tushanshu_logs | ( closed )

[Her morning started out like any other. Waking up early. Watching the sunrise with a cup of coffee and breakfast. The air was crisp, a fresh chill brushing past with the wind, and Shayera kept the windows closed. She hated the cold, and if she heard so much as one joke about birds flying south, she'd snap. But for now, she kept a large blanket draped over her like a cloak until a few hours passed, and the weather shifted to a light warmth.

Preferably around noon. Her blanket had long since been discarded, replaced instead with a comfortable looking fuzzy jacket. But even despite the cold, Shayera didn't want to stay cooped up in her suite all day. Or for all of autumn and winter, for that matter. No, she wanted to be out flying because as unpleasant as the weather made her, there was just something... refreshing about the chill. So a little after twelve, Shayera gives Kyle a tap on his shoulder, still very much bundled up in her jacket.] Want to go out for a flight, maybe get some lunch on the way?

[Kyle was responsible for exactly one flying south joke before Shayera chasing him around the house with a spatula was enough to shut him up. He'd moved in with her after becoming tangible again and firmly proceeded to be as obnoxious as possible. (It hurt, but he couldn't stop.)]

[And then it became chilly, which meant both of them were bundling up, and he huddles around the house until Shayera gets her fantastic idea.]

Sure, race you?

[Oh, it would have been more than a spatula, believe her. His obnoxiousness drove her absolutely crazy, but hey. It's her little brother, she can take it tenfold.

And those brilliant ideas easily come to her.] What else would it be?

Right—

[Dashing to the window, he leans out of it, almost far enough to fall out (but doesn't) and then looks back in before he closes the window behind him.]

— weather's great, c'mon!

[racing you to the door!]

[She runs toward the window closest to her, before opening it, and stepping up on the windowsill. She smirks at him, and pushes off, expecting her wings to unfold and flap to keep her airborne like they normally do.

Except this time, they didn't. Immediately after jumping off, she knew something was wrong. And then it really hit her. She was going down, not up. And being on the second story? This wouldn't end well. She reached out desperately to try and grab something, anything. But everything was just out of reach. And the ground was getting closer and closer until she landed dead on her side.]

[He smirks back, watching her take off (he can catch up easily) so he gives her a headstart, expecting her to shout back at him but... there's no sound until a sickening thump]

Shayera!

[He launches himself out of the window and lands at her side, immediately checking her for injuries.]

[She didn't blank out (she would be so pissed at herself if she did), but she was in a bit of a daze. Without even being fully aware of what was around her, she knew something was wrong. Her arm. Shayera raised her head off the ground, trying to shake off the daze, then turning to glance at her crushed arm underneath her.

Her arm was puffy and swollen, signs of bruises and scabs all along it. Well. That's going to be a bitch to take care of.] Oh hell...

[He'd have been more worried (or at least, given the semblance of worry) if she hadn't been trying to get up. Instead, he kneels beside her and puts the arm in a construct cast, bringing up a screen to scan it thoroughly.]

How the hell did this happen?

I don't-- [But she did. Her arm wasn't the only thing with a sensation that something was off. It took all of her effort to even get her wings to twitch, but nothing happened. Her face paled as she looked over her shoulder to her lifeless wings.] My wings. Kyle, they won't move.

[It doesn't take long for the anger to burn through him, and he feels it acutely through every muscle and vein, and he picks her up as gingerly, tenderly as he can, and immediately carries her back into the house. It was one thing when they took his ability to fear from him, but this was an intrinsic part of Shayera. Her wings. Her freedom]

You're tough as hell [as he shuts the door behind him, grateful only a handful of people saw] Nobody needs to see this.

[Under any other circumstances, Shayera would have shoved herself out of that situation in a heartbeat. Except circumstances were hardly ever normal, and this time, Shayera was far too shocked to even think of protest. Her emotions were a complicated and gross mix of rage, helplessness, and crushing sadness.] They took it. They took my flight.

[Her grip on his shoulders was shaky, but firm. Ironically, Shayera wanted, needed someone to keep her grounded right now.]

[And under any other circumstances, Kyle would've let her. She was like Guy, nobody could ever see her weak, and he'd feared if he did, that it would change his mental image of her into someone to be protected, instead of someone whose strength he could draw on.]

[But Shayera had smashed all of that, as she was wont to do, and he was convinced she'd get through this by sheer stubbornness alone. She just needed to be held up again so she could. He stays near, squeezes her hand.]

I know, I know. We'll find who did it, and you get first dibs.

[It wasn't fair. People could take away anything from her, but her flight was her freedom. No matter how bad things got, she always had her freedom to fly, go where she wanted, be with whoever. She wouldn't let anyone see her weak or beaten down.

Shayera would get through this with sheer willpower. She'd make a great GL, or at least she thinks she would.] They aren't getting away with it, not by a long shot.

Robin's investigating. He'll have something for us.

[The reassurance comes automatically, he rubs her back.]

Need a drink?

The mini-Bat? [She's never personally met one, but that's what they are to her. She holds her head in her hand, trying not to snap.]

Ten or twenty.

That doesn't narrow it down.

[He squeezes her shoulder, and goes to the kitchen to get some beer. She might be all right around him, and vice versa, but this was something incredibly visceral and personal. She needed the time.]

Just get me something. [She doesn't want to have to turn around and see that her wings are there, but basically just dead weight. It scares her. She's constantly clenching and un-clenching her fists, as if trying to restraint herself, like a calming exercise.]

Edited 2013-11-23 07:20 (UTC)

[He comes back with the drink and silently hands it over to her, scooting as close as possible to help her forget about her wings. He can try to share the burden as much as possible, and he rubs her wrists soothingly with his hand.]

[Her knuckles are white, hands trembling, but from anything but fear. She's angry, infuriated that someone had the gall to take away what she treasures most about herself. She'd love so badly to finish off the drink in one gulp, but that would be one of the stupider things she's done. So she takes it one sip at a time.]

[Of course she's fearless. She always seems that way, to him, even though he's saw her in the Death realm, broken, and bleeding. It never really sunk in, how easy it was to hurt her.]

[She's tough. She's unbreakable. It's a dangerous line of thinking, to believe anyone is invincible like that, but a little brother will always believe that of his older sibling, and his protector.]

[Kyle sits, and waits for her to finish, wondering what can be done.]

(She's never been the kind of person who needed support just to stay functional, and not lose her grip on herself. But extenuating circumstances such as this allow for a little loosening on oneself.) I'll be fine.

I know you will.

[That's absolutely unquestionable. Shayera's brave, and tough, and she'll get through this. He'll help.]

C'mon, let's get something to eat.

(She shakes her head, gently pushing away her almost finished glass.) I'm not hungry.

Okay, what do you want to do then?

[He guesses she'll want to do something to take her mind off it; it's what he himself would try.]

(She fidgets with her fingers restlessly, as though trying to make up for an abundance of energy.) I don't know.

(She knows perfectly well what she'd like to do, but it's not possible given her current state.)

( closed )

nov 2nd

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