Her eyes slowly opened. Gently, Cyclonis was roused from deep sleep. She found herself listening to the steady rhythm of Piper's heartbeat and her calm, deliberate breaths as her head lay rested upon the Storm Hawk's chest. She had awoken within the soft embrace of the other girl but she made no effort to pull away in revulsion. Instead, Cyclonis closed her eyes, snuggling closer towards the sleeping Piper while allowing herself to fall back into the comforting embrace. She didn't know whether or not she was dreaming, but she allowed herself to enjoy whatever it was she now experienced.
Piper awoke to find the Cyclonian girl clinging to her, resting softly. She thought, for a split second, of moving her to her bed. What she saw persuaded her otherwise. She gazed towards Cyclonis' face and felt a strange rise within her chest. For the first time, she looked to be at peace. Piper smiled. In all the time she spent with her over the past year, she had not seen such an expression grace her face before. Any and all doubt Piper held about Cyclonis' recovery faded away at that moment.
Gently stroking her raven hair, she whispered towards the broken master. "We'll find a way through this together. I promise."
Piper thought she saw a smile spread across the sleeping girl's face. She blushed as she closed her eyes. She definitely imagined it, or so she thought. A voice, cold, much like a sharp blade brushing lightly against her skin, informed her otherwise.
"Careful, Storm Hawk," she whispered, her voice working its way up her spine. "It's dangerous to make promises that you cannot possibly keep."
Piper froze for a moment. She had not realized that the other girl was very much lucid.
"Ah, I-I didn't know you were awake," she giggled nervously.
Without opening her eyes or shifting from her relaxed position, Cyclonis responded to the Storm Hawk. "Oh, but it is rather difficult to sleep when someone insists upon idly playing with your hair."
Piper's hand paused in its caress of the Cyclonian girl's soft hair. Her face grew warm with embarrassment.
"Though, I do not remember ordering you to stop," hummed the pale girl devilishly in the softest of voices.
Reluctantly, Piper continued to stroke the smooth silken strands of Cyclonis' head, until it became a natural and flowing motion. It became almost as natural as when Aerrow touched her. Aerrow, her dazzling squadron leader, whom she was in a relationship with, came to her mind. Her hand froze once more.
Turning her head to look at the Storm Hawk's face, Cyclonis opened her eyes, giving the other girl a raised eyebrow.
"You're going to make this more awkward than it has to be, aren't you?" she asked, seemingly annoyed with the obvious and inevitable answer.
"Sorry, but… I-I just realized how much your hair feels like Radarr's," Piper giggled nervously.
Cyclonis' scowl was met with a weak, anxiety-filled smile. Piper held no semblance of tact or social grace. She rolled her eyes at the Storm Hawk. "And here I thought you were leading towards a kiss," she mused to herself in an almost disappointed tone.
Piper's body went completely rigid. Her response caused Cyclonis to feel a mixture of embarrassment and rejection.
"That was a joke," she all but blurted out.
Piper stared dumbfoundedly at the other girl.
"It seems as if your capacity for humor doesn't extend past making funny faces and reciting ridiculous anecdotes. Oh, and just know that if you tried to do such a thing, I'd give you a fate that would make Dark Ace's final moments look like a trip to the beach. Now, if you will, help me up," she said all too casually for Piper's comfort.
"S-Sure…" Piper replied, more than relieved to be able to liberate herself from the less than desirable situation.
Piper shimmied from under Cyclonis' weight and stood, extending a hand towards the former master. Suddenly, she felt sharp fingernails dig into her forearm as she toppled forwards. The Storm Hawk hit the ground before she realized exactly what occurred.
She slowly turned over to stare upwards towards the towering Cyclonis. She wore a mischievous smirk that filled the sequential gaps between Piper's outstretched arm and her meeting with the floor.
"Thank you, Piper. I always appreciate your assistance," she playfully jabbed as she turned to walk to her bed.
Rubbing her forehead, Piper grumbled indistinguishably towards her constant tormentor. "Was that really necessary?"
"I'm sorry? I couldn't quite make that out," she spoke over her shoulder.
"It's my pleasure," Piper said in a louder, sarcastic voice.
"Yes, it is," Cyclonis said in a satisfied, matter of fact tone.
Piper stared at Cyclonis as she sat cross-legged on the silk sheets and sighed. The eerily pale girl was as much a mystery to her as she was an open book.
Picking up her staff, Piper began to address her once more. "I mean it, you know."
The dark sorceress raised an eyebrow, her arrogant smirk so wide it nearly reached the speck on her left cheek.
"I'll keep coming back for as long as you need," Piper said, standing tall, staff in hand. "Oh, and yes, it is a pleasure for me to do so. A promise is a promise."
The smile faded away from Cyclonis' face upon hearing her words. She averted the Storm Hawks's gaze, as she could no longer stand to look into her unwavering eyes.
"We'll see," she stated in a voice barely loud enough for Piper to hear.
"Yeah, we will," she said with a little smile.
The broken master stared towards Piper as she turned to leave. She clenched handfuls of the soft bed sheets as the Storm Hawk reached the door. Her voice left her mouth before she was aware of what she wanted to say.
"Piper!" she shouted out.
The blue-haired girl turned, facing her, wearing a slightly puzzled look on her face.
Cyclonis breathed in deeply and then exhaled. "I just… wanted to tell you…" she looked upwards, locking eyes with Piper.
"Yes?" Piper asked carefully, waiting for Cyclonia's fallen empress to finish her train of thought.
"You're an idiot," she said flatly, staring directly into her eyes.
"Uh," Piper mumbled, caught slightly off guard by her statement.
"And… thank you," she said, looking towards the stone floor once more. "Thank you for being here. For not giving up on me... I, err, I can't imagine where I'd have been without you, so… uh, thanks."
Piper smiled brightly. "You're welcome. You know, you're a lot easier to be around when you show a bit of kindness. I mean it. It's actually kind of fun. If you promise to be on your best behavior, next time I show up, we can take a ride on my heliscooter together!"
"I will make no such promises," Cyclonis said, gesturing Piper out of the door with one hand.
"Well, we'll see. Until next time," she said as she exited the room.
As the heavy door shut loudly behind Piper, Cyclonis fell backwards into her bed, smiling widely into the blankets. Her mind raced over what happened during the last few hours.
She bit deeply into her bottom lip as she relived the moment in which she poured her emotions into Piper's lap. It frightened her to trust, to allow herself to appear vulnerable. Anyone could take advantage of that, and yet, Piper - her greatest adversary - did not.
She was a childish, naïve and good-for-nothing peasant girl; however, at the same time, Cyclonis found her to be pure and trustworthy. She could, for a lack of a better word, open up in her presence. Something about Piper and her constant efforts drew the truth out of her.
Cyclonis ran her fingers through her hair as she tightly closed her eyes. The bane to her ancestors' empire now lent her a shoulder for her to cry upon.
She exhaled a deep breath. Pressing the back of her hand against her eyes, she began to remember bawling like a child while lying in Piper's embrace. It was utterly humiliating but she had felt so safe. Yet, for some reason, she recalled her heart racing as she lay still against her warm chest. A tingling feeling had filled her stomach like butterflies threatening to burst open through her ribcage. But why?
Her eyes snapped open, stretched to their limits in horror. Her brow furrowed, she grew angry as she began to connect the dots. Through tightly clenched teeth, she whispered to herself in a defiant and decisive tone.
"Oh, I don't think so..."