Chaos Plot Reactions!

[thefinaljedi]

Who: Anyone/Everyone affected by Helios' nasty bout of Possession Sickness
What: Picking up the pieces
When: August 11th/12th
Where: Wherever there was bad mojo!
Summary: Apep, an Egyptian god of Chaos, possessed Helios and wrecked havoc. Those involved are going to have to cope with their injuries, mental traumas, and newfound night terrors!
Rating: R, for possible trigger warnings for descriptions of violence and bad language.


Nothing is ever easy for them House 46 folks. Gawddamn!

Comments

[thebellthatbinds]

We'll find some for you too.

[The last time someone else washed her hair was...well, it was when the Charter Sending had done so for her at Abhorsen's house, and it had been nowhere near this gentle or leisurely. The gentle brush of fingertips over her scalp was so relaxing, added with the lingering fatigue from her recovery and the soft hum of Adele's song made it hard to stop herself from dozing.]

[fleurdesel]

Matching earrings?

[Her smile becomes soft and fond as she brushes the last of the conditioned hair from Sabriel's forehead. It's a sweet thought. One she didn't mind in the slightest.]

I'd like that.

[She keeps her voice low and warm, carefully rinsing the cream from Sabriel's hair in time and binding her hair up in a towel shortly afterward. Soaking up the worst of the wet before she starts to trim.]

[thebellthatbinds]

Something blue...or gold for you and silver for me.

[Once her hair has been bundled up she gives her eyes a quick rub to try and push back the sleepiness. It wouldn't do to fall asleep while Adele was cutting her hair after all. Drawing her hand lightly over the wrapped up towel over her hair she murmurs in more of an idle afterthought than any sort of worry.]

Have you cut hair before?

[fleurdesel]

Gold would get lost in my hair. Blue it will have to be.

[Adele takes a step back, resting her hands on Sabriel's shoulders as she rubs at her eyes and attempts to wake herself. The question pulls a soft chuckle from her.]

I've been trimming my niece's hair as long as she's had it. I don't know why- but she won't go to anyone else. If it's a fancy cut you want I am not the woman to ask, but a simple trim? I can manage.

[thebellthatbinds]

Blue is good.

[With a small smile Sabriel tips her head back to look up at Adele.]

I think I can understand why she would be so particular. This has...it's been lovely so far, Adele. Very relaxing.

[fleurdesel]

I've six older sisters and they each have at least one daughter each. This much is something I've done for each of them many, many times. LeBlancs are high-strung, they need something like this. I do not mind sharing my experience.

[She huffs a soft laugh and pulls a comb from her pocket, starting to trim once Sabriel was still.]

[thebellthatbinds]

That's a lot of girls.

[For one family it sounds like a lot anyway...it's not like she can really compare her own to Adele's. Sitting still as Adele starts to cut her wings give a little stretch before tucking back in against her back.]

The ladies we used to go see in Bain were never so gentle in their ministrations. They weren't terribly rough either but there were many girls to see to and only so much time.

[fleurdesel]

Some have sons, but girls are the norm for my family.

[It's harder to trim when there's less to trim, but she does what she can to make every cut precise and even. Takes less than she should for each snip- she can always go back over and trim off more. She can't make Sabriel's hair grow back out again.]

It is supposed to be a treat- getting one's hair done. Finding a stylist that understands that can be something of a chore.

[thebellthatbinds]

Not all stylists have the energy to wash and cut over two hundred girls' hair. When I first arrived at the College they took my whole class to get their hair trimmed.

[Turning her hand palm upward Sabriel catches a small lock of hair as its snipped, running a finger over the wet strands.]

When Ellimere and Sullyn and I went it would be, the trip to Bain itself would be a little vacation for the three of us.

[fleurdesel]

I imagine not! [She shakes her head at the idea. Two hundred girls? Ten was the most she could manage and it was usually an all day ordeal.]

Marie and I would return to our father's cottage to spend our breaks- when we had them. Leaving the city rather than visiting.

[thebellthatbinds]

[Sabriel chuckles with a soft smile, happy to listen and exchange stories with Adele to the sound of the quiet snipping of her scissors.]

If it were possible, I would have liked to go back to the Old Kingdom for the Midsummer and Midwinter holidays. Before I had to leave the college I had only been to the House twice when I was a child, but it's beautiful.

[fleurdesel]

[The trimming came along neatly, once she was done with the sides she tilted Sabriel's chin forward so she could continue along her nape.]

It was a bit of a refuge while we lived at home. The one place where we didn't have to drill all day in every subject. There were times when home felt less like a home and more like a private institution designed to churn out Paris' best and brightest. [She snorts.] But the cottage? We didn't have to work. Just...enjoy the sea and our family. Like every other family is able to do normally.

[thebellthatbinds]

It must be wonderful having a house by the sea.

[Sabriel tips her head forward as she's bid, reaching up to brush some of her shortened hair from her forehead.]

Abhorsen's house sits on a small island in the middle of the Ratterlin river, right on the edge of the waterfall which...admittedly makes the passage to the house a little perilous on foot but it's one of the safest places I know of in the Old Kingdom. And it's beautiful.

[fleurdesel]

It was.

[She hasn't been there in years. Henri keeps it tidy for the family, but no one has spent much time there since her father died. It's not the same.]

That sounds lovely Sabriel. Like something out of a myth, really. Is it very quiet or does the waterfall make living there something of a chore?

[thebellthatbinds]

Not at all, there are high walls lining the perimeter of the island in case the river floods and they also block out most of the noise. It really is lovely though, there are vegetable and herb gardens, a small orchard, places to fish...anything you really need you could find there. It's even built over a natural hot spring.

[It's an ideal safe house, protected not only from the harshness of nature but the threat of the Dead. No Dead could cross the rushing waters of the Ratterlin, and the barriers built into the foundations of the house and island itself posed a solid wall to forbid any unwanted entries from Death as well.]

[fleurdesel]

A self sufficient safe haven, more or less, yes?

[A few more snips along the side and Adele combs Sabriel's hair out, comes around to face her and makes a final clip just to the side of her temple. There. It was as even as she could make it at this length. Adele busies herself with brushing the snipped hair from Sabriel's shoulders.]

Speaking of hot springs- a soak would do you well. I'll put on some tea when you are finished.

[thebellthatbinds]

Other than the Clayr's Glacier it's probably one of the safest places in all of the Old Kingdom. But it's no place to leave a little girl by herself.

[Once Adele has finished with the cutting Sabriel runs her fingers through her hair, a little surprised by how short it was even though she was expecting it. Looking up with a tired smile Sabriel tentatively reaches up to take Adele's hand, giving it a squeeze.]

Thank you, Adele. And maybe...you and I could go to the hot springs here? I've never been and I think we could both do with some unwinding.

[fleurdesel]

You were left on your own?

[She doesn't know enough of Sabriel's family to say anything one way or the other, but that does not sit right with her in the slightest. It's over and done. No reason to be upset. She squeezes the hand in hers and leans down to brush her lips against Sabriel's forehead.]

Tomorrow. We'll pack a lunch and make a day of it. Just you and me, yes?

[thebellthatbinds]

It had been my father's original plan to keep me safe in the house but decided it would be better if we joined the group of travelers he came across when I was born. I wasn't alone, and they were all very kind to me.

[Holding Adele's hand tight Sabriel flushes at the kiss, her eyes shining a little with emotion as her smile turns a couple shades more fond and warm.]

That sounds wonderful.

[fleurdesel]

Good. No child should be left on their own.

[She ruffles Sabriel's hair, then smooths it back in place. Shorter now, yes, but it was a good look for her and it would grow out well in time.]

And after we can find those earrings, and perhaps a dress for you. Something with long sleeves before the weather turns.

[thebellthatbinds]

[Ducking her head a little at the hair ruffle Sabriel huffs a soft, watery chuckle, quickly wiping at her eyes before she looks back up at the older woman.]

I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, Adele.

[fleurdesel]

Anytime ma Petite Cloche.

[She stoops down a little to pull Sabriel into a hug- quietly grateful that a few burns and lost hair is the worst she has to deal with at the moment. The mental violation- it wasn't something she could fix. But this. This she could offer.]

[thebellthatbinds]

[Her body would heal the burns in time, and with Rei's help she will overcome her guilt and her fear of her own power. All they would need is a little patience and each other's support. As Adele pulls her into the hug she leans close and holds the other woman tight. She was so grateful for this, to have someone who cared for her as much as Adele did. With a gentle squeeze Sabriel murmurs into Adele's shoulder, a faint blush warming her cheeks as she does since...well, confessing one's affection can be vulnerable.]

I never knew my mother, but I'd like to think that...she'd be like you.

[fleurdesel]

[It's not something she'd ever thought to hear. Not something she'd ever thought, period. But the more she looks at how she treats Sabriel, the affection and concern she has always had for the young woman the easier it is to comfortably describe the relationship they had. It goes beyond friendship to something decidedly familial. Having it said out loud pulls a soft laugh from her, and she raises a hand to wipe at her own eyes.]

I...there was a time when I wanted nothing more than to have a daughter. Now and then when I think back on it...I see the woman I'd wish her to be in you.

[thebellthatbinds]

[Squeezing Adele tight Sabriel muffles a giggle mixed with a soft sob against the other woman's shoulder. Sabriel would never be able to have this again in her home world, and the warmth in the embrace, the love and affection she felt for this woman echoed bittersweetly through her. She had been here for months now, months since she felt her father's last embrace, but for all of the aches being in Luceti had brought her, maybe here...she could still have family.]