Two weeks passed another war council meeting with nothing new to share. Simone practiced with her dual hurlbat axes during most of the day and spent her evenings and nights meditating, desperate to pull any new information from her visions. But all it was giving her was nightmares. The same flashes played through her head; the same horrors, but she never learned anything new. Zenyatta couldn't help, even though he offered. The tea that Ana sent made her restless, and she felt herself beginning to lose hope. Without new information, how would they be able to stop the demons? Other must have noticed a change in her attitude because Zenyatta was asked to talk to her. When he found her, she was in her room, Amour perched on her shoulder.
"Why is it that you meditate?" He asked her. Simone cocked her head, didn't he already know the answer?
"It helps me clear my head, and I am sometimes able to get new visions, or gleam better information from previous ones." Zenyatta gave a curious hum, fingers steepled.
"But it is not working this time?" Simone shook her head, petting the little bird.
"No matter how much time I spend, I find myself in the same place of uncertainty and questions."
"And dread." Zenyatta added. Holding his palm upward, he produced a glowing ball of yellow light. Holding his hand out to her, the light floated, settling above her head. She looked up at it, unsure of what it was until she felt a soothing warmth settle over her.
"I can heal physical wounds; though not as well as your friend Angela. And I am also able to calm the mind. The dread and the fear that is settled in your mind may be clouding it. The harmony orb will help for now, but you mustn't let negativity shroud you." He left after that, and the orb lasted for a little longer, before fading into nothing. The warmth faded as well and the worry came back.
That night she had another nightmare. The flames and the demons reaching out, laughing at her as she tried and failed to protect those she cared about. She was a failure, her inability to see anything new, to be so uncertain of the future, mocked her. Sobs pulled her from sleep, tears already made trails down her cheeks as she jerked upright. She curled into a tight ball, knees to her chest and roughly ran fingers through her hair. Grabbing handfuls, she tried to suppress her crying. Gentle hands untangled her fingers from her hair, petting and soothing her. Raising her head, she looked directly into red eyes. Blinking rapidly, clearing the tears from her eyes, she saw Gabriel. And he wasn't wearing his mask.
"You…" She started, eyes darting around to take in every detail.
"Shhh. It's just another nightmare." She set back against the pillows, eyes not wanting to leave his face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
"You didn't." He assured her, sitting by her knees, he rested a comforting hand on them.
"You keep having nightmares, or are they visions?"
"Not visions." She shook her head, leaning it back against the headboard.
"I would only be so lucky to have one." Throat growing tight, she felt tears forming again.
"Being so uncertain, so afraid… and I can't do anything. The one time I need to see the future, and I only get nightmares of past visions; about the demons and the death. I feel completely useless." Tears flowing now, she couldn't stop herself. Gabriel pulled her to his chest, hugging her softly until she couldn't cry anymore.
"You are willing to learn to fight; that isn't useless. And the harder you try to have a vision, the worse your nightmares become." His hand rubbed circles across her back, trying to calm her.
"The visions will come when they need to, so don't push yourself." He advised, not wanting her to have another episode. Finally done crying, and calmed down, she pressed her nose into the crook of his neck.
"You're not wearing your mask." She said, words muffled against his skin.
"I don't sleep in it." He rolled his eyes.
"Are you okay… I mean, is it okay that I saw?"She asked, biting her lower lip. He pushed back at her shoulder, until she could look at him again. Cradling the side of her face in his palm, he let her take another long look.
"I trust you." Those words made her heart soar. But he didn't give her a chance to respond, standing he let her lay back down.
"Sleep." He ordered softly. He had almost made it to the door when she stopped him.
"Stay?" He turned, and she was finally able to actually see his reaction. His brow furrowed, question clearly etched in his face.
"At least until I fall asleep. Please?" He hesitated, before sitting on the edge of her bed, back facing her.
"Thank you." She whispered, getting comfortable. It was actually a lot easier than she thought to fall back asleep, Gabriel's presence making her feel safe, not having to worry about being woken by nightmares. She smiles softly, and as she felt her eyes grow too heavy to keep open she called to him.
"Hey." She whispered. He acknowledged her with a soft hum in the back of his throat.
"I like your face." She could have been dreaming at that point, but she was pretty sure that she heard him chuckle.
Simone wasn't sure what time it was when Amor's chirping woke her up. Turning over, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, smiling at the little bird. She drew in a breath, surprised to see what was next to her in the bed. It could be called a mass of swirling smoke, but it was like it was frozen in time, the patterns of smoke still and intricate. It was incredibly beautiful. Cocking her head, she bit her lower lip when she figured out what it was. She wasn't sure if Gabriel actually slept, but this had to be the closest he came, his solid form gone and his movements slowed. Her chest gave a squeeze when she realized that he had stayed the whole night with her. She set up smiling and rolled her shoulders. Covering a yawn, she gave a happy sigh. A cool hand stroked her lower back and she looked down, her bondmate in his solid form again.
"Hi." She smiled. His response was a low growl, possible a purr, that rumbled from his chest.
"Watching me sleep?" He asked.
"So that is what you were doing." Simone smiled at him. She leaned forward slightly and released her wings, ready for him to help without having to be asked. He set close, running his hand up her back until he reached the soft downy feathers at the base of her wings. Simone practically moaned, the feeling amazing as she stretched out her arms and shoulders. As Gabriel worked his fingers through her feathers, she felt his lips lightly on the back of her neck. Tingles shot down her spine and she practically choked on her own breath.
"Gabriel." She sighed, leaning back into him. More pressure as he started to press kisses along the back of her neck and along her shoulders. A little whine escaped her lips when his sharp teeth scraped against her jaw, just under her ear. One of her hands tangled in his hair, urging him to continue. The heat in her belly was like a forge, and she was practically squirming in his hold.
"Will you do something for me?" He murmured against her skin.
"Anything." Her voice was breathy. As long as he didn't stop this sweet torture.
"No more meditating." The request took a while to make it through the pleasure fogging her brain, but when it did she pulled away from him quickly.
"What? Why?" She asked, her brow low in confusion. He growled slightly, her having pulled away.
"It is not helping. It is only making you worse." She stood up quickly putting more space between them.
"So you get me all flustered so that I will agree?" She accused him. He stood sharply, pulling her tightly against him. She became aware that she wasn't the only one a little hot and bothered, a blush rising and she swallowed.
"No, but it helps." He kissed her shoulder. Her anger fizzled pretty quickly, and she was having a hard time remembering what they were arguing about.
"Promise?" He asked again, burying his nose into her hair. She pouted, but agreed all the same, before giving him a suspicious glare.
"You are going to use this weakness of mine again, aren't you." Gabriel chuckled, but didn't answer, though she took that as a confirmation.
It was hard to keep from meditating, Simone suddenly found herself with much more free time. But she had promised Gabriel, so she tried to worry about other things. But he kept interfering. She would start working on something, but he would shoo her away, claiming that she would become too stressed or that she needed to stop worrying. It was becoming ridiculously frustrating. After only a few days, she didn't know if she wanted to grab him by the shoulders to shake him or to kiss him.
"What am I supposed to do? You keep chasing away anyone who will ask me for help. It feels as if I will die from boredom."
"And it's working. When was the last time you had a nightmare?" He asked while still at his desk, not looking up from his work. Pulling her braid over her shoulder, she played with it.
"But, is it because of that, or because you've been staying the night in my room?" She pointed out. He paused, and looked up at her, before going back to his work.
"Oh, was I not supposed to notice? Were you trying to be sneaky about it?" She teased him. Leaning a hip on the edge of his desk, she chewed her bottom lip.
"You could have just asked. I don't mind if we share a bed…" Simone quickly stopped, blushing an immediate red when she realized how that sounded. Hiding her face in her hands, she couldn't look over at Gabriel.
"Why don't you go have tea with Satya?" He suggested, and even with his mask, she knew he was smiling. She took the excuse, making a quick escape. There was nothing quite like having tea with her friend while they took turns telling about their woes. It did an amazing job in mellowing out the nerves when there is mutual complaint and sympathy. And Satya was more then happy to provide both. Feeling much better, Simone was helping Satya clean up; Satya putting away the food while Simone took care of the dishes. Feeling a sudden daze wash over her, Simone blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head. She felt the teacup she was holding start to slip through her fingers as the vision swallowed her.
The grass was tall, its golden tops tickling right above her knees. She started walking, serveing her surroundings; everything was peaceful and quiet. It was a nice change, the complete calm that seemed to settle over the whole area. She looked up at the sky, the sun and the moon both large, each taking up half the sky. Her eyes found a single point in the sky, watching as it drifted down slowly. A snowflake, it fell until it was eye level with her, and then it just stopped. Her eyes seemed stuck, watching the fluffy, white flake as it floated there, completely frozen in time as everything else seemed to speed up. The grass around her shrank, pulled down by the weight of the snow as everything around her was blanketed, all she could see is a shiny white. She blinked; the still snowflake regaining its time to drift to the ground. It was beautiful. The horizon turned red, a roaring wave of sound passed over her. Flames began to rise in the distance, but Simone smiled. Confidence bubbled up in her and she gave a triumphant shout. She knew. They would come, but she knew when. They would be ready.
The sharp sound of ceramic shattering brought her back, the teacup in pieces at her feet. Satya looked over at her, concern pulling her brow low.
"Simone?" She called to her, unsure of what had just happened.
"I broke your cup." Simone was sorry, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face.
"I have to find Gabriel." She explained as she handed the rest of the dishes to Satya and ran. Satya looked at the broken pieces, still confused.
As Simone ran through the village; she couldn't wait to find Gabriel. A portal opened before her and she didn't even slow down, knowing exactly where it would take her. Running through, she plowed straight into her bondmate, throwing her arms around his neck.
"What's wrong?" He asked, concern causing him to remain stiff and alert.
"We know!" She gave him an extra big squeeze before letting go, dancing around excitedly. He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to remain still.
"What?" She laughed, grabbing the sides of his face to plant a big kiss on his mask.
"Snow." Gabriel was clearly not understanding her rambling.
"What kind of tea did Satya give you?" Simone laughed.
"No…" She took a deep breath.
"I had a vision. The demons won't come until after the first snowfall. We know when they are coming! We have to talk to Mei to be sure when it would happen exactly, but we will be ready."
"Snowfall. That gives us about 2 months." Gabriel predicted.
"Yes, but we will be ready. I felt it." Gabriel nodded, hands framing her face gently.
"I'll call a meeting. We will tell the others." He rested his forehead against hers.
"Good job."