sevenvices | week 4 - execution & aftermath

Yes, but a few hours better spent in bed than out here in the snow. [Once she's mostly upright, he's looks her over in an appraising sort of way. Can she actually walk on her own...]

...my apologies.

[He's just going to try and get her onto his back. He's sure if he offered just to support her, she'd take that and the majestic hedgehog doesn't really need to exert herself right now. So he's taking matters into his own hands but APPARENTLY HE'S STILL GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR IT.]

[ Faize, you do bold things and then apologize for them please?? There's a small, choked noise of surprise when she's suddenly shifted onto his back, and she automatically latches on-- and also automatically begins to protest. ]

I-I can-- walk--

[ No you can't. ]

[IT'S THE ELDARIAN WAY. Or maybe just the Faize way. Probably the latter. Look, he knows she won't be happy about this, so he's gotta say sorry.]

I know you can. [No.] You are more than welcome to strike me for my actions later, if you wish. But for now, I'm afraid I must insist upon carrying you.

[GET COMFORTABLE, ALISHA. HE'S DOING THIS. He may be a twig and not much bigger than you but he has helped shoulder-support over 500 pounds of robot before this is nothing compared to that. So glad she's not on the third floor though. So glad.]

As though I... could ever hurt... you... [ It's a disbelieving mumble that's mostly said into his neck, but Alisha doesn't have the strength to protest further so yes, he'll get to piggyback a princess tonight.

THANKFULLY SHE IS NOT VERY HEAVY. And also not on the third floor (unlike Clover). ]

[Double thankfully, he has forgotten how much she weighs. She is a feather, as far as he is concerned. He can do this.]

[But...oh...that mumbling makes his chest feel all warm. But in a good way. Assuming he heard it right, which he thinks he did but he's not going to ask for confirmation either way.]

[ She'd probably try to confirm it and she probably doesn't need her chest acting up any further, so it's just as well. She'll just hold on for the ride, grip tightening every so often in an attempt to block out the pain. ]

[Eventually he makes it up the stairs and onto the second floor, after taking the stairs extra carefully to avoid any unfortunate accidents. Here's a problem he didn't consider when he hatched this oh-so-bold plan though...]

I'm...going to need your keys, if you can get them.

[Unfortunately, lock picking is not one of his skills.]

[ It's all good, Alisha's tough enough to dig her keys out and pass them up front. That much is easy. But she's glad now that she didn't try to walk all the way here on her own, or someone would have found her right outside the hotel. If she'd even made it that far. ]

I'm sorry... about the inconvenience...

I don't know what you're talking about. [He sounds faintly amused as he unlocks the door with a click and moves inside. Okay, which bed does Alisha usually sleep on, is it possible to tell by looking?] I do believe we already determined that it is I who is inconveniencing you.

[Y'know, since you could totally make it all the way up here on your own.]

[ It is! It's the one with the sheets turned down, where the blankets aren't completely covering the pillows. Otherwise, the room is stupidly neat. ]

We... didn't determine that at all... [ FOR THE RECORD. ]

Didn't we...? [He kneels down next to the bed to that he can slide Alisha off his back, hopefully as smoothly as possibly but he is no master of piggybacks so sorry if this is not quite the case.] Perhaps I was mistaken...

[He straightens back up, turning to face Alisha.]

Whichever the case, I do not mind. This is one instance, where I would rather be inconvenienced than not.

I'm... very grateful, regardless.

[ She probably slid off with a bit of a thump, but she rolls onto her back and turns her head to look at him, one hand still gripping her chest. ]

I'll... find a way... to repay you, Faize.

Correct me if I am wrong but...I believe lust had a loss before pride. And, at that time, I seem to recall a certain knight looking out for me. And, more recently, when I found myself a suspect for a crime I did not commit, that very same knight came to my defense. Right from the very start, at that.

[Just smiles.]

So I believe you have it backwards, miss knight. There is no debt for you to repay.

I didn't have... to carry you...

[ It's a slightly embarrassed and defeated mumble, though. Dammit, Faize, why are you making sense? ]

I'm glad, though... that we... could clear your name so quickly.

[Because making sense is one of his most irritating abilities, tbqh.]

Maybe not in a physical sense, but certainly in a metaphorical one, through the trial. It was not something I could have faced on my own.

[Look, for a while there, there didn't seem to be ANYTHING ruling him out. If anything, he just seemed more and more likely as more theories were thrown out. It was incredibly nerve wracking.]

I too, am relieved that we reached the correct conclusion this week. And not just for my own sake.

[Poor Urashima was getting a lot of shade thrown his way for much the same reasons as Faize. Too nice. Very trustworthy. Immune. And, of course, Selena's killer did not walk free.]

But you really should be trying to get some rest now.

I know... like this... I'm not very good company.

[ Not that she thinks she'll sleep much when her chest is on fire, but she'll try and curl up anyway. ]

Thank you, Faize.

Edited 2016-03-14 18:09 (UTC)

That's not what I was trying to imply at all! [The words come out before he really had a chance to debate on whether or not he wanted to admit to that. His cheeks turn faintly pink as he continues.] Rather that...though it is not your throat that's afflicted, talking is still difficult for you now. I do not wish to cause you more pain than you are already in, and a night's rest seems to be the only things that soothes these reactionary pains.

[Anyone with ears can tell that much.]

I still...find you excellent company, even if speaking with you is not possible. So...if you wish for company now, a-at least until you fall asleep... I...

[The more he speaks, the darker his cheeks flush. He can't help but be vaguely horrified at his own boldness here, what the hell has gotten into him this weekend? First hand holding, now piggyback rides and offers to...sit with her in her room like a creep till she falls asleep? Holy shit, he just realized something: this was a terrible idea. He shakes his head vigorously, as though trying to clear it.]

Of course, I realize such an offer is rather presumptuous on my part. I will, of course, leave immediately if you would rather be alone!

[ And to think, most (none) of this wouldn't have happened if Alisha hadn't been in the path of a fire extinguisher or had to deal with excruciating death shocks. Thanks, Vegeta. In the end, you may have actually done some good here.

Not that Alisha is thinking fondly of Vegeta right now. She's a little too startled, staring wide-eyed at a Faize who's-- actually, has she ever seen him this red and flustered before? She's pretty sure she hasn't.

She's had princess etiquette about this sort of thing, about being alone with a man not your intended, and the answer has always been Don't. But then again, this is Alisha, who had camped out at the home of a boy she barely knew, who hadn't been dismayed when he'd walked into her room and engaged him in a talk about armor-- and this is Faize, and maybe it's idiotic to trust people in a place where they're encouraged to kill each other...

But she trusts him, anyway. And if she had to be selfish, she'd be able to admit-- ]

I'd... rather not be alone right now.

[ Well, that sure slipped out. Maybe a little helplessly, and maybe Alisha herself seems surprised by her own candid statement, but it's sincere. ]

[You were a dick and your reasons were terrible, Vegeta, but if not for you, Faize would never have realized that he is capable of boldness...for very brief moments. But hey, it's a start, right? Even if he kind of lost steam halfway through. Maybe he'll get better at it with time because surely that's not something either of them needs to worry about. All the time in the world, right? It's not like either of them could die at any moment.]

[Nobody here has seen him this flustered before, but then again, nobody else here is Alisha. And he doesn't feel quite the same way about anybody else here. So perhaps it's not all that surprising (to anybody other than the two of them, at least) that she's capable of turning him into a flustered mess of flushed cheeks and half-thought words.]

Then... [He moves across the room, grabbing the little chair that I assume is in the room because it's on the picture in the setting page, and bringing it back next to Alisha's bedside. Princess etiquette lessons be damned, there's nothing to worry about here, see? Not even going to sit on the bed or anything, he knows what boundaries are, even if asking to stay is a small push against them.] this is where I shall remain, at least until sleep claims you or you tire of my company.

[Whichever comes first. Then he'll go back to his room and...probably lay in his still mostly-unmade bed, staring at ceiling and thinking about his life choices instead of sleeping.]

[ Faize no, you'd better sleep tonight?? You need it?? So Alisha would insist, if she knew that was a distinct possibility, but alas, all she knows right now is that she's curled on top of her blankets, her chest hurts, and Faize is staying-- which is more happiness than she's felt for the past few days.

Even if that makes her chest pains worsen, but whatever, she'll endure it. ]

The latter... won't happen. [ So don't even think it, really. ] Please give... yourself a little more credit...

[ She is exhausted, though, so sleep will probably come soon. ]

[What is sleep when you have unfamiliar emotions to grapple with? He'll be fine, he can sleep when he's...uh. Tomorrow afternoon. He can sleep tomorrow afternoon, yes.]

[His lips curl into a small smile, and he seems to be having trouble looking at Alisha for more than a few moments at a time. Speaking of unfamiliar emotions, there's another one of those weird warm chest fuzzies she seems to have a knack for giving him.]

Then I will...gladly [Is it okay to admit that?] put the possibility out of my mind. [He just doesn't want to impose, okay. THE GOVERNMENT RAISED HIM WAY TOO POLITELY, who would have thought.]

Please do so.

[ As imperiously as she can manage, even though there's a small smile tugging at her mouth. Honestly, she'd love to talk more... but give her like ten minutes, and her breathing will slowly even out and deepen.

It's comforting, to have him close, but that's not a good princess-y thought. ]

[Talking more would have been his first choice too, but that would have hurt Alisha, so obviously it's a no-go. There will be (hopefully) plenty more time to talk later.]

[He lingers just a little bit after it seems like she's dozed off. Just to be sure she's actually asleep or that the deathshocks aren't about to wake her back up again. But only a few minutes before, true to his word, he returns her chair to the proper place and leaves the room as silently as he can, whispering only a very soft "pleasant dreams" as he closes the door behind him. And with that, he's gone.]

week 4 - execution & aftermath

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