READY TO FALL
With a great big bagful of groceries in hand, Klarion bursts through the front door with an over-exuberant smile plastered to his face.
He can't quite explain it, but he had had a more than wonderful day exploring the city and was feeling extra gracious, so he decided to take it upon himself to bring dinner home for Kitrina to thank her for all she has done for both him and Teekl. She'd opened up her home to them, taken them in as both friends and equals. Shown him the city, her world. Perhaps it's time to start paying it back. It's time to start opening up more and showing her exactly how he feels. Show that he can be good to her, provide for her. And it all starts tonight with dinner.
Knowing how much she enjoys Chinese food, he had found the perfect little restaurant in the old China Town district to purchase from. It smelled heavenly, reminding him fully of his travels to the far East. Rich, exotic and flavorful. And only after grilling the owner for nearly ten minutes over whether or not he uses cats in his cooking (to quell the disturbing rumors he'd once heard) was he confident enough to order. To tell the truth, he'd never ordered anything more than a slice of pizza or bought a box of sugar-coated cereal for himself before. To put together a banquet of a meal such as this is quite the daunting task. It's more than anything he's ever handled before. He only hopes she enjoys it.
Placing down the bag on the kitchen island, Klarion begins to set out little white cardboard containers of Kung Pao chicken and pork lo mein among various other tasty concoctions. Perhaps he was just a bit overzealous in his ordering, he hadn't realized he'd nearly bought out the entire menu, front and back. He hopes she doesn't think that he is trying too hard, though in all actuality, he is.
Hands on his hips, the warlock takes a step back to look over the spread he's laid out before him. He tilts his head and purses his lips. Something's just not right. It's not yet complete.
With the wave of his hand, the room begins to change around him. Candles blink into existence, the lights turn down low. Red magic flows and fills the air with a sense of ambiance, romance and wonder. An extravagant bouquet of flowers blooms center stage, its vines curling around the granite countertop. Tiger lilies and orchids and peonies and roses. Babies breath and snapdragons and violets and chrysanthemums. He hasn't a clue as to what her favorite flower might be so he damn well nearly grows them all. Certainly an arrangement that would make even the infamous Poison Ivy see green with envy.
"Kitrina, dinner's ready!" Klarion excitedly calls throughout the empty apartment. After no response, he tries again. "Kitrina?"
It would appear she has yet to return home. Klarion was sure he'd mastered her schedule. An early morning class on Tuesdays followed by lunch with Enigma and training with the old Wildcat, Ted Grant. Just your typical Tuesday in Gotham. Which happens to be some of the nights he'd used to like best. Boring. Average. Uneventful. The nights when she'd wander in exhausted, too tired to venture out yet again, strip down into her PJs and strew herself upon the couch. He'd take a seat beside her, her feet in his lap, toes playing with the buttons to his dress shirt. She'd tell him about her day as she channel surfed or watched the soap operas she'd recorded earlier while she was out and he'd read quietly from a book.
How he misses those nights, the way things were.
Klarion takes a look at his watch then moves his eyes towards the door. Perhaps she's just running late. No need to worry or fret. Any moment now, she'll come right through that door. He can hardly contain his excitement. She's going to be so surprised.
Pulling out a barstool, Klarion takes a seat at the counter, both he and Teekl waiting patiently for Kitrina's return. After a couple minutes, he begins nibbling at the fried rice. A couple minutes more and he idly smooths over the creases in his suit. After about an hour, the candles have nearly burnt down. All that's left are little waxy nubs.
Yet another hour passes. And another.
A puff of smoke wafts through the air along with the subtle scent of sulfur as the final candle flickers out, leaving him alone in the darkness of their apartment. His heart sinks. The flowers begin to wilt. The food's gone cold.
Teekl looks up to meet eyes with his master. With sad and low eyes, Klarion finds his gaze. A mere thought and a red swirling portal opens up high above the kitchen island, instantly sucking the entire meal and all of Klarion's hard work up into the void. Once the last candle has dispersed, the portal closes in on itself and disappears from sight, taking everything Klarion willed with it. The kitchen is once again quiet and empty. Dark. A clean slate. Like he was never here.
He'll try again tomorrow.
With a sigh, Klarion gets up from his seat and makes his way through the kitchen towards his bedroom chamber. He flicks on the little desk lamp rather than the overhead lights, creating just the right amount of light for him to read by. Taking a seat on his bedroom floor, the warlock empties the contents of his knapsack out before him. A suspicious set of dice fall out and roll across the floor, becoming lost underneath the bed.
Amongst the clatter of random sundries, herbs, and trinkets, several books spill out, his latest conquests from the Gotham Public Library. The majority of them are books on modern dating and how to pick up women. A far cry from his usual haul of spell books and local history. He'd spent the better part of the day researching such things, trying his best to figure out what to do about a certain feline fatale.
Debating where to begin, Klarion picks up a hard-bound book on the Kama Sutra from the pile and scans its front cover. His eyes fall to the side to glare at his sneaky little cat. The guilty look on his whiskered face is evidence enough that he'd snuck said book into his master's knapsack. Klarion cocks his head just ever so slightly as he curiously peers inside. His eyes widen as he leers at the illustrations. Turning the book upside down, he tilts his head further, unnaturally arching his neck and raises an eyebrow.
"How can one possibly-"
A loud crash rings out from somewhere within the apartment, making Klarion drop the book and jump to his feet.
He can already hear the sound of the medicine cabinet slamming open and closed, the sound of nameless items being pushed around and tumbling to the floor as he makes his way through the darkened apartment. Teekl follows close behind.
Cautiously, he approaches the bathroom door, the source of the noise. Opened just a crack, it's enough to let a sliver of light slip out and cut through the darkness of the hallway, illuminating bright red bloodstains tracked across the floor.
Alarmed, Klarion's hand hovers just above the doorknob.
A thousand and one possibilities run through his head, none of which are good. Teekl remains unusually silent, filling him ever more with worry and dread. Surely something horrid awaits them on the other side of the door. His heart beats so fast, pounding like a drum inside his head.
"Kitrina?" Klarion calls out, his voice shrill and filled with fright.
He doesn't wait for an answer, but instead grabs hold of the door knob and barges his way inside.
As if cast aside carelessly, an open sack of jewels lies just inside the doorway, it's contents strewn across the floor. They glitter and shine in the pale, bathroom light, emitting a crimson glow. Interlaced with fresh, red blood, it's hard to tell the hundreds of tiny rubies scattered across the ground from the speckles of blood. It's both beautiful and horrifying.
Kitrina stands hunched over the bathroom sink, her black catsuit stained red and hastily ripped open at the seams to reveal a pair of ghastly gun shot wounds to her chest. Blood streams down her back like a river, indicating at least one of the bullets have found its way to pass straight through. It pools around her and all over the sink in a sickening shade of deep crimson. Bits of glistening gun-metal shrapnel lay inside the sink. It looks as if she had dug the second spent bullet out of her own mangled flesh with her diamond-tipped claws.
Sensing intruders, Kitrina spins around quickly and takes on a defensive stance, displaying her bloodied claws and tightly grit teeth much like a wounded animal. She looks feral, ravenous. Her narrowed eyes focus on Klarion and she lets down her guard. She softens. Her arms hang and shoulders slump.
"Oh…" She says weakly, forcing a crooked smile. "Hiya, Blue."
Her eyes roll into the back of her head and her body sways. Gravity takes control and pulls her forward, knocking her head over heels as she faints, falling into his arms.
Catching her limp body, Klarion stumbles to the floor with her dead weight. Teekl rushes to his side. Over and over, he calls out her name, but she doesn't respond. Lost in her unconsciousness, she's slipped so far away. So far from his grasp.
He can feel her life-force draining as he frantically clutches her to his chest. Sticky and wet, her blood seeps into his clothes, staining his blue skin red.
All color leaves her. Her aura wanes.
What could he do? How could he save her? He can't possibly bring her to a hospital. No. Not like this. So what then? Where can he go?
Gathering her up in his arms, he gets to his feet. Teekl leaps onto his shoulders, already knowing the drill.
"It's ok, Kitty." Klarion whispers in her ear, hoping that wherever her spirit lies, that she can hear him. "Everything's going to be ok."
He tells her that she's going to be alright. Again and again. It's meant to bring her ease, but in all actuality it's the only thing he can do assure himself that he believes in what he says. The more he says it, the better he feels. He simply cannot fail her. He won't.
Adrenaline kicks in. His heart beats like a fighter jet. Fast and hard. Through his will alone, Klarion summons a glowing red portal. With the girl in his arms and his cat on his back, he steps through into the great unknown, letting the void consume them.
Guess where WE'RE going! ...
Reviews pretty please with sugar on top! :D