milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Well, that really wasn't fun. Rae supposes she couldn't truly expect the weather to hold off for a little thing like her fighting for her life, but it would've been nice if it had been a little more considerate, you know? Con had been impervious to the icy rain - of course he had - but Rae's experience had been a little more... well, human. Her fingers, slicked with blood and exposed to the elements, had soon gone numb and clumsy. It hadn't been an easy night. When they had returned to her apartment, her only thoughts were of the hot shower she was about to have. The three hot showers she wanted to take in succession, and the long, soaking bath she wanted directly after, and the twelve hours or more of sleep she wanted after that. So what if that would put her waking up around sunset tomorrow.

But the door to her bathroom, of course, has other ideas.

Rae shuffles into the bar today, exhausted, soaking wet, and shivering. Her black sweater and sweatpants cling to her, sodden and still dripping as the ice melts. There is ice in her hair from the sleet that had gotten caught in it, and she smells of cold sweat and blood. The melting ice and rain may have washed much of the blood from her, but some of it remains, and the scrapes and minor injuries that show where her sweater has been torn still bleed sluggishly.

"Unnnnnngh," Rae makes an exhausted noise of complaint in her throat as she sees where she is. She hadn't been expecting Milliways. Now she has an entire set of stairs to climb before she can reach her shower. Why so cruel, universe?

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"...I see." And this time, he really does. "Were you victorious?"

He'll take her word for it that she's not badly hurt, unless something proves that wrong. She came here under her own power, after all.

"...Yeah." Rae swallows, not meeting his eyes. "There were... They had... I guess you wouldn't call them hostages, in that sort of situation. They're not insurance, after all. They're dinner.'

Her voice is faint and falsely light. She is exhausted, and the effort it takes not to think about it all is taking up most of what she has left.

"There were two. I don't know what happened to them."

"But if they did not escape", Ichabod says quietly, "at least you made their killers pay for their lives. And perhaps they did escape."

"I can only hope so. I couldn't... really... there wasn't really much opportunity to look for them, in the chaos," Rae says, drawing the blanket tighter around her. She looks far from the sunny baker she usually is.

"You can only do what you can do. Now come along, at least to the fire. You need to warm up."

"I know that the longer I put off tackling those stairs, the harder it'll be when I eventually do," she murmurs, the beginnings of a wry look on her face. "But man, the fire sounds really good right now."

It's a lot closer, too.

"I can assist you with the stairs, if necessary, when the time comes", Ichabod points out. "I presume you can manage from the door to your room."

"I can manage," she assures him, chuckling faintly. "The complaining helps, I promise."

"It keeps us alert", he agrees, and reaches out to steer her towards the fire.

Rae startles when he reaches for her, but doesn't meet his eyes, tucking a lock of her mattted hair behind her ear to cover to movement. She goes - only slightly wobbly - without letting his hand ever really reach her. Rae isn't in the best frame of mind, right now. The idea of someone touching her puts her right on edge.

When she reaches the couch in front of the fire, she hesitates. "Holly?" Rae murmurs, getting the attention of a passing waitrat. "Could you b-bring me some towels? I don't want to ruin the couch."

He notices, understands at least partially, and drops his hand.

"...would you like to talk about what happened out there?"

It's an offer.

Holly soon returns with a stack of three towels, which Rae... fumbles with. Her fingers are still cold and clumsy. She is forced to drop the blanket in order to spread the towels out on the couch.

The underside of the blanket is thoroughly stained where her arms were.

"...What is there to talk about, really?" she says, hesitating. "We talked to them, they didn't listen."

He helps her to spread the towels, without touching her.

"And then things... took a more violent turn."

Rae nods, numbly straightening the towels. The fire at her back feels wonderful.

"It was sleeting. Usually I can keep myself warm, but in the confusion I didn't have enough attention to spare for it."

"There were greater concerns", he agrees. "We will see you right, now you're here."

"I don't doubt," she says with faint amusement, trying not to so very obviously flop down on the towels. Her tired gaze slips from the fireplace to the blanket by her ankles. Rae winces. "Agh, I... I'll clean the blanket later and try to get those bloodstains out."

"I am sure you can be forgiven if they do not wash out", he says with wry warmth. "It came from the Bar and will return there."

"Yeah, but..." she grimaces slightly. "I don't like messing things up, if I can help it."

The fire is doing wonders for her warmth, but little for her exhaustion.

"I spend most of my time in a bakery or kitchen - if something is dirty, it's gotta be cleaned," she shrugs.

"Then do your best, when you are recovered, but do not be too hard on yourself if you do not succeed."

"Oh, like anybody's not hard on themselves if they fail at something they feel the need to do," she says, groggily.

"Indeed, it is human nature." He studies her. "Do you think you might sleep? I will keep you from being disturbed."

"N-no," she shakes her head, half in denial and half to pull herself up out of that warm comfort she was slipping into. "I don't sleep in public areas if I can help it."

She should probably try and tackle those stairs soon.

"A habit you cannot get into? I would protect you, should it be needed, but of course, the choice is yours."

Rae chuckles faintly, but chooses not to comment on Ichabod's protection against what she would rather not catch her sleeping in the open. "Less of a habit and more of a preference for having a good solid ward line between me and the vampires who come here."

Though it leaves a mark, Rae grips the armrest of the couch to help herself get to her feet. "Vampires can enter a public space unimpeded. Technically, they must be invited into a private space, but it's still good to have wards reinforcing everything."

He nods, accepting it without question. "And you have such wards on your room upstairs?"