Monsters and Shadows [M]

[DragonSong]

"You..." She blinked and allowed herself to relax just slightly. "You brought me home?"

[Skwint]

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't your brother," Black Skull told her. "You already heard how I feel about hate killings. I don't think I need to say all of it again."

[DragonSong]

Lily stared at him, then nodded slowly. "I...suppose I should thank you," she murmured. "It seems you saved my life."

She dipped her head to him, then added quietly, "If there's anything you'd ask of me, I'll grant it if I can."

[Skwint]

"You don't have anything I would want," Black Skull told. "At least not anything that would be within your capacity to acquire."

Black Skull idly scratched the stub that had been his left arm.  He couldn't remember the last time he had held a somewhat normal conversation for this long. It was an awkward affair.

[DragonSong]

She shook her head. "Nevertheless, I am in your debt...sir." She stumbled a bit trying to figure out how to address him, but persevered. "It doesn't need to be material goods- if you would ask a favor of me, were it within my abilities, I would gladly grant it."

She paused a moment, her eyes flickering to the letter, then back to him. "And I- I have some questions. If you would indulge me."

Even in this admittedly bizarre scenario, she managed to keep up decorum. It was more a reflex than anything else, honestly.

[Skwint]

Black Skull pondered this for a moment.

"You may ask," he said. "But I will answer at my discretion."

[DragonSong]

"When you...came to my room." She tried to avoid using the words "tried to assassinate me". "Back at the manor. You said I... Was there really magic involved? What happened, exactly?"

She had to know. If this- this whatever it was had spurred her own brother to believe he needed to end her life, she had to know what it really was.

[Skwint]

"First, you fainted," Black Skull began. "Then you began to levitate and became surrounded by some kind of barrier of wind. It didn't last long, but you were practically untouchable while it did. It was definitely some sort of air magic."

[DragonSong]

"Oh God." She dropped her head into her hands and just breathed deeply for a few moments. "God please no..."

A few tears trickled down her cheeks and she drew in a shuddering breath. No. No, she had to get a hold of herself. She lifted her head and swiped at her eyes. "F-forgive me. I can't imagine how I must seem to you."

[Skwint]

"You seem like someone who defended yourself," he told her. "Why are you sorry?"

[DragonSong]

She couldn't speak for a few moments, throat tight. "I'm a monster," she whispered finally, staring at her shaking hands as they rested in her lap."

She shook her head quickly. "Maybe you should have just left me there..."

There was something so wrong with her that her own family knew she needed to die for it. That penne shipped off to the mage camps, which could be an even worse fate.

Once more she looked to the letter. Did she even want to know what it said?

[Skwint]

"No you're not," Black Skull said sternly. "What you are doesn't make you a monster. It's what you do."

Black Skull thought for a bit.

"My mother was a mage. She was a water mage and healer. Was she a monster for being a mage?"

[DragonSong]

Lily just shook her head again, wordless. What could she say? She didn't know what to think, how to feel. This was impossible, how could she not have known...

But she had known. Deep inside herself, somewhere, she realized she must have known, must have understood that her fainting spells had always been more than just that, the flashes of power she felt when she was angry or scared was more than just adrenaline.

She must have known, but she couldn't let herself know. Because if she admitted it, then she'd be...right where she was, pretty much.

"I need to be turned over to the mordecai," she whispered. "If- if I can't control my power, I'm a danger." She said it sort of woodenly- she honestly didn't know if she really believed it, she just knew it was what a good Connlaothian woman would have been expected to say.

[Skwint]

"No you don't," he told her. "The mordecai are the worst ones. Mindless mage hunters, all of them. If you really want to learn how to control your magic, then go to Serendipity."

[DragonSong]

"I can't just-" She stopped and took a breath. "I may not have a choice. My family is required by law to report my...aberration."

Her head turned slightly to eye the letter that still sat so innocently at her bedside. Carefully, she reached out to take it. She winced as she stretched her stitches.

It seemed a little strange to her that the healer had yet to return to the room. She glanced back at the stranger who'd saved her live as she held the letter to her chest. "Does she know you're here?" She nodded toward the door to indicate the direction the healer had gone.

[Skwint]

"You always have a choice. What your family does has nothing to do with you. Your life. Your choice."

When Lily asked about the whereabouts of the healer he simply shrugged.

"She didn't see me come in, no. She probably has her hands full with the guy that did see me."

[DragonSong]

Perhaps he just didn't understand. If her family had reported her, the mordecai would be coming. And she had no doubt that they'd find her, and probably quickly.

She frowned, looking up at him. "Who saw you?"

[Skwint]

"I don't know," he replied. "Some guy. I had to be sure he wouldn't remember seeing me, so I hit him pretty damn hard."

[DragonSong]

She blinked.

Oookaaaay...

"Well. Ahem." Lily frowned slightly, still clutching the letter. "Did you just...come to check on me? There was nothing else you wanted?"

[Skwint]

"No. That was it," he replied simply. "Should I leave?"