So You Can Fly Right? (Marakai)(P)(M)

[Blink]

"Thanks" Jaela whispered as Itachi helped her sit up. It was funny how just by walking in and seeing her like that he knew what was wrong. Already he was beginning to pick up on her little quirks and the reasons behind her actions.

"They will heal regardless" her tone coming off more agitated than she meant.

With Itachi's help, Jaela reached up and unclasped the front of her top and then let him pull it off of her shoulders. "Just throw it over there" She then pointed to where her bottoms were lying. "Going to have to burn them after this..."

"... I hate this already."

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi did as asked, taking her bloodstained shirt and tossing it aside with her other clothes.

"Listen. I've been here, dozens of times. Look at me, Jaela."

He made sure Jaela could stand on her own, and stepped in front of her. His torn and bloody tunic, he stripped, and tossed it with her clothes, needing burned just as much.

"Look. I've been cut. I've been stabbed. I've been beaten so badly, I couldn't walk. But. I got better, every time, because I always had someone with me, to make sure I wasn't doing something stupid."

Itachi stepped toward her again, and took one of her hands in his. "Let me be that for you, Jaela. It'll suck, I won't lie. But it won't last forever."

He smiled down at her, took her hand, and brought it to his lips. "I'll take care o' ya, bird. Now, ya fancy a bath?" He grinned down at her, jade eyes glimmering.

[Blink]

She knew he meant well and as such every word he uttered pulled at her heartstrings a little. The thought of anyone taking care of her was a little unsettling but she guessed if she had to choose, she would rather it be Itachi.

"Have I ever told you I love you?" she smiled, trying her best to push away this negative attitude looming over her.

Now standing with Itachi holding her hand she laughed when he kissed her hand. "Very much so." Very carefully Jaela then stepped towards the pool of water, first placing the tip of her foot in to test the water's temperature. It was still colder than she would have liked, but it was warming up.

With Itachi's help, Jaela then knelt down, letting both of her legs sink into the water as she sat on the edge of the pool. It would have been nice to fully submerge herself but with her newfound disability, she knew it wasn't an option.

"There should be some cloths around here somewhere." Jaela thought for a moment, trying to recall where they would be hidden. "Oh! Over there!" Extending a finger she then pointed at an antique-looking cabinet.

[Marakai Trin]

"Mmm-hmm. This makes four times now. And I'm going to be keeping count." He grinned and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before stepping to the cabinet she'd indicated.

He opened it, and found several clean wash cloths, along with a multitude of towels. He raised an eyebrow, wondering just who'd been doing the laundry around the place. They looked immaculate.

He shrugged the thought aside, and grabbed two cloths and two thick towels before sliding behind her, sitting with his chest against her back.

"And you know what?" he asked, voice low in her ear. "I love you, too. My pretty little bird." He smiled while he soaked the cloth, and brought it to her neck, lovingly washing away the blood and the grime, heedless of whatever amount of it fell on him.

[Blink]

When he called her pretty little bird again Jaela blushed. Funny how a little nickname like that could stick so well. As he washed away the debris from her skin Jaela looked at the water in front of them, staring at Itachi's form in its reflection. It really was a shame she was injured right now, bathing could be so fun.

"So... hopefully we won't have any more unwelcomed visitors. You should, however, expect more dragon hunters to show up at some point." Jaela smirked, thinking of how stupid they were. "It wasn't the first time their kind has shown up here and I promise it won't be the last."

"Honestly I had hoped they thought all of the Black-Hearths were dead. Maybe then Kaida wouldn't have to worry about having the citadel guarded." She paused realizing that statement was false. "Actually... there are those who would still want to see what is in here. You know that library is one of a kind. All kinds of interesting things in there."

All of this course was just small talk to pass the time. Jaela was trying not to think about Itachi's hands all over her body right now, or else risk injuring herself in a special kind of assault. Which after she thought of it... wasn't helping at all.

"Dammit"

[Marakai Trin]

"About that...it might have been nice to know Kaida was a dragon. Though I suppose it does make some sense...." He shrugged a bit, and continued. "I've got one of the boys walking thr walls, now. They're to let me know if anyone else decided to do something idiotic." He huffed a little, clearly irritated that it had happened to begin with. Though, he figured he could deal with it.

He rinsed and wrung out the cloth, trying to prevent any excess water from dribbling down to her wound, and began to wash her chest, starting just below her neck and working his way down.

"And...I wouldn't mind getting a looksee at the library, personally. It's been awhile since I've had an opportunity to just sit and read." He started on and around her breasts at that point, his touch gentle yet liberal, and only well intended.

Though it didn't stop the thoughts running through his mind. Dutifully, he kept his gaze on the wash cloth and the task at hand.

[Blink]

"Sorry about that. I'm used to people just knowing the name. I forget the Black-Hearth's aren't as popular as they used to be."

When Itachi began washing her neck Jaela tilted her head back, leaning it against his shoulder as she stared into his wondrous eyes. However, when he began washing around her breasts it caused her to blush. "I told you how much I hate this right?" With a defeated breath, Jaela then grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly before taking the cloth from his hand. "I think it would be best for both of our sanities if I finished myself."

"If I need your help I will let you know. In the meantime go ahead and jump in, it would make me feel better if I knew at least one of us got to enjoy the warm water."  Not to mention the added bonus of watching Itachi wash... but she would keep that bit to herself.

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi stood, an almost relieved smile on his face as she took the cloth from him. "Yeah...you're probably right. Though, I pride myself on my self control, you know."

He smirked as he stripped his boots and pants off, and took up the other cloth. From beside her, he stepped into the pool, sinking automatically to his neck. At first, he was a bit surprised at the depth, but quickly grew to enjoy it.

It'd been forever since he'd bathed in something other than a stream. This was heavenly.

For a moment, all he could do was relax, flipping over into his back and floating there with his eyes closed, letting the warmth of the water soothe his various aches.

[Blink]

Harmoniously the two smiled at the relief of separation. "Oh thank the gods" Jaela told herself as she began washing.  Merely smiling at his comment of self-control Jaela tried to focus on the task at hand, only glancing at Itachi from time to time to make sure he wasn't drowning or anything.

Jaela was just about done washing up when she glanced at Itachi one last time who was floating on top of the water. Immediately from her neck up Jaela flushed crimson and bit her lip. "Dammit dammit dammit" That seeming to be her favorite word as of late.

She couldn't help it, almost acting on instinct alone as she chucked the rag at him. "That is not fair and you know it!" Her eyes darting between his face and then lower extremities.

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi couldn't hear her, his ears both submerged under the water, but he certainly felt the damp cloth land on his face, adhering to his skin. He shot out of the water, flinging it off his face.

He looked to Jaela oddly, sitting there at the edge of the pool and seeing her flustered look. "What was that for? Can't a guy relax?" He tilted a brow and sighed, and tossed her cloth towards the floor beside her.

"I don't know what I did, but surely it didn't warrant that kind of look." He grinned a bit, and made his way toward her.

"Though the flush to your cheeks makes you look adorable."

[Blink]

Narrowing her eyes Jaela's blush only intensified when Itachi called her out on it. He must have been trying to spark some kind of game out of this... she just knew it.

"Though the flush on your cheeks makes you look adorable." Jaela mocked, spitting the sentence way too fast from her lips. In truth, she was just frustrated at the entire situation. So badly she wanted to just jump right in and join Itachi in the wonders of bath games. Instead, she opted for something else.

With a kick of her foot, she splashed water at him before pulling her feet out, carefully standing up without harming herself. "You enjoy your bath then..."

In a few strides, Jaela made her way over to the towels that Itachi had pulled and wrapped one around herself, covering any bit that would tempt Itachi to continue his game. "... I'll just be over here, not looking at you."

Turning towards the wall Jaela then stared, crossing her arms over her chest as she fought the urge to turn back around. "Man this is hard..."

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi arched a brow, completely confused about what had her so flustered. He sighed a bit, and dipped back into the water.

"....dunno what I did, Jaela, but I'm sorry."

He began to scrub, then, desperately trying to get the blood out of his hair and off of his skin. He did not want to parade around the citadel with pink hair. Interesting look, yes, but not for him.

Slowly, almost too slowly, he managed to scrub all the blood that had dried on his body and face. It seemed that everywhere he looked, there was more.

"Ugh...this has got to be the worst part about my line of work. Healing people or hurting them, there's always so much blood, and it just won't come off."

He groaned, and glanced at her, an eyebrow raised. "If you're not too...irritated...do you suppose you could tell me if I got it all?" He turned around, and tried to glance down his back over his shoulder, knowing it was futile.

"This is ridiculous...."

[Blink]

It seemed like it was taking forever and honestly Jaela was getting tired of staring at the stone in front of her. With a defeated breath, she turned around just as Itachi was asking if he got it all. By now Jaela was completely convinced he was playing some kind of game.

"Nope. it's still all over your back" she lied. From what she could see he really had gotten all of it but then again, he didn't need to know that. "Your hair is still pink too..." another lie.

"Perhaps scrub a little harder." With an amused smirk she walked back up to the edge of the pool, bending down to make it seem she really was looking for blood. "Yes definitely... you missed so much."

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi arched a brow. "Are you sure? Fuck." He grimaced and strained his arm trying to scrub away the blood and grime that wasn't even there anymore, scrubbing so hard his skin was turning red.

After a minute or so of this, he happened to glance down at the pool of water, and saw his reflection. Mentally, he kicked himself for not thinking of that earlier.

He dropped the cloth, and leveled a cold stare in Jaela's direction. "Really? Looks pretty clean to me. And my hair is decidedly not pink."

That leveled stare gradually cracked into a grin. "So much for not looking at me, eh? Looks like you were staring pretty hard." That said, he climbed out of the pool right beside her, naked and dripping, and headed to grab the other towel.

[Blink]

As Itachi continued to scrub Jaela simply smiled, internally seeing this as a battle won. But then he looked at his reflection in the water and she knew it was game over. "I could have sworn there was still some blood..." Pouting her lip she tried to look as innocent as possible.

Of course, Itachi then had to go and open his mouth causing Jaela to flush red all over again as her eyes narrowed. "The heart wants what the heart wants...." and oh did her heart want him bad.

The cruel gesture of climbing out right beside her only sent Jaela further into frustration. Standing back up she followed him as he walked for the towel, stopping behind him as he went to grab for it. Again Jaela found herself staring at his marvelous figure, biting her lip wishing for more.

"Two can play this game... just you wait"

"Umm. Itachi" Jaela's voice was soft, almost innocent as she continued. "Do you think you could help me up to my room? I'm cold and tired and I think it may be easier to examine my wound if I were laying down." Again she was pouting her lip as she shivered "Please..."

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi had just finished toweling off, and had the towel wrapped around his hips when she'd asked about helping her up to her room. He turned around, smiling.

"Of course. I'd planned on helping you, anyway. That's quite a bit of stairs." He stepped over to her, intending to carry her, if necessary.

Damn, that little finger. It felt especially tight, just now. He didn't mind, though.

"Now. Do you want a shoulder, or should I just carry you all the way up there?" he asked, completely serious. Any damage caused by jostling would be easy enough to fix, considering he planned on checking her wound anyway.

[Blink]

"Checkmate"

"I can try to walk it but..." Jaela counted in her mind the number of steps "... I think we may be walking for a long while if I do."

Truthfully, if Jaela hadn't decided to exact revenge on her beloved Itachi she probably still would have chosen to be carried. She was exhausted and physically drained after the day the two of them had. First the tour,  then the moment the two shared in her room, then rounds. Not to mention fighting dragon hunters and being gravely injured.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother."

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi chuckled good-naturedly. "Jaela, to be honest with you, if you were such a bother I'd have let you go as soon as I patched up your leg. You're not a bother."

He smiled at her before he bent at the knees to pick her up. Gently, behind the knees, and at her shoulders, he swung her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

"Besides, I think you warrant more attention from me than anyone else, eh?" He bent down to kiss her forehead before stepping out of the bath hall.

"That's the thing about love, bird. There's not much you could ask for that I wouldn't do." This sentence was punctuated with a wink.

[Blink]

She almost felt guilty acting so frail. Here Itachi was whisking her away in his arms explaining his love and devotion towards her and all she could think about was getting even. Visually Jaela grew a little upset, disappointed that she had let herself take advantage like this.

"Itachi... Thank you."

Closing her eyes Jaela leaned her head against his chest, taking in the warmth of his skin under her cheek for all it was worth. Jaela had never had something like this, someone to take care of her when she needed it. At first, she hated it but now... now she felt lucky she could say she had such a person.

Once they were upstairs Jaela was happier to see her bed than she thought. Now that she was thinking about it, it had been months since she had the pleasure of sleeping on a real mattress. She would admit though there was something special about sleeping in a tent with Itachi. The Citadel was nice and all, but she already couldn't wait to get back out on the road with him to see what adventures lay ahead.

"So when we leave... where do you want to go? Perhaps you could take me to Pickham Grove?"

[Marakai Trin]

Itachi gently laid her on the bed, and grinned. "Ah, Pickham Grove. A village of cutthroats, thieves, bandits, wanted men and women, and all their kin. Sounds like paradise, doesn't it?" He chuckled, and set down on the bed beside her.

"If you're sure you want to see it, I'll take you. And it's really not as bad as it sounds....the entire village is Craol, almost. Just the ones that can't pick up and move all the time...elderly, parents with young ones, the sick. It's....really the reason I do what I do."

His gaze got distant for a moment, trapped in the past. After that, though, he grinned widely.

"Hell of a walk from here, though. You're gonna need to heal up before we try it." He reached out, and gently tugged at the end of her towel to start pulling it open.

"Now, then. Let's see how you're doing under there, hmm?" Itachi joked, speaking of both under the bandages, and the rest of her under the towel itself.