She Walked Away (Mod/SG)

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance heard Alaric talking, but couldn't care less what the subject was, at the moment the pain seemed to intensify, and she could no longer conceal it. Closing her eye she hissed in pain and sat up.
"If you insist on sticking around...help me in the water...I don't care if my clothes are wet..."she said in a quiet voice, almost as if she was close to crying but didn't dare show it. At that point, the only thing that was going through Vengeance's mind was to stop the pain.

Lucifer nodded.
<"My apologies...I know she can't run forever...it will catch up to her somehow, but even still...">he said in a low voice, forcing himself to remain where he was even as he saw Vengeance was in pain. Honey would see this and help out, he was sure of it.

[Admiral Striker General]

Honey didn't need to do anything, however, as Alaric suddenly bolted upright and became very serious upon noticing the change. He couldn't imagine how, but she looked like she was in actual physical pain, and-... He did not question, though rather than 'help her', he more moved swiftly to her side and flat-out picked up the small woman, carrying her cradled in his arms to the cold water. The smallest smile broke his otherwise sincere gaze as he did so, and he just-barely-teased, "You know.. In regards to 'sticking around', I was here first..." The following laugh was barely audible, to a point Vengeance was likely to feel the vibration in his chest more than actually hear the sound. A few moments later, he stepped down into the pool and gently set her in the water, loosing his hold but not completely letting go just yet.

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance didn't object to being picked up although she let out a slight gasp as he did so. Closing her eye, he heard him speak about being the first one here which made her smile, a real smile this time, the first in many years ever since she was a young girl. Vengeance felt his laughter and somehow it calmed her nerves, allowing her to relax in his arms despite the pain.
A few moments later they were in the water and Vengeance wrapped her arms around his neck as the she felt the first touch of the cold water. She hated the cold...but if she could numb the pain this way she would deal with it. With her arms still wrapped around Alaric's neck, she relaxed and let herself start to sink.
"Don't let go..."she said quietly, almost sounding like a scared child.
The moment the water touched her back, Vengeance felt another spike of pain and she gasped softly before the cool water numbed her back enough that she couldn't feel it anymore and closed her eye in relief, letting her head rest against Alaric's chest.

Lucifer watched the scene and smiled. Vengeance was being...herself again...and she had actually smiled. Lucifer breathed a sigh and relaxed, confident that this man wouldn't hurt her after what he had seen.

[Admiral Striker General]

Honey gave a smug smile to the dragon. <Of course, it all goes back downhill from here,> she mumbled, but in good enough humor for the moment. It was about to get sickeningly annoying again, she knew. But perhaps with some nice results in the actually-helping department, at least.

He gave a fuller though still-gentle laugh now, his already bass voice sinking to abyssal levels as he did; in all honesty, without the context of the setting, the sound would most likely be flat-out scary (and may be anyway, depending). "I wouldn't dream of it," he purred, then tightening his grip more and cuddling to an extent. He carried her further out into the water until she was submerged to her neck. Shifting a bit, he leaned in so as to put her head nestled under his neck and half-whispered, not quite in her ear but not far from it, "Is there anywhere specific you hurt?" His tone was a strange, potentially unnerving mixture of comfort and jest and concern and lust and perhaps more still, all in roughly equal parts.

[Maid Melody]

Lucifer looked at Honey and sighed.
<"He got her to smile, that's enough for me...I haven't seen her smile like that in years.">

Vengeance smiled at the sound and feel of his laughter and looked up at him. The thoughts that flooded her mind were full of objections, about how she was showing weakness by showing her emotions, but right now, she felt safe, so what did it matter? Hearing his deep voice and feeling his arms wrap around her she felt...she actually could feel...in his arms she could feel. This fact alone both alarmed and elated Vengeance and right then, she wanted nothing more but to remain where she was. As he shifted her position, she could feel his warm breath on her hair and then heard his voice again, asking where she hurt. Part of Vengeance wanted to keep it from him, afraid that if she told him the memory would come flooding back to her. Even still...she wanted to tell him and heard herself speak against her better judgement
"My back...from an old injury...it never fully healed."she whispered.
Even as she told him this, the memory did indeed come back, even if it was just a glimmer...there was a knife and...
Vengeance's eye grew wide with fear, actual fear that she hadn't felt since...
"No...please...don't..."she whimpered as she hid her face in Alaric's chest, visibly shaken from the vivid memory. Removing one hand from his neck, she brought it close to her chest balled into a fist so tight that it looked white.

[Admiral Striker General]

His smile faded a bit, but he didn't react much, letting her settle a bit before moving himself. It was pretty clear this girl was struggling with some pretty rough memories, though he didn't begin trying to guess of what. He knew in cases like this, assumptions could only hurt the situation, and that any 'good' or 'bad' event was solely in the eye of its beholder. Something that seemed so petty could be devastating to the right person, and likewise something seemingly life-altering barely phasing. He did not reply verbally at all, save a single soft note of a hum.

Once she'd stilled more, he brought one knee up a bit to help hold her, relying mostly on buoyancy to hold her up and free up one arm. With it, he began to caress her back, stopping just a fraction of a second to apply the slightest pressure every inch or two until he found a place which made her react more than the rest. He then began to massage the area lightly, hoping it would do more good than harm.

[Maid Melody]

After a while, Vengeance calmed as the memory passed and she relaxed in Alaric's arms. Her other hand slipped from around his neck and fell next to her other hand by her chest. When Alaric started to put pressure on her back, at first she felt nothing; by now the cold had done what she wanted and numbed her back to the point where she could no longer feel the pain. As he continued to do this though, he touched the area where the scar began and she uttered a gasp, shaking as the pain spasmed anew. This quickly passed though as Alaric began to massage the area he had touched until it ceased to a dull throb that was tolerable. As he continued this Vengeance became less aware of the pain and more aware of how cold she was.
"Alaric...it's cold..."she whispered, shivering slightly as she spoke, turning her head so that she was laying her head against his chest rather than hiding it.

[Admiral Striker General]

... Damn. He'd actually been pretty comfortable too. Chuckling softly, though, he raised an eyebrow and smirked as he looked down at her. "Mm? Let's see if we can fix that, then~" Glancing back at the shore, he called, "Glydre! Get Pistol back out, will you?" His tone here dropped the gentleness it held for Vengeance for a more level, authoritative feel. All the same, the face of the Gligar as it appeared from the trees was akin to that of a squealing fangirl at the sound of his name, only to fade into bitter devastation at the rest of the request. Seething, the Gligar did as he was told, though were one watching very closely, they may have seen a brief clamping down of his claw on the ball when he pulled it from the bag as if contemplating crushing it. Either way, however, the Kingdra was back in the water some moments later.

"Pistol, Boxer? Our princess is cold. Care to help her out?" The Ponyta blinked and stood up, then both nodded. Diving under, the Kingdra began to swim around them in a wide circle, releasing sprays of Boiling Water. Meanwhile, the Ponyta alternated Flamethrowers with the occasional Overheat aimed at the water's surface, both heating it bit by bit and causing bursts of steam to arise wherever it hit. After a point, when Alaric could feel his precious cold fading himself and the hot steam was beginning to stick to his face, he smiled back at the girl in his arms. "Is that better, beautiful?" Even as he asked, the Pokemon continued to work to increase the effect further and further. Alaric imagined any wild Pokemon in this water would be wondering what the hell was going on, but hopefully they could mostly keep an isolated area affected for a short time.

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance sighed when the cold faded away replaced by what felt like a hot springs when the realization that he had called her a princess came to her. Looking up at him, she blinked, not sure what to make of what he had said. Then he smiled down at her and she felt her face heat as he called her beautiful.
"Yes...thank you..." she whispered, blinking before smiling again.
Feelings welled inside Vengeance's chest the likes of which she didn't know what to do with. But even with the tumult of emotions inside her she realized one thing: she was happy.

Lucifer watched as Alaric asked his pokemon to heat up the water and looked over at Honey.
<"A little overboard don't you think...?">he said in his low, gravely voice, chuckling softly.

[Admiral Striker General]

<Not for him,> she sighed.

Alaric meanwhile gave a smug grin. "...Pistol?" he called, and the Kingdra stopped his current work and swam over. Loosing his hold enough to lean over, he whispered something to the dragon, who smiled and sped over to the shore, relaying the message to Boxer. The horse didn't much react, but nodded and looked up. He launched a long Flamethrower in the air, and Pistol shot a stream of water to match; Alaric meanwhile pulled her back closer, resecuring his hold. The collision of the attacks produced an abundance of steam, but this didn't seem to be the end. Once it was impossible for Alaric and Vengeance to see each other for the fog, Boxer stopped, and Pistol used a different attack: Rain Dance. The fog suddenly gathered into low clouds above them, and it began to drizzle lightly, the water strikingly warm as it hit. Alaric simply chuckled.

<Now it's overboard...>

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance panicked a little when Alaric loosened his grip on her and wrapped her arms around his neck yet again. The water was so warm and relaxing that the pain in her back ebbed away until it finally disappeared. Vengeance clung to Alaric even as he tightened his grip on her once again sighed, relaxing even more now that the pain was gone. When the rain began to fall, Vengeance smiled up at Alaric and began to laugh, a soft bell-like laugh for the first time in years.

At the sound of her laugh, Lucifer looked up and smiled, looking at Honey as the rain fell, chuckling.
<"True, it's overboard but...your trainer is special, isn't he? To get my trainer to laugh like that...">

After a few moments, Vengeance stopped laughing and sighed contentedly.
"Thank you Alaric..."she whispered, her eye closing as she spoke, feeling tired now that the pain had ceased.

[Admiral Striker General]

Honey sighed and rolled over on her back listlessly, but seemed to be wearing a small smile. <Well, I keep him around, I suppose..> He was her world, of course; if he hadn't been, she wouldn't care less about his constant flirting. But hers was a love with no need for declaration, she felt. After all, some Pokemon could speak human, and Arceus knew all her young man needed was another boost to that ego. At this thought, she chuckled almost-silently, eyes still closed as she soaked up the sun. It wasn't like she couldn't see through THEM, too, with a little effort, but at the moment she gave none, content to laze as a normal cat. At any rate, when it was all said and done, both knew where she stood already.

Alaric smiled contently at the sound of her laughter, then purred honestly in reply, "It's what I do~" It risked being a mood-killer if taken certain ways, but at least he was always up-front about his stand. "I exist for no other reason than to make women smile whenever I can."

[Maid Melody]

Lucifer watched Honey for a little while and nodded at her response. He was rested up from his long flight but Vengeance was otherwise preoccupied which was just fine with him. She didn't rest enough as it was.

Vengeance smiled up at Alaric, opening her eye for a brief moment as she studied his face.
"You made me smile..."she said in a quiet voice, shifting slightly in his arms.
The heat of the water as well as Alaric's own body warmth was making her sleepy; the days of traveling with little rest were finally catching up to her. After fighting to stay awake for even just a few moments longer, Vengeance's breathing steadied as sleep claimed her.

[Admiral Striker General]

Alaric laughed lightly and continued to hold her close. After a minute, though, he began to wonder at her silence and looked to find she'd fallen asleep. ...Heh. Well, now what? he wondered with a smirk. A rather darker thought crossed his mind; if she was always this easy to make comfortable, what if she'd met a less honorable man? Shuddering lightly, he pushed this aside, telling himself no one with that goal so high in mind would have thought of the dramatic romantics he had. Still, this left the thought of what to do about...

His smirk returned as he weighed his options. Well.. That was impractical, and that was unhealthy, so that just left... Doing his best to at least hold at a smirk rather than a flat-out grin, he suddenly shifted, dunking her underwater rather swiftly, pulling her back up after a moment with equal lack of subtlety, doing his best to suppress a laugh.

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance woke up immediately when she was dunked and glared at Alaric even as she attempted to still her beating heart. She was about to demand to know why he had done that when a sudden blush covered her cheeks both out of anger and embarrassment.
"My back is fine now...can I please go back to shore and dry off? I really need to be leaving soon." she said quietly, albeit in a rather cold voice compared to before.

[Admiral Striker General]

At her reaction, all his efforts failed, and he burst into bright laughter-- actually harder while she was glaring, at that, dying down more as she spoke. Even then, he kept a very easy grin. "Of course, princess," he half-chimed, then pulling her closer to kiss her forehead before turning and heading back up toward the shore.

"You know," he started, near-purring again. "If you're tired, you should sleep. I just didn't want you catching cold sleeping in wet clothes or anything." He laughed lightly, carrying her a bit further than necessary before setting her back down.

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance's cheeks grew hot out of embarrassment and anger as Alaric proceeded to laugh at her. When he kissed her, she grew even hotter, if that was even possible and stared back at him with a rather confused expression before her training kicked in once again, causing her features to once again appear stoic.

Hearing his advice, she simply stared back at him and nodded, knowing that he was meaning well. When he set her down she attempted to stand only to find that he was still holding on to her.
"I appreciate your concern, but I really must be going. There will be plenty of time for resting later..."she replied in a monotone voice.

[Admiral Striker General]

He'd just let her feet touch the ground when she replied, causing him to stop. At the last second, his knees buckled instead and he knelt down to force her to sit rather than stand; any even minor discouragement was helpful, after all. This done, he raised an eyebrow and half-smirked at her. "Now beautiful, weren't you the one saying just a few minutes ago how you didn't want to fly in wet clothes? I don't think it suddenly became more appealing." He gave a deep chuckle as he shifted into a little more natural position, resting his arms across his knee. "If you really must be going," he teased lightly, smirk becoming a little more obvious, "do you at least have something dry to change into first?"

[Maid Melody]

Vengeance was none too pleased that Alaric had forced her to sit and turned her head away from him when he reminded her of what she had said earlier. Relenting to his obvious suggestion that she rest, she leaned back on her elbows when he asked if she had something dry to change into. Feeling her face heat slightly at the suggestion she looked at him and smi.
"I do...but I would rather not have to change in my only other outfit." she replied in a monotone voice before laying down with her hands behind her head and closing her eye.
She really was tired as much as she didn't want to admit it, Vengeance knew that she needed rest...but in truth she had counted on finding the lab before she addressed her physical needs such as sleep and food.

Lucifer smiled when he saw Vengeance lay down again and turned to Honey.
<"Your trainer is certainly convincing. I'm surprised she's listened to him this far, even I can't get her to stop and rest. If it wasn't for the fact that I needed rest myself we probably would've kept on flying.">he said, sighing before continuing,<"As it was we had been flying for at least a day or two straight...">

[Admiral Striker General]

Honey's ears flicked as he spoke, but she gave no response other than a lazy yawn when he'd finished, rolling over and continuing to flick her tail idly. It wasn't that she didn't care about his story, just... Well, she didn't care enough to reply.

Alaric tilted his head a bit, though he smiled gently as she laid back. "Something wrong with your other outfit?" he asked lightly. "Or.." Getting up, he moved over to his own bag and began to look through. "If you want, I have some spare clothes you could wear while those dry out.. I swear they're clean," he promised with a wry, sheepish grin.