"I don't understand," their Captain joined them after his fifth attempt on gaining entry into their youngest's room and failing, claiming a place between Puriel and Titus on the soft cushioned lounger. "It's just a bedroom. How on earth can she still be so upset about it."
It had nearly been three weeks since Sablo had requested the room across the hall from Abraxos, and she'd been forced into moving to the room next to Nisroc's, and she hadn't come out of her room since that fateful day.
Puriel shrugged next to him. "Who knows?"
"Was I too harsh?" He looks between his brothers. "Too firm?"
"I don't think so." Titus was listening to their conversation but had yet to put the book he'd buried his nose into down, participating rather fluidly but still reading the beloved text, they all recognized the book, he'd read it a number of times before. "She had been pestering about it for well over thirty minutes."
"Something doesn't feel right, though." Abraxos rubbed at his chin lightly in thought. "Something's looming over our heads and I can't figure out what it is." He turned to face his Captain. "She hasn't even talked to me, and well, she tells me everything."
That was a concerning admission, a concerning truth to learn, Abraxas did tell her older counterpart everything. No matter how trivial it may be, she told him, every time. For her to shut him out too was something to be concerned over. Something had changed since she'd been forced into switching rooms.
Nisroc curled an arm around the back of his head and leaned back against the backrest behind him. "Something is indeed out of place."
"I could move." Sablo peeped up from across the way, sitting next to Puriel quietly, he was so hushed they had forgotten he was there with them, and they all turned to look at him at the realization he was there. They had to get him out of his shell. He was one of them. He wasn't going anywhere. "I don't want to cause any harm. If she needs the room back, I would be happy to move to another." He looked up at his Captain. "As long as that's okay."
Nisroc thought for a moment, giving in and switching rooms would send things back to normal, but he inevitably shook his head. "No, she doesn't need that room, she's just being stubborn, no doubt." He turned to look at the young elect. "You'll stay where you are." Sablo nodded and let the matter rest, turning back to his own book, falling back into the background again.
They watched him for a moment, until he felt their gazes and looked up, then they turned away.
One problem at a time.
But they really had to get him to open up.
"Perhaps we should move her back," Abraxos looked over to his Captain and their eyes met. "Something about the move has turned some sort of stopper. Perhaps we should."
"No." Their Captain shook his head in finality. "She has to learn that she can't have everything she wants. Admittedly, we are all guilty of it, we tend to dote on her." He nods again, as if trying to convince himself, and not completely succeeding. "We knew things would be a bit rough when she returned to us. There would be some things we'd have to work through. But it's just a bedroom."
"It's hard to help her though when she won't let us in."
He nodded in agreement at Haniel, it wasn't often he got as serious as he was, but these precarious times called for such seriousness from all of them.
"Perhaps," Hasmal was looking down at his scarred hands, he was retardant to the flame, but that didn't mean he wasn't afflicted when it got hot enough. Everything had a melting point. "We should get someone to talk to her." He looked up in time to see Abraxos open his mouth. "Someone that isn't us. Maybe what she has to share is something she can't share with us."
They all thought over his words carefully.
Hasmal took a deep breath. "I want to help her just as much as the rest do, and we clearly aren't suitable enough, she needs someone else." He knew a problem when he saw one, and he knew the signs of a breakdown when he saw them, having had a number himself, he knew the signs quite well. "She is not okay, that much is evident, she is heading down a very dangerous path, she needs someone to stop her trek before she falls again. Metaphorically."
He hated to admit it, but Abraxos understood, he agreed. If she wasn't comfortable coming to him, then he'd be more then happy to find someone she was comfortable talking to, seeing her like this pained him more than any inflicted wound ever had. She was home, he had her back, and yet, at the same time, she was still so far away.
"But, who?" He turned to look at the fire starter. "Who could we go to that she would let in?"
Hasmal nodded slightly, he hadn't thought that far, it had been an idea that had been swirling around in his head for quite some time. "Perhaps we should ask Akriel." They turned to look at him. "She's been through something traumatic, and I don't think that only includes her exile and Fall, that's something he specializes in."
The oldest Power nodded in understanding. "He'd be more then happy to help, if we asked." He looked between them all. "We'll give it another week, see if there is any change, and we will seek him out if there is not."
…
Her door was normally locked.
That was the first thing that alerted him when he had knocked on the door, received no response, and reached for the door handle. It turned, the lock didn't catch it, she must have stepped out of her room recently, perhaps to use the restroom, and forgot to lock the door when she returned.
He turned the handle all the way, hearing the stopper unlatch from the keeper, and he pushed the door open gently. "Aba, are you in here?"
He stopped short.
She stared up at him with wide eyes, looking very much like someone being caught doing something wrong, and his eyes went between the small razor clutched in her shaking fingers and the long bleeding slices that painted her delicate skin. It was one of his razors, the one that he used to shave when the natural stubble he liked to wear got too long, he had been forced into getting a new one because his old one had seemingly disappeared, now he knew where it had gone.
"Abe…" Anger flashed in her eyes. "What are you doing! Get out! Get out!"
He looked down at her sadly, carefully, and slowly made his way across the room. "Aba…" He kneels some paces away when she scoots back from him. "Aba, what are you doing?"
"It's none of your business! Get out of my room! Get out!" She reaches for the first thing she can manage, a book on the side table, and throws it at him as best as she can. "Get out! I'm doing something! Mind your own business!"
He catches the book and set it down next to his right foot, shaking his head gently. "Ada, why?"
"Because….Because it helps! Okay! It helps!" It pains him, his heart aches, when she curls her fingers around the blade of the razor and red blood drops from her cut fingers, and she doesn't so much as flinch. "It helps it all just go away! It helps me breath! Helps me live! It's not even that bad!"
"Aba…"
"It's not!"
He holds his hand out and she jumps back from him, drops of blood flying onto the thick quilt on top of her bed, underneath her, and leaves stains where they land. "Aba, I need you to give me it."
"No! No! I need it! I need it!" Tears spill from her eyes and it breaks his heart, how does he help someone who won't let him help them. "Get out!"
"I can't, Aba, I'm not leaving."
"Well, then, you'll just have to watch!" She inhales a shaky breath. "Because I need it! I need it! Don't you understand! I can't not do it!"
"Aba, please," he doesn't move, but his hand never falls, and her frantic eyes hop from his outstretched hand to his concerned eyes, and she gives the most heart wrenching whine he's ever heard. "I need you to pass it to me."
"I can't! I can't, Abe! It's all I have left! It's all I have left!" She drops the razor on her bed, next to her right knee, as she reaches up to grasp at her head, fingers curling into her hair, smearing red blood over the blonde strands until they're a strawberry pink. "Everything else is gone! Everything else is gone! My family! My brothers! My home! My room! Me! Everything's gone Abe!" Her chest starts heaving, slow at first, but it picks up pace. "This is the only thing I have! This! And I won't—I won't let you take it from me!"
He reaches forward quickly, before she can react, and snatches up the razor. Closing it with quick fingers, he slips it into his pocket, eyebrows scrunched together in worry. "Oh, Aba.."
"No! No!" She jumps forward for him, for the razor he's taken from her, and he catches a glimpse of her sliced up fingers and sighs sadly standing away from her. "Give it back! Give it back! I need it! I need it!" He steps away from her when she manages to stumble off the edge of her bed. "Abe! Abe! I need it! It helps me!"
"It's only a temporary fix, baby girl."
"But it helps!" Her voice cracks and it breaks his heart into a million pieces. "It hurts, okay, it hurts! It all hurts so bad, and it takes the pain away! So, I need it!"
"You need help."
"I do not!" Her fists clench, blood drops down the fingers over her wounded hand, her eyes watery from tears but full of mind numbing hysteria. "I need you to give it back and then I need you to fuck off!"
Abraxos feels his throat tighten, he swallows back his own tears, as he finally sees how broken his beloved little ducking is. Somethings broken his baby girl, something more then the Fall alone, and it hurts him beyond words to not know how to help her. "We're going to get you some help, alright."
"Abe! Please!" She reaches out pleadingly. "Please!"
The cry she lets out when he shakes his head allows a single tear to escape his eye. "I'm going to get you help. You need help, baby girl, we're going to get you some help." She chokes on a sob as he backs out of her room, closing the door softly as the others gather, no doubt from the commotion.
Nisroc reaches out for him when his shoulders heave as he finally lets the gathered emotions break down the wall he'd built while in the middle of that heart breaking confrontation. "Abe, Abe what's wrong, we heard the yelling."
He shakes his head, taking a deep breath, wiping at his eyes with his fingers for a moment. "We need to get help." They all exchange a look. "It's worse then we thought it was." He turns to Haniel, shaking his head as he clears the heart wrenching pain he feels from his mind. "Go, go get some help. We need help. We need help now."
The young Power nods silently, turning and darting away, to find someone who could help them. He didn't know what was wrong, but for it to break Abe the way it had, he knew it had to be bad, and it made it even worse knowing that he had stepped out of their little ones room with such pain.
Puriel steps forward, setting a gentle hand on his arm, Titus close on his shoulder. "Brother?"
Abraxos inhales deeply, fishing in his pocket for the confiscated razor he'd taken and held it up for them all to see. It's painted red, a light coating, Titus makes a heartbroken sound, reaching out for the razor, and takes it gently in hand. "Is this…?" He looks up to the other Power for confirmation, hoping he'll deny it, but knowing the chances are slim. His brother nods, confirming all their worst fears, and closes his eyes. "She needs help."
Nisroc turns from them, curled forward, his face buried in his hands. Titus curls his fingers tightly around the bloody folded razor and shakes his head silently, too overcome for words. Puriel curls the fingers of his left hand around his forehead in shock. Abraxos turns from them as the tears fall from his eyes once more, this time he does nothing to inhibit them, it's hitting him the hardest, they've always been so close, and to know that she's hurting so horribly and there's nothing he can do breaks him inside.
Hasmal closes his eyes sadly. "In order for one to truly rebuild, one must shatter."
They wait in silence for some time, for Haniel to return with whomever he sought out for help, wallowing in their silent worry and heartbreak. Not a sound is heard from within the room, and they think the worst, wanting to barge in to see what could be happening, but they hold themselves back. The last thing they need to do is overwhelm her, not at this time, they needed guidance for this one, they didn't know what to do and it killed them inside.
Their baby was hurting, and they didn't know how to make it better.
Haniel returns a good twenty minutes later, jogging down the hall towards them, two silhouettes following behind him. The shadows of the darkened hall reveals the two mysterious figures as they draw closer, Akriel jogs with him at his right shoulder, and at his left jogs the healers Archangel.
They should really light the torches in the hall to offer them some light.
Hasmal excuses himself softly to do just that, flames igniting in his right hand, he walks quietly passed them to light the torches in the hall to cast some illumination over them.
Akriel takes a deep breath, to catch his breath after jogging the entire length between the Infirmary and the Pavilion, looking between the group of Powers with a curious sort of concern, his archangel doing much of the same from over his shoulder. "What's wrong?" He looks to Nisroc for guidance on the situation at hand. "Haniel said you all needed my help but didn't give any specifics."
"Aba…" He turns to look at Abraxos when he's the one who speaks up. "Abraxas needs help. You're the one we all thought of for help."
The Virtue frowns lightly. "What's wrong with little Aba?"
"She's breaking." Hasmal rejoined them, coming up to stand beside the Healer, he was a soft spoken Power. "Titus?"
The taller Power looked up at his name being called, nodded quietly, and held his fist out for the Virtue. Akriel met him, raising his own hand, palm up, for whatever he held clutched in his fist so tightly. He dropped a razor, bloodied and slick, into his palm, and the specialist hums in understanding, nodding a brief nod. "I understand. I'd be more then happy to help, especially if it's for little Aba, I'll see what I can do." He looks between them all. "Do you have anything abrasive? A scrubbing brush? Sand paper? Anything?"
Nisroc tilts his head slightly, having raised his head from his hands. "There's a scrubbing brush." He looks confused. "Do you need it?"
He nods. "I do."
Nodding, the Captain leaves them for a moment, turning into their wash room for a brief stint and returned with the requested item. It's damp as he sets it in the Virtue's hand and Akriel raises an eyebrow at it.
"I rinsed it off."
"Right." He nods in appreciation, exchanging a look with his Archangel, and turns for the door that holds their broken baby girl behind it. "Give us a bit. I'll come get you when we're done."
He slips into the room, leaving them standing in the hall with the Healer, the archangel turns to them as the door clicks shut behind his Virtue. "Talk to me, little ones."
…
Akriel takes in the room as he enters, the desk upturned, the books strewn apart, objects that should be hanging on the wall in a pile in the far corner of the room. He turns to the bed, where he knows his patient would be, and he spots a pale hand sitting just outside the mound under the quilt.
"Aba?"
"Abe?" The mound shifts as she moves. "Did you bring it back?"
The quilt is pulled from her head and her eyes widen as they meet the gentle ones of the trauma specialist. "Hey, buttercup."
"Ak?"
"I'm here to help." He crosses the room to sit on the edge of the bed beside her, holding the scrub brush out to her, she looks down at it with confusion, looking up at him with confused eyes after a long moment. "Here, take it." She reaches out with her other hand, it's shaking softly, he takes notice of the blood staining her palm and fingers immediately but forgoes that for a moment. "I want you to rub this on your good arm, nice and hard, until it starts to burn." He knows her other arm is not a prime location for this treatment. Her eyebrows scrunch in confusion as she gazes up at him. He smiles at her gentle, nodding slightly. "Trust me, it'll help."
Sniffling softly, she sits up straighter, legs crossing under her as she pulls the sleeve up over her good arm and begins scrubbing at the smooth skin with the brush. He watches her carefully, noting the small things as she does as he requested, the greasy hair, the pallor color of her complexion, the bags under her eyes, and, of course, the patch of smeared blood in her hair, undoubtedly where she had curled her bloody fingers in.
She rubs until her arm turns red and the air around them stings the irritated skin. He was right though, she does feel better, more stable, grounded even.
The older angel holds his hand out for the brush, and she passes it to him silently. "It works, doesn't it?" He leans over and places the brush down on the table next to them, pulling the satchel he carried up over his head, he's worked with enough patients who specifically request him to know what sort of supplies are needed. She nods in wonder, staring down at the red mark it left on her arm, and then up to him with wide eyes.
Akriel smiles down at her. "It releases serotonin to your brain, the same way cutting yourself does, same affect, one less scarring then the other." He reaches for her good hand. "May I take your hand?"
He waits for her to nod in ascent. His fingers are so much bigger then hers as they curl lightly around her wrist and turn her arm over, he gestures for her to turn the arm over that has the bloody hand attached to it, curling his fingers under hers as her palms face up to them.
The Virtue raises her arm that has the red patch. "This'll fade." And then the other that has the deep slices. "This will not." He lets got of her wrist in favor of cradling her bloody hand in both of his, and he looks up from it at the same time she does. "This looks like it hurts." Aba nods in agreement. "Do you want me to patch it up?"
She sniffles softly wiping at her nose with the back of her free hand. "Yes, please."
"Okay." He still cradles her hand in his, even as he turns, opening the flap of the satchel he brought and fishes out what he needs. A clear bottle of disinfectant. A couple of cleaning cloths. A swath of bandages to bind the wound with. He sets them all in his lap, setting her hand on his knee, he uncaps the bottle and pours some on the rag. "This may sting a bit." He smiles as the fingers of her good hand curl into his sleeve tightly. "Ready?"
Abraxas nods, watching in fascination as he dabs at the deep cut in her palm, she hisses in pain and her grip on his sleeve tightens. "I'm sorry, I'll try and work fast." She nods at him and he smiles at her again, returning to his cleaning. He rubs the excess blood away, presses the rag against the deep cuts in her palm and fingers, setting the dirtied cloth aside as he takes the bandages in hand and wraps them snuggly around her hand until all that pops out at them is her fingertips. He raises her hand to his lips and presses a kiss lightly to the tips of her fingers. "You're doing great, little buttercup."
He's rewarded with a small smile.
A baby step, but also a milestone, she's one of the strongest angels he knows.
"Do you want me to patch up your arm as well?"
She nods and holds her sliced arm out to him, he curls his fingers gently around her wrist and pulls her arm down to lay in his lap, where he takes up the clean cloth and the disinfectant again. This one is much easier to clean then her hand had been, the slices are clean, smooth straight lines, if a bit deep. He wraps them just as snuggly in bandages as well.
He lets her pull her arm back when he's finished, and instructs her to turn with his hand, and she follows his gestured position for her. "Turn around for me, lean back against the pillow, crawl under the blankets." She does as she's told silently, looking up at him with wide childlike eyes, and he smiles at her again. "We're going to take this and get it washed, okay?" He gestures down to her quilt, bloody hand prints stain the top, and she nods her head. Taking her approval, the Virtue curls the quilt up and tosses it towards the door, he take it on his way out. He turns in the same manner she sits in, sliding under the blankets at the foot of her bed, crossing his legs under him, he reaches out and pulls her feet up into his lap.
"I want you to repeat after me now, okay?"
She nods silently.
"I'm going to be okay."
A slight sniffle. "I'm going to be okay."
"I'm going to get through this."
Her nose twitches lightly and she reaches up to scratch at it with her good fingers. "I'm going to get through this."
"I'm as strong as a mountain." She gives him a look and he chuckles lightly. "I know it's silly, but you promised, you have to say it."
"I'm as strong as a mountain."
"Good." He squeezes her feet. "I'm an overcomer."
"I'm an overcomer."
"Good girl." He digs his thumbs into her soles, and she sighs in comfort. "Last one, I'm never alone."
"I'm never alone."
"No, no." His thumbs still and she whines lightly. "You have to say it just like that, I'm never alone, just like that." He digs his thumbs back in, rubbing at her feet lightly.
"I'm never alone."
"Good girl, buttercup, you're doing amazing." Theres another small smile and it makes his heart sore. "Now, I want you to talk to me, tell me anything. Abe said you told him that you were hurting badly, talk to me about it, tell me what hurts so we can make it better together."
She shakes her head, biting her lip, there's so much to talk about. So much that causes her pain. Just so much.
"Okay, we can start slow." He rubs his thumbs down the center of her left foot and her tense muscles melt slightly, her feet settling more comfortably in his lap. "Abe told me about what you said. He said you told him your family was gone. How are they gone?"
She sniffles, rubbing at her nose lightly. "I don't…I don't know…."
"That's okay." He rubs his fingers up the calf of her right leg and feels the tension drain away under his skilled fingers. "How about your home, how's your home gone?"
"So….So much has changed." Abraxas looks down at her lap. "Everything kept moving on while I was gone. It just doesn't feel like home anymore."
"In what way?"
"I don't know…Everyone just seems so different now." She pokes at the bandages on her bound hand. "I feel like I'm in the way now."
"Have they ever told you that you were."
"Well, no, but….They're too nice to ever say it if it was true."
"I don't know about that." Akriel hums softly. "They're all pretty open about their opinions and feelings. I feel like they would have told you." He switches over to her left calf. "How about your brothers, how are they gone, where'd they go?"
"I don't know….They…They…" She sniffles softly, wiping away a tear as it escapes, letting her hand drop back into her lap. "They moved on after me…They moved on from me….They got new young ones to care for…New charges…...And I'm happy that they did….That they could give another a home like they gave me…But…But…"
"You can't help but feel a bit replaced?"
His buttercup nods lightly, wiping away another tear, sniffling some more.
"You know they could never replace you, right?" He wiggles her left big toe lightly and she looks up at him. "You're their fledgling, their baby girl, no matter how many new charges they take in, none could ever replace you."
He hums lightly, tugging on her toes softly. "You know where your brothers are right now?"
Abraxas shrugs. "N—Nis is gonna take S—Sasha and Paul to the m—market today." She rubs at her eyes lightly. "T—Tus is going to the Garden with Andre."
"They're all right there." She looks up as he nods towards the door. "On the other side of that door there. Every single one of them. They're all waiting out there anxiously and concerned."
"W—Really?"
"I would never lie to you." The Virtue nods. "They are all out there waiting for you. Waiting to come in to see you. Waiting to help you. Do you know why?"
She shakes her head.
"Because they love you, silly. They adore you. They'd do anything for you. Did you know, when Michael first cast you out, Abe relinquished his position. He stepped down and switched flocks."
"N—No."
"Did you know that Haniel slept in your room for the first week you were gone?"
The young lady shakes her head.
"They were a mess without you. They love you that much."
He curls his fingers over the tops of her feet and tug lightly, popping the joint softly. "What happened to your room?"
"Nis..Nis gave it to the new elect."
"What was so important about that room to you?"
"It was…It was mine…."
Akriel nods slightly. "It was your piece of stability." He looks up at her briefly. "You'll get your room back, immediately, you'll get it back tonight and it'll be set up just the way it was before."
She looks up at him with wide eyes. "I can have my room back?"
"I'll make sure you get it back as soon as we're done here."
She smiles at him, this smile just a bit bigger then the other ones. "Thanks, Ak."
"Of course, buttercup, you need that room."
Now to address the topic that could have so many connotations. "What about yourself?" He falls still, giving her his undivided attention, he feels her go tense under his hands. "What did you mean when you said you lost yourself."
Abraxas looks down again, staring at her hands, a faraway look coming to her eyes. "I don't want to talk about that."
"Talk about what?"
"That."
He rubs the back of her left foot softly. "It'll help to talk about it. It's just me, buttercup, just Ak. You know you can tell me anything."
"It's bad Ak." She pets at the bandages around her hand. "It's really bad."
"Just start at the beginning. Take your time." She hiccups softly. "There's no rush."
She nods, reaching out for him after a brief moment, and he adjusts his position to accommodate her. "Will you hold me, Ak?"
"Of course, buttercup, come here." She crawls across her bed, into his lap, settling up against him, and he curls his arms around her protectively. "Tell little ole Ak what's holding you back."
"It's…It's….You know how I fell right?"
"It's a day that we will all remember with heavy hearts."
She sniffles, curling the fingers of her good hand into his tunic, she ducks into his chest.
"I—I was powerless…I was…I was weak….I was alone….so alone…..." She chokes on her words. "Someone….Someone found me…..I thought….I thought they were a friend….." A tear escapes her eye and gets trapped in the fabric of his tunic. "They were so nice…..they gave me a place to stay…..they gave me clothes and food…..I thought they were good…." He strokes his thumb over her cheek, caressing her cheek lightly. "What happened, buttercup."
"They…They….Ak it was so horrible!" He curls around her tighter when she hides away in his chest. "They…They made me do things…Do bad bad things…With so many people….It hurt, Ak….It hurt so much." More tears escape her eyes, soaking the front of his tunic, and her grip becomes so tight that her knuckles pop softly. "I couldn't…I couldn't stop crying and they got so mad….and…and they locked me in this closet for days…..and…and then…..I wanted to die, Ak….I begged Father to let me die….."
That was his worst fear, it was something he didn't know how her brothers would take, it would destroy them just as much as it destroyed her. He hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head lightly, and let her bury herself into his embrace.
"I couldn't…...I couldn't tell them, Ak….they'd be so mad….They can't know…"
"They'd never be mad at you, buttercup, never, especially about that."
She looks up at him, eyes wide and full of tears, and she inhales deeply. "You promise?"
He nods softly. "I do."
Abraxas blinks up at him, her eyes watering up even more, as a few more tears trickle down her cheeks. "I—I want Abe."
"Let's go get him, then."
She nods, slipping out of his lap so that he can stand, curling back into his side when he's climbed to his feet. Together they cross the room, and she lets him reach for the door handle, pulling it open slightly. Her eyes widened at the sight of her big brothers, all six of them, and they all turn to look at her with concern and adoration. She chokes on a cry, they're all there, just like Ak said they were, and she turns to hide away from them in shame. He rubs her arm comfortingly. "Hey, Abe, come in."
The Power in question nods, stepping forward, between Puriel and Titus. Looking for all the world he wanted to pull his crying baby sister into his arms, but refrained, this was a touchy situation and Akriel appreciated his self-restraint. He knew how close the two of them were, anyone who knew them knew how close they were, they were two peas in a pod together.
Akriel led them back to the center of the room, gesturing for the tall Power to close the door behind him, and he did as he was told, coming to meet them where they stand. He looked down to his baby girl in concern and then to the trauma specialist for guidance.
The Virtue smiles up at him, and then looks down to the girl curled against his side, rubbing her arm again. "Do you want to tell him, or do you want me to tell him?"
"Can…Can we…Can we not?"
He kisses her head lightly. "We have to, buttercup, so they can help you."
"Y—You."
"Okay, buttercup." Akriel turns to Abraxos. "Now, you have to give me your word you'll stay calm." He rubs his patients arm lightly. "The last thing we need is to startle her."
"Okay." The Power nods. "I give you my word."
"Good." He grimaced slightly, he was never good at these things, this was more his archangels forte. "The most important thing is that you need to know you can't touch her without permission. Nothing. Hugs, tickles, cuddles, you have to ask permission first."
Abraxos frowns lightly. "Alright."
"Okay, I don't know how to put this so I'm just going to come out and say it, your baby girl has been assaulted. Multiple times, from the sounds of it."
Abraxas tightened her grip on him.
Abraxos tilted his head. "What?" First came the confusion. How could anyone think that something like that could happen to someone they love. "I don't understand."
"Come here." There was no need to rehash everything for her again, so he leaned forward, gesturing for the Power to lean in. He whispered in the Power's ear what she had told him, nothing specific, she hadn't said anything specific, but there was no mistaking the meaning behind her words. The Power's eyes widened as he told him, shooting down to his little one, mouth dropping ajar in shock.
Akriel leaned back again.
"Aba…..Is it true?"
The youngest Power, as unofficial as it may be, she would always be the youngest Power, inhaled deeply. A sob tore from her throat, and she nodded pitifully, clutching to the Virtues tunic. "Please…Please don't be mad! Please! I couldn't—couldn't fight them!"
"Be mad?" He stepped forward, and then remembered what Akriel had said, and stopped where he was at. "I could never be mad at you, little duckling, especially not about that."
She rubs at her eyes miserably. "M—Mean it?"
He opens his arms but doesn't reach out. "Mean it." She stares at him for a moment. "Hug?"
She nods, eyes screwing up as more tears gathered, letting go of Akriel in favor of jumping into his arms. He hugged her close, kissing the top of her head, as she sobbed miserably into his chest. She clutched at his tunic, burying her face into his chest, and he bent over her as though to physically hide her from the rest of the world. "Can I pick you up?" She nods and he adjusts his hold, curling his fingers around her midsection, he hefts her up. His duckling curls her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
"I—It's goin—going to b—be ok—okay."
He looks confused at her mimicking him and turns to Akriel for support. The Virtue offers a kind smile. "It's a mechanism."
Abraxos shrugs, he couldn't care less, twisting around gently with his duckling in his arms. "That's right. That's exactly right."
The Virtue touches a hand to his shoulder. "Keep holding her. She needs you now more then ever. I'm going to go tell the others." He gestures to the satchel on the table. "There's some sleeping droughts in there. Have her drink one. She needs sleep."
The Power nods, thanking him softly over her shoulder, and he nods in acknowledgement and offers a kind smile.
…
"I'll kill them. Every single one. Slowly and painfully."
He stood next to his Archangel as he watched them react to the news, it was something that was never taken easily, especially when it was someone you loved as dearly as they loved her.
Haniel and Hasmal nodded, standing side by side, the latter's skin smoking as he stood on the verge of breaking into flames at the mere thought that someone would have the audacity to touch one of their own, their baby, their fledgling, in such a horrid manner.
Titus had buried himself into his hands, absorbing the news quietly, he was always the most sensitive one of them. He understood why she didn't come to him, Akriel had explained rather well, but it still hurt that she thought they'd be ashamed of her for something like that happening. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't asked for it.
Nisroc was pacing back and forth, Puriel standing on his other side, watching him march from one spot to the other. His fingers flexing into and out of fists, swearing under his breath as he spouted everything he was going to do to those scumbags, even the archangel flinched at how creative the Captain got in his promises for revenge. None of them had known calm, kind, and loving Nisroc could be so cruel.
"Nis, I don't think some of those are even humanly possible."
He turned his enraged eyes to the medic. "I'll make them possible."
"Kill them later." Akriel was unphased by his anger, though a bit startled at the surprising amount of violence he was capable of, it just didn't fit with his usual persona. "She needs you now. Your guys baby girl thinks you're all going to be mad at her for what happened."
"We would never." Haniel and Hasmal nodded in time with each other. Titus looked up from under his fingers. Puriel held his Captain to a stop as they both turned to look at the Virtue with wide eyes. "Never."
"You and I know that." He points at the door behind him. "But her, she doesn't. You guys mean more than anything in the world to that girl in there. You are her world. She thinks you'll all be too ashamed to let her be a part of yours."
"She is ours."
"Make sure she knows that. Every chance you get." Akriel shares a glance with his Healer, the archangel nods in approval and affirmation. "I'm pulling you guys from active duty for a short while. I don't want her to be alone, not right now, not for some time to come, and the only ones she'll let near are you all. You need to be with her for now, never leave her side, not even when she's sleeping."
He looks them all in the eye. "And don't touch her without asking her first. No matter how simple the touch may be, you have to ask permission, at least for now, until the wounds can begin to heal over."
Akriel turned to Nisroc individually. "And, she gets her room back. Now. Immediately. Everything has to be set up just the way it was before. It's not just a bedroom in her eyes, it's the one thing that's hers, its stability in a sea of chaos. Change is not something she can handle at this time. It's too much for her mental state."
Raphael nods in tune with his Virtues orders. "I will take the task of telling my brother, you all just care for your beloved little girl."
The Powers nod as one, coming to stand together, looking passed them at the door. "Can we…?"
Akriel and the Healer step apart, the mental trauma specialist gestures to the door. "Be my guest. I left a satchel in there with bandages and disinfectant, along with some vials of sleeping drought to help get her through the night," he looks to Puriel. "I trust you keep an eye on her hand."
"Of course."
"Good." He dusts his hands off on his vest. "If you need me again, for anything, you know where to find me."
Nisroc presses a hand to his arm as he comes to stand before him, sincerity shining in his eyes as he looks down at him. "Thank you."
"Always, brother."
…
Abraxos looks up as they enter the room, swaying side to side, he'd helped her down one of the sleeping droughts just as the door had shut behind him at Akriel's exit. Her sobs had died down, Zed was a magical man when it came to how fast his products worked, she was laying drowsily against his shoulder. Nose stuffy from the sobs and cries, she breathed lightly in and out, hanging limply in his arms. He nodded at them as they approached, concerned at her stillness, and nodded over to the empty vial that had once contained a sleeping drought.
"She took her first one." He rubbed her cheek with his chin. "She's pretty sleepy now."
"Mmmm."
"Hey, duckling, look who all's here to see you."
He speaks softly, gently, into the air around them. She stirs lightly, lifting her head up to look at who it was he was talking about. The others wave at her, offering gentle smiles, and she returns it drowsily, laying back against Abe's shoulder.
"Baby girl?" She hums up at him, her eyes swiveling up to meet his, Nisroc smiles down at her gently. "Can I touch you?"
He waits patiently for her to nod, and once she does, he cups the back of her head and leans forward to kiss her forehead. "We'll make things better again, alright, you just let us take care of everything." She nods again, licking her lips. "'Kay, N's."
He rubs her back softly, then reaches closer to stroke the backs of his fingers over her cheek tenderly, she closes her eyes softly at the gentle touch. A far cry from the way the Captain had been raging in the hall outside.
"You and Sablo are going to switch rooms, alright, right now." She nods again, too sleepy to say too much, to do much more then nod. "You go cuddle up with Abe and we'll take care of everything for you."
"L..Lo'nge.."
The others smile at the request, nodding along as their Captain smiles and leans in to kiss her forehead again, stroking his hand down the back of her head. "Sure, when we're all done, we'll come get you and Abe and we'll all curl up with you in the Lounge."
"L…ov..e….Y'o…N's…"
"I love you too, baby girl, we all do. With all our hearts." He rubs her cheek with his thumb. "You get some sleep, alright, we'll take care of everything for you."
