"I thought you might find these more comfortable."
Her older sister's voice carried a vibration of worry, uncomfortable and questioning. DG looked down at the fabric Azkadellia was offering and arched an eyebrow. She took it gently, knowing that her sister was mildly nervous in offering it to her.
In comparison, Az looked far closer to being a tried and true Princess of the Outer Zone. It made her slightly uncomfortable to look over the well fitting dress with a more modest bodice than what she'd seen the woman in days before. Her sister looked absolutely gorgeous, pinker color riding over her cheeks and hair looser than it had been. She'd always known Az was prettier than her, well, when she remembered her sister at all… It was just a shock to see the other woman's slow transformation back into what had been stolen from her.
"Whatcha got for me?" DG rifled a hand through the fabric.
"You seem to prefer pants." Azkadellia said gently and moved into the room. "And I can't say that I blame you at a time like this."
"Pants are normal on the Other Side." DG shrugged and looked over the black riding pants her sister had found. A loose fitting white shirt that would billow slightly off her small frame sat on top of them.
"Um…"
Az lifted a pair of flat bottomed black boots. "I wasn't sure of size."
DG reflexively gave her a wide smile and took them, moving with ease into the bathroom. She left the door cracked slightly while she changed her clothes, trying to finger pry the knots from her hair at the same time with brisk movements.
"How long have you been awake?"
"I didn't sleep well last night." Her sister confessed in the same quieted and worrisome tone of voice. "A few hours, maybe."
"Me too." DG admitted and found underclothes tucked between the pants and shirt. She dressed as quickly as possible. "You okay, Az?"
"Do me the kindness of defining 'okay'?" her sister's voice was barely rising above a whisper and DG stepped easily back into the bedroom area, carrying the boots with her toward the bed.
She didn't have an answer.
And, really, her sister wasn't looking for one…
Azkadellia's head was bent at a downward angle, her hair trickling down each shoulder while she stared at her open hands, both of them laying with palms up in her lap. DG sat gently to the rumpled mattress and let her shoulder barely press into Azkadellia's. The older woman didn't move at all, just continued to stare hard at her empty hands. DG lifted her foot and slowly slid one of the boots on, wiggling her toes in it before pulling on the other as well. She stood quickly and bounced to be sure they fit, startling her sister's gaze back up.
"Your hair is getting lighter." The younger of the two whispered in mild surprise, crooking a finger tip against a wave of Az's hair. The black quality had started to soften toward a light brown highlight.
"Really?"
DG had to smile as those too-still hands broke from their stupor and lifted, tugging a lock forward. "Really."
"Like mother's?"
DG shook her head with a smile, "No. Like your own and not the witch's."
There was a sweet flush of color on the other woman's cheeks that DG hadn't remembered seeing ever before.
"Guess I shouldna pissed on your memorial plaque, eh?"
Wyatt grinned widely at the familiar voice that gruffed behind him, "I have a memorial plaque?"
"Sure." The older man clapped a large hand on his shoulder as he stepped forward, knocking the former Tin Man's hat jauntily to the side, "Right next to the public toilets."
He turned slowly into the way the larger man was hovering against his right shoulder, drawing his glance from the trucks that were drawing supplies deeper into Central City's fortified area. He caught the way the other Tin Man's face had cragged and aged, the sun darkening it toward weathering. Cain cocked his head at the pounds the older man had added in the middle and shook his glance up to jovial green eyes.
"Hays." He opened both arms for a hug that damn near cracked his back.
"Cain." The other man clapped his full palm against the blonde's back. "I thought you were dead."
"I was for awhile." Wyatt separated slowly from his old comrade.
"Your kid told me." The older, darker man admitted quietly. "Called me in at the ass crack of dawn…you don't look a day older."
"Technically I'm only about a week older, I suppose." Wyatt shifted his hat back down against his forehead. "Still wearing tin?"
"Nobody is, really." The other officer shrugged but tugged his jacket lapel to the side, flashing a familiar badge from tight against his shirt. "Not officially. I'm assuming we get to see the Queen this morning? Can't wait."
There was a teasing fire in the other man's eyes, excitement brimming up into them as he smiled. Wyatt couldn't help but return it with half a grin before turning back to the way trucks were starting to slow and stall into a line behind each other. He shook his head and whistled loudly, using the same high pitched tone he'd used when Jeb was fishing too far down the creek line. His son's head snapped around and the darkness in Jeb's eyes was a sudden and soundless crack between them.
"Keep them moving, Jeb. Don't let 'em idle." He called out with as supportive a tone as possible, hoping to gentle things between them.
"I got it." The younger man answered flatly and turned away.
Hays let off a wheezing and whistling sound behind him, "Kid's all spit."
"Yeah," Cain frowned slightly, "I'd noticed."
"They're really beautiful when they're all together, aren't they?"
Cain rolled his eyes away from the other man and avoided looking up in the direction Glitch was staring. He sighed against the way the former advisor had a way of stating the bleeding obvious and nodded into the coffee cup he was holding tight to his chest. He shrugged his shoulders in the starched clean shirt, astounded that the pain in his right shoulder had washed into just a miniscule ache.
"I mean…" Glitch sighed, "Royally beautiful."
"I get it." Cain could feel his throat constrict. "Thank you."
"Easy, Cain." The darker of the two banked him a glare, "I wouldn't want you to have an emotional response to anything. I was just making an observation."
"Observe something else, wouldja?"
Wyatt finally looked up to where the three women of the Gale line were already embroiled in what looked to be a blistering conversation. Surprisingly it was his little spitfire that was holding her own against the Queen while Azkadellia watched the two of them quietly. He smiled as the older sister had to softly speak between them to calm the jangling of nerves and DG's head turned sharply to the side while her arms crossed under her breasts again.
"Careful, Cain." Glitch nudged against the blonde's upper arm. "It's showing again."
"What?" he cast a sidelong glance toward Glitch, voice defensive.
Glitch grinned knowingly, "That. Exactly that."
He watched the other man step swiftly backwards, finger pointed at him. "Keep walking, Zip."
He watched the three of them, suddenly surprised by the striking way that they really did look alike. When all of Azkadellia's witch trappings were stripped away she really was a soft and gentle looking lady, nearly as elegant as her mother. The Queen's eyes were far more steeled and stern though, the color of them nearly disconcerting in her determined visage. Both of them had their hair up and plaited back but DG… He couldn't block the smirk that tugged up one corner of his mouth.
She damn well looked the part of stubborn second princess, waved dark hair full and soft around her face.
It didn't help that she'd yet to stop wearing that furiously obstinate look on her usually wide open face. Or that her arms were still defensively tight across her chest. He didn't remember her making that movement all that often before they'd met back up with her parents. And while the night before he'd found it enticing… it was mildly upsetting now that she felt the need to withdraw.
That wasn't his DG.
Certainly wasn't the girl that had haughtily reminded him that she'd been the one to let him out of a tin-box-prison.
He didn't like the change.
He didn't plan to let it stick around.
Ahamo had made the rounds, asking people to take seats where they could find them around the large dining table. It was the largest protected place that they could locate and get cleaned up in time for a meeting like this. He'd sorted it out hours before and there was food and drink laid upon the table – not much, but enough to help comfort those that had been called in to strategize.
There were quite a few faces that he didn't recognize but knowing the men in the room, he was fairly certain that no one was here that didn't need to be. He flicked a smile and a nod to Lavender as people started sitting around the rectangular table. He stepped back slowly, letting his hands clasp behind his back as he leaned his steps toward his youngest, and obviously unhappy, child.
"You should sit, Dorothy." He murmured into one ear as he stepped around behind her, taking a place closer to the Queen's chair, "Your mother wants to hear your suggestions."
"She didn't five minutes ago." DG replied quietly, shoulders tensing after the use of her full first name.
"This isn't easy for any of us, DG. It's a necessary evil." He murmured softly, giving her a sidelong glance of pleading. "Please sit down."
She didn't sit beside her mother, but instead found a place nestled between her older sister and the Queen's former advisor.
He certainly didn't mean to stop paying attention to the current discussion but the politics of a delegation to the Guild wasn't nearly interesting enough to keep him from noticing the way that Azkadellia was squeezing tight to her younger sister's wrist atop the table. DG's other hand crossed away from her water glass to rub the other woman's fingers, both of them staring off to his left.
Cain followed their glance to where Jeb and his old friend were sitting. It certainly wasn't Jeb they were staring agape at because he was too busy softly responding to the Queen's request for information on the Guild's whereabouts. Cain looked beyond his son to find Jonah Hays glaring in quiet fury at Azkadellia and he shifted slightly. He looked back to the sisters and noted the uncomfortable pleading glance that DG was aiming to him. Wyatt breathed in through his nose and looked to his palm against the table, fingers spread flat.
"Excuse me." He said softly once. No one broke the conversation and when he looked back up DG's face was starting to darken in defensive anger.
Cain flexed his fingers, staring at his ring before he made a thoughtless decision and slammed his palm flat and hard to the wooden table, startling everyone. "Excuse me."
There was silent confusion in the Queen's eyes but she tipped her head in cautious permission.
"Hays," he didn't look to his friend but kept his eyes on DG's bright blues. "Leave the table."
"Wyatt - "
"I'll speak with you later." His voice made no allowance for argument and he still didn't risk looking away from DG when Ahamo seemed to suddenly appear from behind his wife to stand behind Azkadellia's chair. "Leave this table."
"I think we all need a break." Ahamo's hands were white-knuckling the back of his oldest daughter's chair while the other Tin Man roughly and loudly scraped his chair across the stone flooring.
"I agree." Cain murmured and noted the way DG was breathing easier, her lips parting slightly in relief.
She mouthed a sweet-lipped-silent 'thank you' that he wasn't going to forget until his brain went soft with age and senility.
Or until someone put a bullet in it.
