purple bruising around it.
She had half a mind to go on about how if he just let her use her abilities to help him heal, it wouldn't have been this bad or taken this long to close. Of course she quickly bit her tongue, not wanting to get in an argument at the moment. She was more concerned than upset, so couldn't bring herself to scold him for telling her to not waste her energy on him if he wasn't in serious danger.
Once the cut was in plain sight, she wasted no time placing her hands over the mark. Her voice became hushed as she muttered something under her breath, before her hands began to glow softly, easing the ache and closing the cut over somewhat.
"Please, just let me do this for you." she insisted before he could protest. Lucky for her she had thought to be quiet when muttering the incantation, otherwise he would have just stopped her or moved away before she could act. It was too late now though, and hopefully the soothing sensation would prevent Sam from saying anything on the matter.
Special abilities, admittedly, were a sore subject for him. He kept his own from her as well as he could. Visions were just headaches, clairvoyance mere lucky guessing. Sometimes, he wondered how much she knew and what was just kept unspoken between them. At any rate, he almost never let her heal him. Old habits died hard.
And she was right this time. He was about to pull away in protest when the relief came. His body wouldn't allow that. This was nice, his aching muscles screamed.
"This once, Amelia," he replied, voice low and tired. She was lucky he was so groggy when he woke up. His shoulders slouched as he leaned his head from one side to the other.
Over the time they had spent together, she had learned better than to pry too much. More often than not it just upset him, and that was something she didn't wish to do. She was often aware he wasn't telling the entire truth to her, but kept believing her would let her know if it was a serious enough situation, and one day, perhaps, trust her enough to just tell her the whole extent of his abilities.
Because that's what she wanted really, more than anything, even if she didn't have the nerve to say so; to know everything about him. That was out of reach though, making her flush slightly as she stared at his back, hands moving in circles to tend to the wound.
"Then I'll just have to watch your back more carefully from now on so this doesn't happen again." she retorted, though her tone was not one of a snappish comeback, but more like a serious vow being taken. The bubbliness in her voice had faded somewhat, which was a pretty good indicator that she wasn't kidding.
[ooc: Sorry for lack of icons, am replying via email notif since I
( ... )
"It wasn't your fault this time," he said. While he appreciated her concern, he certainly didn't want her to worry. She was a rookie. A skilled one, sure, but he didn't need her to expect she could stop every little thing that could go wrong. That was his shtick.
Her hands on his back were working away the tenseness. That he could be thankful of. And he would focus on that aspect, not the fact that he was enjoying her hands on him for other reasons not all perfectly platonic. Being in close quarters with someone for such long periods of time would naturally drum up that sense of attraction. And he liked her as a person. Those were a potent mix. Yet, she was too young. He'd decided that, and he'd probably told her that himself when he got too drunk (which was extremely rare). He wouldn't feel right. Or at least, that was what he told himself, already sounding like an old man at twenty-three.
"Don't forget to watch your own back, alright? If this isn't a werewolf or a serial killer, we could be in trouble."
Just because it wasn't her fault didn't make her feel any less about it. She wasn't a useful partner if she couldn't do something to prevent those occurences. Sometimes she worried that he would one day just drop her off home and find someone who was more reliable.
"Even so, I won't let there be a next time." she spoke, hesitating before letting her hands go a little further in massaging him back while the healing spell continued to work. She really didn't want anything to happen to him, but at the same time could admit she was selfish for just not wanting to be parted from him. Yes, she had told herself over and over, and had hear Sam say it as well, that five years was too big an age gap, that at eighteen she should be having more fun experiences, and logic agreed with that. However, Amelia was always one to rely much more on instinct and heart, so she couldn't simply let the feelings she had go.
"Should I ask what else it could be...or is it better I don't know?" she asked sheepishly.
[ooc: Thanks, it's still wonky but at least
( ... )
That hadn't crossed his mind, actually. No matter what she did, it was better to have a partner than none at all. And they had fallen into a groove. He would lead, and she would learn. Someday, she's make a fine hunter. If he had ever thought about taking her home, it was for her own benefit. Even that had been a mostly fleeting concept.
He chuckled humorlessly. "None of them are fun options," he quipped, exhaling. Yeah, he was enjoying her touch waaaaaay too much. "It could be a skinwalker. Rakshasa. We won't know until we get a good look at the body."
He turned his head to look at her.
"We also need to see if there's any connection between the victims." That was her hint that he needed her to be on research duty. His body was also tensing up as if he was about to push off the bed.
He seemed a lot less tense than before, so the girl continued her work, listening to Sam and trying not to shudder at some of the possibilities. "I see. The quicker the better, before whatever it is goes after someone else."
On noticing the glance in her direction, she found herself smiling a little. It was reassuring to know he trusted her to do something no matter how small the task. Any concerns she might have had at the start of their partnership that she would be dismissed because of her youth and inexperience had quickly vanished, making Amelia care about him all the more.
However, she noted his shifting, about to get up, and her hands pressed into his skin more firmly. "Wait, take it easy, I'm not done yet." she said, letting one hand move up to soothe some of the other bruising.
"I was just checking to see if you were awake. I thought you wanted to get going pretty soon." she smiled, placing the tray on the bedside table.
[ooc: Currently saying nothing has happened between them, but there may have been the odd bit of tension if that works for you.]
Reply
Memories rushed to the front of his mind as he reached over to take a drink.
"Yeah, I wanted to go see the coroner's to see the body." The newspaper article had said the corpse of the victim was terribly mangled, if he remembered correctly. That possibly meant it was their kind of job.
"How long have you been up?"
[ooc: Sounds fine with me.]
Reply
"A while. I wanted to get my usual routine in before we left." she replied.
Of course for Amelia that meant spending a good hour or so training. Her father had encouraged her since she was small to know how to fight, so the habit had never left her even when she was out travelling with Sam. It made her feel better to know that she could handle herself fairly well, not wishing to be a burden on him. Yes, she was a fair bit younger than him, but that was no excuse to not be prepared, especially in what they often got involved in.
"Do you have any suspicions about this case?" she asked after biting into the apple again.
Reply
"It sounds like a werewolf," he said, in a tone that was nearly as calm as someone talking about the weather. "But until I see if the heart's missing, we can't be sure."
He winced as he felt a muscle in his back tense. He hoped it was nothing. Honestly, he hadn't healed from his last monster sighting.
Reply
Again she nodded as she swallowed another bite of the apple. However, as her eyes flickered over him, she caught the wince, and immediately frowned. Their last encounter had not ended well, and Amelia had been honestly scared of something happening to Sam since then.
"Does it still hurt? Maybe I should take a look..." she spoke softly, leaning over him with concern in her features.
Reply
At her question, he was about to shake his head and brush her concern away, but another jolt of pain stopped him. Denying her would probably just cause her to worry more.
"If you want to," he said, slipping the coffee into the nightstand. "It probably hasn't changed much since you looked at it last time."
Reply
On seeing his body tense, she bit her lip, frown deepening. Luckily, she didn't to persuade him further to let her check him over, which made things much more simple.
"It can't make it worse either." she replied, moving around to sit on the mattress, reaching over to gently tug at the shirt so she could examine the source of the discomfort.
Reply
He helped by pulling up the white v-neck shirt he wore for sleeping. The culprit behind his problem was glaringly obvious: a cut near the small of his back that was angry and red with purple bruising around it.
Reply
Once the cut was in plain sight, she wasted no time placing her hands over the mark. Her voice became hushed as she muttered something under her breath, before her hands began to glow softly, easing the ache and closing the cut over somewhat.
"Please, just let me do this for you." she insisted before he could protest. Lucky for her she had thought to be quiet when muttering the incantation, otherwise he would have just stopped her or moved away before she could act. It was too late now though, and hopefully the soothing sensation would prevent Sam from saying anything on the matter.
Reply
And she was right this time. He was about to pull away in protest when the relief came. His body wouldn't allow that. This was nice, his aching muscles screamed.
"This once, Amelia," he replied, voice low and tired. She was lucky he was so groggy when he woke up. His shoulders slouched as he leaned his head from one side to the other.
Reply
Because that's what she wanted really, more than anything, even if she didn't have the nerve to say so; to know everything about him. That was out of reach though, making her flush slightly as she stared at his back, hands moving in circles to tend to the wound.
"Then I'll just have to watch your back more carefully from now on so this doesn't happen again." she retorted, though her tone was not one of a snappish comeback, but more like a serious vow being taken. The bubbliness in her voice had faded somewhat, which was a pretty good indicator that she wasn't kidding.
[ooc: Sorry for lack of icons, am replying via email notif since I ( ... )
Reply
Her hands on his back were working away the tenseness. That he could be thankful of. And he would focus on that aspect, not the fact that he was enjoying her hands on him for other reasons not all perfectly platonic. Being in close quarters with someone for such long periods of time would naturally drum up that sense of attraction. And he liked her as a person. Those were a potent mix. Yet, she was too young. He'd decided that, and he'd probably told her that himself when he got too drunk (which was extremely rare). He wouldn't feel right. Or at least, that was what he told himself, already sounding like an old man at twenty-three.
"Don't forget to watch your own back, alright? If this isn't a werewolf or a serial killer, we could be in trouble."
[ooc: It's fine. I won't ( ... )
Reply
"Even so, I won't let there be a next time." she spoke, hesitating before letting her hands go a little further in massaging him back while the healing spell continued to work. She really didn't want anything to happen to him, but at the same time could admit she was selfish for just not wanting to be parted from him. Yes, she had told herself over and over, and had hear Sam say it as well, that five years was too big an age gap, that at eighteen she should be having more fun experiences, and logic agreed with that. However, Amelia was always one to rely much more on instinct and heart, so she couldn't simply let the feelings she had go.
"Should I ask what else it could be...or is it better I don't know?" she asked sheepishly.
[ooc: Thanks, it's still wonky but at least ( ... )
Reply
He chuckled humorlessly. "None of them are fun options," he quipped, exhaling. Yeah, he was enjoying her touch waaaaaay too much. "It could be a skinwalker. Rakshasa. We won't know until we get a good look at the body."
He turned his head to look at her.
"We also need to see if there's any connection between the victims." That was her hint that he needed her to be on research duty. His body was also tensing up as if he was about to push off the bed.
Reply
On noticing the glance in her direction, she found herself smiling a little. It was reassuring to know he trusted her to do something no matter how small the task. Any concerns she might have had at the start of their partnership that she would be dismissed because of her youth and inexperience had quickly vanished, making Amelia care about him all the more.
However, she noted his shifting, about to get up, and her hands pressed into his skin more firmly. "Wait, take it easy, I'm not done yet." she said, letting one hand move up to soothe some of the other bruising.
Reply
There was the tiniest of long-suffering sighs.
"I need to shower and get ready," he insisted, hissing a bit through his teeth when she touched an especially sensitive place.
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