Pretty Things & Evil Deeds

@ katahdin

Any flowers that had been in Azana's hair at the beginning of the day were gone. It was during some time in the basement that they all fell away, even any branches or vines were also gone. Leaving her hair to be simply that. Hair. As Elliot tried to soothe her down, that only made Azana cry harder - if that was even possible in that moment. Her grip on his shirt lighten for a moment, and her hands pressed against his back instead. Though only for a moment before one hand slid away and moved up to her face to try to wipe her tears away with the sleeve of her sweater.

Azana gave a little nod when Elliot admitted that he should have told her the truth. She couldn't really disagree with that. Things would have been a lot easier if he had said something. But she couldn't find it in herself to be mad or upset that he had not. He was trying to help her while following the rules of his guild. Guild law wasn't to be messed with. And Elliot had been the one that saved her. The young woman took in a deep breath, trying to force herself to calm down a little. "Y-You did what you what you could," Azana whimpered slightly, pausing for a moment to take in another deep breath to keep going. "You saved me Elliot, I couldn't ask for more. I...I just feel like such a fool."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot felt horrible for everything that had happened. If he'd just told her sooner, if he'd broken his guild's laws and just told her who and what Kendric was, maybe none of this would have happened. But then again, Azana might not have believed him, and Kendric would have denied it, of course, and it wasn't like he really had any proof that Kendric couldn't just blame him for. "I'm so sorry, Azana. I wish I'd done things differently.." He murmured into her hair, looking at her as she said that she couldn't ask for anything after he'd saved her before shaking his head.

"None of this is your fault, Azana. He lied to you, he used you, and I... I let him do it, even though I knew what he was planning..." He swallowed hard, looking incredibly guilty about all of this. "I promise, I'll do anything you want from now on. Nothing is too big to ask for, since I have to make up for how I failed.." He murmured, gently wiping a few tears away from her eyes. "I'll make sure that he can't hurt you ever again, Az. I promise."

@ katahdin

"I... I would appreciate that," Azana whispered to him as she looked into his eyes. Her eyes were growing puffy again and her cheeks red. A bit of her face was messed up after Kendric had gotten ahold of her. She had two bruises, one on her right cheek and one slightly off centered on her chin. And a scar was showing horizontally on her nose. "I don't think I can keep him away by myself. He didn't get whatever he had been wanting from me." Azana's face twisted up at the thought of it.

Slowly, she lenaed back into his body, pressing her face against his neck as she did so. Her arms, that had been around his body slowly slid up until they were around his neck. She had managed to calm down the worse of her crying but a few tears were still running down her cheeks. "I'm just so tired, Elliot." The woman whispered to him. There was much more to it than that. She was worn down, magically depleted, her emotions were in pieces and in pain. Though it was just easier to say she was tired. All Azana wanted to do was sleep for days and worry about both of their injuries later. Hopefully no one had something that needed to be fixed right away. Especially as Azana had almost just let them both sleep in the basement and there was no way she was leaving now.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot gently stroked her hair and rubbed her back, hoping to soothe her. "I know, I won't let him hurt you, I promise." He soothed, frowning as he pulled her closer to let her cry into his neck. "I'll keep you safe. I promise." He tucked his face into her hair, content with just holding onto her for a bit.

"I know.. I know you're tired." He murmured into her hair, letting out a tired sigh as he tugged her blanket over them both. "We'll sleep for a little longer, then we need to call a healer. We need to heal and be ready in case... Just in case." He sighed, squeezing her a bit in his arms. "Then... Then we should go to my apartment. Make it harder for Kendric to find you.." he murmured, letting out a tired sigh as he held her close. "I'll protect you, I promise."

@ katahdin

The young woman just nodded into his neck, really just willing to agree to whatever his plan was. As of right now, Azana had none outside of sticking close to Elliot. And she certainly was not in the right mindset to start strategically coming up with a good idea. So, she nodded and hugged him as tightly as she could, wanting to stay close to Elliot. Both for her own protection and for she was worried about Elliot. He had pissed Kendric off as well, and his condition was not the best.

Although it took some time, Azana managed to fall back asleep. Only once she was unconscious did her body relaxed into his and the crying ceased.

---

It was hours later until Azana came to. Though, when she was awake, she slowly slid out of Elliot's arms, doing her best not to wake him. She re-wrapped the blanket around him before moving quietly through the house. The first thing she did was call the healer, requesting that she come to the apartment as they were too injured to make their way to her. Then Azana made her way to the shower, wanting to wipe off the dirt and grime from the basement, as well as the general grossness from the kidnapping.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot was able to drift off to sleep not long after Azana, the sound of her steady breathing soothing. He remained asleep when she got up hours later, simply rolling onto his stomach and tucking his face in his pillow, although when he woke about twenty minutes later he heard the shower going, forcing himself to sit up and rub at his eyes tiredly.

"Az..?" He called sleepily, standing up slowly to limp toward the bathroom, knocking lightly on the door so she knew that he was awake. "You alright in there? I'm going to make some of that tea for the both of us, and order a pizza, or whatever you want for dinner. Do you have a preference?"

@ katahdin

"Elliot?" Azana called back, a bit of panic in her voice. Though once Elliot continued to speak, she was able to calm down a bit and let out a small breath of air. "I'm okay. Just trying to take a shower. Tea would be nice and just order whatever you want!" At the moment, Azana could really care less about what they were eating. But she would happily take a cup of tea. "Oh! Elliot! I called for a healer. She said she would be here tonight."

Once that was settled, Azana finished off her shower, actually taking quite a long time in there. She had tried her best to scrub herself off but... the grossness of it all still seemed to cling to her skin. It was a rather uncomfortable feeling and made her want to squirm. But, nonetheless, at some point she needed to come out so she did. Azana got dressed before heading out into the living room.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot let out a sigh of relief when she said that there would be a healer there later this evening, nodding. "That's good.. After you're done in there I'll shower, and then I can help you pack up some stuff to bring to my apartment." He said before heading to her kitchen to brew the tea as promised, as well as ordering a pizza for them to eat. Once the tea was steeped he brought it to her table, and went downstairs to get the pizza from the front door, making sure all of the doors were locked behind him before he went back upstairs and set the pizza out just as she was coming out of her room.

"Pizza and tea are ready. I'll shower real quick before I sit down to eat, and then by the time we're done I'm guessing your healer friend will be here." He said, offering her a weak smile before he headed into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. He tried to make his shower quick, but also wanted to make sure that he was properly cleaned, so it took him a bit longer than he might have wanted, and when he got out he realized that he didn't have a clean pair of clothes, so he dried himself off as best he could before wrapping a towel around his waist and heading out into the living room, looking at Azana sheepishly. "You... You wouldn't happen to have a change of clothes, would you?"

@ katahdin

As she heard Elliot walk in, Azana turned in her chair. Though when she saw that the man was half naked, she was quick to advert her glaze. "I might?" She said softly before standing up and heading into her bedroom to see if she had anything to offer. But after a quick glance over, the woman realized that all she had that was actually more appropriate were the items that Kendric left her. She didn't even have to think about it much, just the thought of Elliot wearing his clothes. It made her skin crawl a bit. Actually, just having anything of his in her apartment was making her feel uncomfortable. So Azana tried her best to look a little harder to find something else for the man. Eventually, she settled on a sweatshirt that was too big on her and a pair of stretchy sweatpants. Hopefully, that would work.

Azana walked up to Elliot and handed him the two items. "Let me know if this doesn't fit." She told him softly before heading back into the living room. The woman settled back into her chair, beginning to sip on the tea again. There was also a plate with a slice of pizza besides her but the young woman didn't really have the stomach for it. Having only eaten a bit before setting it off to the side.

@ Sweet.Persephone

A faint blush appeared on Elliot's cheeks as Azana quickly looked away from him, also averting his gaze, even though he was the one that was barely dressed. He gave a quick nod as she said that she might, waiting patiently while Azana went to look, thanking her for the clothes when she returned. "Thank you, I think it should be fine. Worst case scenario I just wear my dirty clothes and then change once we get to my apartment." He said with a little smile, heading back into the bathroom to change.

The sweatshirt and sweatpants were a little tight admittedly, but not uncomfortably so, so he headed back out and took a seat on the couch with Azana once he'd gotten himself a slice of pizza and his mug of tea. "Is the tea alright? When I've made it in the past, I've boosted the defense boosting charm I put on the herbs, but because I'm out of magic I couldn't do that this time.. I did put honey in yours, though, since you said you liked it before." He offered her a little smile, reaching over to take her hand and give it a squeeze. "It'll be ok, Az."

@ katahdin

"The tea is perfect," Azana told him softly. As he took her hand and squeezed it, Azana gently squeezed back, though she held on, not really wanting Elliot to pull his hand away from her. "I think both of us are going to have to drink some tonics later to get some power back. I'm all out too." Her thumb lightly rubbed against the back of Elliot's hand as she took a moment to look him over. Her clothes were a little tight on him... At least he was able to wear it. Besides, they would have to head to his home soon anyways. They certainly couldn't stay here.

Her phone started to buzz besides her and Azana glanced down at it before getting up. "I'll go get the healer. She's downstairs." Azana said before she headed down. It only took a few minutes for her to come back with an older woman following in behind her. She carried a large black bag with her though when she came inside, she set it down on the counter of the kitchen. "Who would like to go first?"

Azana stepped out of the way. "Elliot should. He's probably worse off." She said as she motioned for him to sit down at the counter first.

"Very well," The healer said as she started to dig into her back. "Now tell me, what happened to the two of you?"

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot nodded a little in agreement at her assessment that they'd both need to drink some tonic later, running his free hand through his hair. "Agreed. We'll have to rest for the next few days too, even with a healer and the tonic to help." He let out a sigh, lifting their interlocked hands to press a kiss to her knuckles. "We'll get through this, though. Like I told that bastard, you're stronger than anyone, and will be able to get through this in no time." He offered her a smile. He looked visibly nervous as she got up to go downstairs to get the healer, not liking the idea of letting her out of his sight, but nodded and waited patiently for them to return, tidying up the kitchen and table so that the healer would have space to work.

He started to protest when Azana returned with the healer and insisted that he go first, but caved when he saw the look that both of them were giving him and took the seat he was gestured to. He glanced up at Azana when the healer asked what had happened, waiting for her permission before he spoke, not wanting to say something she didn't want shared. "We were attacked by a necromancer, Kendric.. He posed as a non magic user to get close to Azana in order to lower her defenses to steal her magic for some spell, but I found out and had been trying to reverse the effects of whatever he was giving her to weaken her, but he found out what I was doing and locked Azana in the basement to take her magic, and when I arrived to free her attacked me, and we both used up all of our magic to fight him off." He explained quietly, hanging his head almost in shame. He knew he should have done more to prevent this from happening, and he was sure that once the healer realized that he too was a necromancer that she'd not want to treat him anymore. Which was fine, he could recover on tonic alone, even if it would take longer. It's not like he hadn't had to do it before.

@ katahdin

A bit of a frown came over Azana's lips as Elliot started to recount the story. They had to tell the healer something, of course, but she hadn't really been planning on telling the woman everything... Her eyes shifted to the side and her arms wrapped around her chest a bit uncomfortably. Azana's eyes started to well up a bit as well. Though it was still for the best that Elliot was telling the story as Azana wasn't sure she would get through her shortened version without bawling.

The healer looked over Elliot skeptically for a moment before moving forward. Her hands moved to his face, pressing against the side of his cheeks before slowly moving up to his temples. Though when Elliot's skin beneath her thumbs started to glow black, the healer dropped her hands and stepped back. "I can't help him." She said before looking at Azana. "Sit down, I will treat you and then I will go."

Azana's eyes lifted up to meet the older woman's, confusion moving over her face. "What? Why?" The woman asked. "What is wrong with him? Do we need a specialized healer?"

The healer shook her head. "No, no one can treat him," She spat. "You did not tell me he was a necromancer. I will not offer my services to his kind. I heal and what they do is the opposite of that." A scowl came across the woman's face.

"Agatha, please." Azana moved next to Elliot and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you he's good. Elliot would never hurt anyone. He saved me and he almost died doing it. He needs help!"

"Silly girl! His kind are the reason you called me. And by the sounds of it, he's one of the reasons you're in this mess. Now either sit down to be treated or I will leave." Agatha then looked at Elliot and motioned for him to get out of the seat. "You will get no assistance from me."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot couldn't say he was surprised when Agatha refused to offer him her services, nodding a little as he began to stand, although he frowned when Azana moved forward and came to his defense, shaking his head a little. "It's fine, Azana... I'd be lying if I said that I didn't expect this or that this had never happened to me before." He offered her a reassuring smile, giving her arm a squeeze before moving out of the way so that she could take his seat.

"You need to be healed, though, so sit and let her help you." He said, looking up at Agatha, offering her a little nod of respect. "Please, don't refuse to help her just because of me.. I'll go wait downstairs, give you space to do your work." He said before excusing himself to head downstairs, taking his tea with him. The last thing he wanted was for his presence to prevent Azana from getting the treatment that he needed, and to keep his mind from wandering he set to work organizing and restocking the herbs that he was supposed to have done today at work.

@ katahdin

A deep frown was over Azana's face as Elliot as he tried to reassure her and stood up. The young woman was about to make a huff about it before Elliot excused himself and headed downstairs. Though once he was gone, although it made her uneasy, Azana kept her lips shut and received help from the healer.

An hour had gone by before the healer left. Azana was now upstairs, laying on the couch with her back facing the door. All of the cuts she had along her body were gone but the bruises still remained. The woman's body now had patches from the healer's work on. One on each temple of her head, and the same behind her ears. With her hair now up in a bun, it was easy to see the one long patch that started at the end of her hair line and continued down before disappearing under her shirt. The last two that could be seen were on the palm of her hands and wrapped up.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot returned upstairs once Agatha left, heading upstairs to rejoin Azana. He frowned a bit as he came up and saw Azana laying on the couch, moving over to take a seat at the edge of the couch. "Az? Everything alright? Feeling better?" He asked gently, rubbing her arm gently, hoping to help soothe and comfort her as best he could.

"I'm... I'm sorry if my presence made it harder than it should have been for you to get healed.. And don't feel bad about me, I'll be fine with some extra doses of tonic and a few days rest, don't you worry... Agatha was right, it's my fault that you're in this mess, and all I can do is promise to do all that I can to fix things." He murmured, giving her arm a squeeze before standing. "Do you want me to help you pack up some of your things? Or I can do it for you, if you want to rest?"

@ katahdin

Once Elliot sat down on the couch, she shifted up so the top of her head was lightly pressing into the side of his thigh. "I'm okay," She said with a little huff, closing her eyes for a moment as she did so. Though they opened back up and her nose wrinkled as he started to apologize. "It's not your fault," Azana told him, her words coming out sharply. "That old bat should have done her job and healed you. You didn't do anything wrong."

Azana let out a bit of a frustrated sigh as Elliot stood up and started to talk about helping her pack, or even doing it for her. "You should be the one that is resting right now, not me. You didn't get any help..." The woman pushed herself up on the couch before standing up completely. "I can pack myself while you sleep."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot moved his hand to gently brush his fingers through her hair, subconsciously checking her defenses as he did. They were low still, but it seemed as though the healing she'd received was doing it's job, as he could feel her growing stronger slowly. "I'm glad you're alright." He murmured, offering her a faint smile, although it disappeared as he insulted the healer, shaking his head. "I should have warned you that most healers don't treat necromancers.. I didn't want to risk you not calling her to get treatment for yourself though, so I kept it to myself. I'll be fine, Az, really."

"You've been through a lot, Azana, it's perfectly reasonable that you want and need to rest." He assured her as she said he should be the one resting. His entire body ached, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he was in the comfort of his own home. "I'll help you pack, and then we can head to my apartment.. I don't think I'd be able to sleep until I know you're safe.",

@ katahdin

"Well, it's not fair, Elliot. She should have healed you. And it's not okay either. I know you're not okay." Azana took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. There was nothing that they could do now. And hopefully Elliot was right in saying that he would be okay. "Okay...I'll take the help then, thank you. Then we can head to your place." She cleared her throat a little. "How long are we going to be staying there? I just want to make sure I have what I need...And I'll need to make a sign for the shop."

"Also, we can't leave until the healer's delivery boy drops some things off. She has tonics and boosters and potions she wants me to drink over the next week," Azana told him as she rubbed her face. "My defenses and magic are nearly at zero apparently... I swear that woman has me drinking something every hour of the day but by next week, I should be good as new...Hell maybe even better with what she is giving me." Azana then let out another small frustrated sigh before lifting her hands up for Elliot to see her palms. "But look, She even blocked all my ports of magic off so I don't get cursed or something."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot offered her a weak smile, giving her arm a squeeze. "I know.. But I'm used to it, I promise, and it's just the way things are. People act like that because of people like Kendric who give our magic a bad reputation, and there's no trying to argue about it." He explained, frowning a bit as she asked how long they'd be at his apartment. "I.. I don't know, Azana.. As long as it takes to find and stop Kendric. If we get the authorities involved, maybe only a week or two, but if not... I can come back with you every few days so you can tend to your greenhouse, but I wish I had a better answer."

Elliot nodded as she said they couldn't leave until the healer had dropped off some tonics and lotions for her, wanting Azana to be as good as new as soon as possible. "Would it be alright if I borrowed some of your herbs from downstairs to make my own tonic before we go? I'll pay you back, I promise." The tonic wouldn't be nearly as good as what Azana would be getting, but it would be better than nothing. He nodded as she showed him her hands, gently taking them in his to give them a squeeze. "I wouldn't let you get cursed anyway, Az."