- Chapter Thirty-Three -

Neon Animals Of Glass And Soul

A cling peach in heavy syrup, even if the misty-eyed heiress had been capable of feeling anything through the calming, pleasantly pulsating bliss enveloping her every nerve-ending, it would have been impossible to see anything through the fabric of the dark blue shirt she'd buried herself into. Familiar as the scent flooding her nostrils had become in these past few weeks, somehow it wasn't quite right; something was missing, or was just slightly off, however the cognizant part of her brain wrote it off. It had been too long since the last time she'd seen anyone she left behind, and there was a lot of sweat hanging in the air.

Delirium a sweet and funny thing all at once, much like being in a strange between realm that was nether here nor there but everywhere all at once, the vessel her father had inhabited to save her life was speaking odd words. Translated into a wavelength that the puny, limited imagination of mankind could comprehend, it almost sounded like a plea, but her brain must have been scrambling the message wrong. After all, what could an angel possibly need to beg for? All the same, she was intrigued enough to pay some attention to the unfolding legend.

Bright magenta goo drizzling from the corner of his mouth with each and every other syllable, his eyes were never far from her back; intense like smoldering lava, she could feel it even when she wasn't peeking. Once they had even locked gazes, but that had startled her so badly that the heiress quickly retreated back into the cotton ocean. From the sound of it, Sam was really putting him through trial by fire, although she didn't understand why. They had been partners once (a story worth learning more about, to be sure), so there was no need for animosity.

Meow? Lost by the front hubcap and stealing away all her attention, a tiny little kitten with stripes mewled for food, for its mother. Poor thing. Part of her longed to pull away from Sam to find the pitiful baby- after all, who could better understand? - yet how could she when he was all that was safe and warm? Hmm, strong too, if not a bit reluctant to hold her so close.

In a way, it stung that he was putting up an invisible wall.

Concerned for the critter more than her wounded pride, Daniella didn't like the thought of just abandoning it like everyone else had, so she compromised between the unspoken comfort of her thief and doing the thing herself. Anyways, if her father was still around it had to be for a reason, right? "Daddy, the kitty!" Slurring her words around a tongue that suddenly felt overly thick and vaguely serpentine, she moved her head enough to be heard, "Daddy, you gotta find the kitty!"

Exchanging a look of matching confusion, both her father and her protector had no clue how to respond to the request, which left her with no other foreseeable option. Hesitant to move too far away from the one place that had offered consistent safety up until that point, the heiress knew deep down - someplace secret and buried - that the kitten needed to be rescued.

Braver to think it in the mind than to actually act, even though doubt and insecurity nibbled on the fringes just out of sight, there was no escaping the cold realization that she had to be the one to do it. Fine. Or... well, she had to at least try... Terrified of letting go even though she'd been on the verge of doing the same not that long ago, she knew she had to. She had to. Emboldened by the presence of support surrounding her, the young woman made up her mind - if her father could chase his fortune and his fate, she could too. Body swaying to a beat that no one could hear, Daniella forced herself to stand.

Hardest part over (hopefully), she stumbled more than once as she shoved the arms of her thief off. Only looking back at Sam once, she moved to stand by her father, as was her rightful place. Offering the saint her most fetching and sincere smile not nearly enough, she shakily attempted to put her hand over his shoulder only to miss horribly and bring them both crashing down into the pavement. Landing on a sandy beach - in fact it just might have been the first time she'd seen the sea in person - the girl threw her arms around her dad's neck and laid there like they had all the time in the world. Only they didn't, did they? Sadness creeping in like a chill, the young woman stared deep into his eyes.

"I love you, Daddy."

What happened next wasn't planned, but it felt like the right thing to do.

[Boys and Kitties]

Genuinely at a loss for words as the realization slowly settled in that this whole ordeal was basically over and done with, something in his brain still didn't want to believe it. Face splattered with crimson and knuckles shinning scarlet in the sparse light of the empty parking lot, the evidence was all over his person. Speaking of persons, the only thing keeping his wrath at bay was the girl attaching herself in a similar manner of a parasite. Eyes glaring daggers over her shoulder at the culprit, it was still taking every ounce of willpower in his six feet to not set the young woman aside to finish what he'd started.

But he knew that he should still save some for the others once they arrived. After all, he wasn't the only one with a horse in this race.

Ribs nailed once or twice in the surprise assault, young Parades had had his bones broken, cracked, and reset enough times to realize that he was lucky most of the blows had been aimed at his face. Told by a few interested parties in his time that he could have been good-looking if he smiled more, the young man wasn't really phased by what this would do to his appearance. If anything, a permanent reminder of tonight might have even been beneficial to his work. Hell, if even one more person would take him seriously, he'd count this experience as a positive one.

All the same, at present there was a misunderstanding to be addressed. Judging solely from the borderline intimate way the heiress was trying to vanish into the stranger with the mean right hook, it wasn't exactly rocket science to surmise that this lughead wasn't Orange Tiger. Unless she was truly that far gone, in which case he was thoroughly screwed. Going with the hopeful assumption that that wasn't the situation, the young man approached with peace and ration, "I'm just a bystander in all this. I found her bleeding out and near-death on my roof, so I patched her up in my brother's clinic."

Prompted by a dizzy glance up and a finger that had been grazed in the fall, Daniella's latest hero conceded to give the breathing pulp this one chance to explain himself. Indeed there was a sign for a vet posted on the window outside the front office. "That don' prove shit." Panting as the effort caught up with him, he'd have guessed that his own mama wouldn't recognize his voice at that moment. "You coulda seen that sign just now."

Fair enough. If you ignored the fact that the van he'd been trying to transport the young woman in carried the same name, and that the keys were still hanging out of the back door lock. Not far from where the same girl was clutching her savior for dear life now. Except bringing that up didn't seem too bright when they'd met fist-first. "Lift up the blanket then. Look at her body and tell me I didn't stitch her back up."

Contemplating doing just that, they were both nothing short of surprised by the sudden cry of "Daddy, the kitty!" Getting the gist of what was being said through the lethargic slur numbing her tongue, from the active and heartfelt way she struggled to make herself heard, it was clear that she was passionate. Passionate about what neither understood, however Parades had some clue what she was getting on at when she called him daddy. Because a recent kidnap victim using the words 'daddy' and 'kitty' in the same sentence looked so good. Especially in front of the lover...? "Daddy, you gotta find the kitty!"

Mortified at how the other, older man was going to take her drugged delusions, the surgeon's face was a perfect mirror to what was going on inside his head at that moment.

And it was only going to get worse...

[A Woman's Touch]

Unceremoniously greeted by the sight of a dark-haired young woman being lifted bodily from some stranger she'd never seen before, the former mercenary had to remind herself that that was Rafe's baby girl. Bai had never truly approved of anyone that wasn't Rafe being around the little tyke, however Rafe never so much as batted an eye when she interacted with Daniella. Ja, they hadn't crossed paths often enough to have formed any sort of bond, but that didn't mean that Nadine hated the kid. In fact, she actually hadn't minded the little girl; one night they had even sat up together while her mum and dad were sorting things out (not that mum was any wiser).

Either way, it was surreal seeing the girl now that was almost a grown woman in her own right.

Serene and oh-so-trusting, the icy-eyed multibillionaire's female replica had not only allowed herself to be picked up, but she also curled into the arms of her reluctant protector after she was back on her own two feet. Heartbreakingly vulnerable (at least it would have seemed that way to anyone with a remotely romantic streak), a smile graced her features despite the uncomfortable way he kept trying to edge away from her. Oh that poor confused thing!

On the poorly lit scene prior to anybody else that got the call, using the instructions provided Nadine hadn't arrived a moment too soon. Approaching slowly as to not upset the child, the woman made closer note of the third party to better assess the situation. Bloodied up something good and wide-eyed from the girl's... enthusiasm... there was every tell of a case of mistaken identity. Trained to keep cool under pressure and take in every possible detail - not that it had necessarily sunken in - the ex-soldier gathered that the kid had been in the middle of trying to help the heiress out when things got out of hand.

What she couldn't figure out was why the girl was half-naked in the cold.

"Okay, what's wrong with the blood orange down there?" Popping up just behind Nadine with all the stealth of a feline, Chloe understood why the girl was prancing around in her underthings from a single gander at the nicks and cuts lacing her lean frame. What she failed to fathom was why their new friend was just sitting there like a lump on his rump.

Both boys answered her with a single look that said it was a long story. Technically junior mint had squeezed out that 'don't ask, don't tell' type of wince when prompted, and tootsie pop half-frowned, half-scowled, giving the impression that he'd just rather not talk about it. That is, if he could help it. Alrighty then.

Noticing the two women a full minute after her companions had (and not only because she was smothering herself half that time), a overtly friendly and chipper Daniella beckoned them over. "Miss Chloe! You found me too!" Due to how uncomfortably close she had been making herself to her hero-thief, the heiress had met almost no resistance when shambling off to welcome her friend... and her friend...? Paying no mind to the fact that she had no clue who the other woman was, the young woman introduced herself with a long-lost friend sort of hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek. "You seem nice."

Chloe, on the other hand, received a scorching hot salutation.

Slight unrequited girl-crush a distinct possibility (well, before the whole getting her kidnapped thing), the getaway driver had no idea what to expect from the young woman, but considering her exceptionally good mood, Frazer hadn't been too worried. Nadine - who for all intents and purposes was a complete stranger - had gotten a more than cordial how-do-you-do, so if that was the standard, the dark-haired beauty was most likely in for something similar. Probably just a quick peck, no different than family.

Nope. Daniella went full into it.

Onyx irises meeting almost pure pupil the instant before their lips crashed together, the only things the older woman could taste was blood and her partner's shallow breathing. Not bad, but she should thank her lucky stars she's not in her right mind. Greedy by nature, the more experienced of the two wanted to take all of her breath away before knocking her flat on her ass, however the thief knew that was wrong, so she refrained from the urge to dominate the embrace. But Chloe didn't reject the kiss - not straight away at least. Ending with one hand on one cheek, she broke away slowly, giving the girl enough time to blink and become distracted by the arrival of the rest of the team.

[A Reunion From The Wrong Angle]

Sam Drake knew a good many words in a good many languages, but when he and Wyatt joined the others at the site Logan specified, none of them seemed remotely adequate to even come close to describing what he saw. Pure spectacle that only happened once in a great while, there was a limb thrust out, thrashing wildly; who it belonged to was another question altogether (and frankly he didn't want to know the answer). Similar in several ways to the red-hot mess a overly eager virgin on prom night was, unless his eyes were deceiving him in his advanced age, Dells had gone full facehugger.

"Alright, show's over!" Unsure of who had arrived in what order, as the last one there Drake only knew that they had all seen more happen than him - that wasn't going to stand.

Completely missing the soldier as she was yanked away from Chloe with concerned force, Daniella blinked at Sam with blurry vision that had every likeness to a kaleidoscope. Two, three, how many of the brunette was there? Much? Were? Peering back over her shoulder at where the first Sam moved to greet the other three adventurers, she thought to herself that this was probably better. Everything felt great, and so this was her one chance to share the feeling. Also Mama was always nicer the morning after she had guests over, and even her professor championed that two was better than one. But could the world really handle more than one Sam Drake?

Notion as interesting as it was perplexing, she shook her head of the neon demons. It didn't matter how many there were, because the young woman would thank them all until he knew how grateful to him that she was. This was just the first way (and what he'd appreciate most). "Don't worry," using a broken copy of the seductive voice Jay liked so much, she put a splinted finger to his lips, "I didn't forget about you. My hero."

Hero? Well that was a bit much when he hadn't really done much of anything this time, but hell if he was going to correct her. "Hey, Dells."

Lost for a moment as to what all had transpired before he'd gotten there, it hadn't taken much more than a single glance to tell that the spare had played doctor (although to what end remained to be seen), that Logan had lucked into the role of brave knight in shining armor. Somewhere in all that mess, Chloe and Nadine had shown up. Caught up to speed with everything worth knowing, what interested the thief wasn't what had happened but what was about to go down. And come off?

Kiss more than earned in his mind, Sam could care less if they watched her make a move on him; everyone accused him of being the instigator, but this way his hands would be clean. Well, clean-ish.

Puckered up as she leaned forward (and a hair heavenward), the heiress closed her eyes as moment approached, as he approached. At least a hundred times more nervous than she had been that first time with Jay, the memory of crying in Sam's arms when she thought she'd lost her mother came to mind. Even now she's had no idea how she'd managed to wiggle out of her clothes, but at some point that night she had. Once she kissed him on her own volition, would that mean he'd see her like that again? Half dressed, frightened, alone, and desperate?

Was that something she wanted?

"Dells..." Muttering her name into the less than five percent of space between them, volume soft enough for only her to hear, before he knew what had happened she landed against his chest with a gentle thump. Of course karma would rear its ugly head the instant he had made to return the gesture. Signing to himself at the latest hand he'd been dealt, the ex-con scooped his sleeping beauty into his arms, retrieved the blanket hanging out the open door to preserve what was left of her modesty, and wrapped her tight.