Post by Dollface on Sept 5, 2016 21:39:05 GMT -5
Wings flapping slowly, pushing air behind her for forward movement and shifting with subtle movements to keep her balanced. She had practiced for weeks, among a great many other lessons N. Saniti had been giving her. Nathan had been too busy of late, and Kelli was as well. Though they were apart, Kelli felt no flagging of her feelings for him, nor did she find herself attracted to interlopers. N. had been training her for weeks, keeping her focus directed away from PCW. Everything had faded away under the stresses, her body protesting the exercise after the beatdown courtesy of the Darkness. The thin membranes of her wings tremble in the cooling night breeze, fall coming early to the darker side of Balance.
"Heh. Winter is Coming, right? Because that's what I needed. I know what I need. I need him but he's off doing something or other that's actually SUPER important, and I think I was supposed to help but no one told me how. Or was I supposed to just KNOW somehow?"
In her ears were specially designed earbuds, the heavy bass and clear treble given a direct channel to her brain. Her current playlist of choice is an old downloadable package of current and former PCW entrance themes. Rocking out to Andy D.'s entrance theme, she makes a game of challenging distant clouds to a race. Soaring through a star-studded sky, she spares a quick glance to the expanse below. The massive, twisting trees seemed to be made entirely of huge, thorny vines. Throughout the entire forest were ruby mists and a constant, vaguely threatening glow. Bloodflowers, appearing to be black-veined hibiscus flowers of lurid red, They were beautiful in their own morbid way, their color derived from the small animals they drained for sustenance. Coiled around trees here and thick ropes of some viscous substance seemed to almost pulsate as she watched.
"It's about time for you to come back."
She shivers, losing a few feet of altitude as an electric tingle went down her spine. She had grown to like the darker sensuality of N.'s voice, and she had been struggling to spend time with her real-world lover, so... it could be a distraction sometimes. Especially since she heard it in her head. It was one of many things that had changed over the intervening weeks. She wasn't as scared anymore, (unless it's Alexa Black, because fuck that noise), and she'd learned to coalesce functional wings on and in her back. Learning to fly at all had taken the longest, with her skills gradually increasing. N. still refused to give her permission
"Yeah-yeah-yeah, I know. My back is starting to hurt."
"Well yes, you're not used to having wings. Nor are you yet accustomed to most of your OTHER abilities."
"Can't I use my powers to kick Grimm's ass and win?"
"Of course you can't."
Kelli carefully angles her wings to give her a gentle landing - and comes to a staggering fall-stumble-stop next to N., who plants his fists on his hips.
"You can't even land yet when you're flying, and you think you can somehow control these abilities well enough to not turn everyone around you into human paste?"
Brushing off the debris and standing as quickly as she can, Kelli tugs her skirt straight. Or as straight as the tulle ruffles were going to go. Her wings fade into shimmers of light, then disappear completely.
"I've beaten Grimm before, you know."
"Not lately. you haven't been beating ANYONE lately."
Kelli sulks, arms crossing under her breasts. "You don't have to say it like that, you know."
He shrugs, crisply tailored, black shoulders shrugging under a pinstriped vest. "Sometimes I need to give it to you without the sugar coating, Kelli."
Her heart thumps an extra beat, a blush coming to her cheeks at his phrasing. "Well, you could be NICER about it."
"Stop being ridiculous, Kelli."
"I'm not being ridiculous, I swear I have a reason for not being worried about it. I think Grimm is getting soft!"
"That's akin to saying a cement wall is getting soft. Sure, it may be, but it's still a cement wall. What on EARTH makes you think Grimm is getting soft?"
"I think Grimm is sweet on Brenna."
"Grimm? Are you certain you said the right name?"
"YES I'm certain I said the right name. Plus he's practically the only person she deigns to speak to."
"I cannot say I agree with you on this. What on earth gave you this idea?"
"Psht, we ALL saw that little exchange at Trauma 196. I am a PRO at reading people, and I was reading that they wanna bone like badgers in a duffel bag."
"Every analogy you make is more bizarre and crude than the last. You continue to amaze me."
"Thank you!"
"That wasn't - never mind."
She stares at him for a long moment, once again caught by his dichotomy. The impassive veneer of a gentleman, worn over an interesting bad boy. All contained in a form she found attractive in all its incarnations...
"Listen to you, zaichik. Stop that." "It's him though. It's all him." "You know HE will not see it that way." "But didn't he -" "You cannot even remember, you do not get to use it as an argument."
She blinks, N. looking at her with disturbing quiet.
"Hm?"
"You do know you were talking to yourself, right?"
"Heh, I was arguing with myself, that's different."
The yellow orbs, bright as any natural predator, bore into her jade green eyes. "Oh? Who, pray tell, won this little tiff?"
"The other me." The longer Kelli spent in the dark side of Balance, the less control she had over Her gaze slides down his body again before jerking her view back to his face. A knowing smile half-curving his mouth.
She bites her lip, fidgeting and adjusting the frills on her dress, smoothing down the Alice-blue fabric some more while desperately searching for an out.
"I'm ready to practice more." Her eyes widen. "Flying! I meant practice more flying."
The smirk etches deeper still into his features. "Of course you did, my dear. What else could you have meant?"
