Seraphina and Arwyn had gotten Orion home but he wasn’t showing any signs of healing, his wounds were still seeping blood and his body was burning up. Sweat from a high fever mixing with the blood of his wounds despite his children’s best efforts to keep the wounds clean. Sera was holding a cold wash cloth against his forehead as he laid unmoving on the couch. From time to time a small wince would leave his lips. “We need to get him to the hospital if he isn’t going to start healing.” Sera’s voice held an edge of panic but Arwyn was ever the voice of reason trying to calm his sister down.

The young lycan opened his mouth to speak but his father’s voice came out, “Sariah…” He muttered in the midst of a fevered dream. She was so close, he could see her but the closer he ran to her the farther she seemed to get from him. When he thought she was within arm’s reach she was suddenly miles away and the words ‘good bye’ seemed to echo all around him.

Sera grabbed his phone and pressed his finger against the unlock button muttering curses under her breath for the fact that he had to keep it lock all the time. Sure he was an Ambassador and had private contracts on his phone but the lock wasn’t helpful at times like this. “Sariah, Sariah.” Seraphina said to herself as she scrolled through his contacts before finding the name in question. It was late, Sera knew that but she really didn’t care. It was unlikely her Dad said the name as a way of helping but even though Sariah wasn’t a doctor she was the human Ambassador and the head of the Organization which meant she might have something that could help her father.

Pressing the phone button, she waited as it began to ring. “Pick up, pick up, pick up!” The young kitsune muttered as her leg bounced up and down while she waited. Patience was far from her strong suit at the moment since all she wanted was to get her father some sort of help. “Please pick up.” She pleaded as her grip tightened on the phone and she could hear it beginning to crack and quickly loosened her grip.

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For years of Sariah's life sleep had been somewhat of a torture for her, all through her college years and in the years after she finally broke up with Noel she had suffered from bouts of insomnia and night terrors when she did sleep, she had spent countless hours at therapy sessions and at doctors appointments to try and ease the symptoms and eventually she had found a way to overcome the trauma that it had caused her and with time her sleep had become more peaceful. During this time however she had done a lot of research into lucid dreaming and becoming aware of a state of dreaming.

This particular time it didn't take her long to realize that she was in fact dreaming, she found herself in the very room she had spent the past few years of her college life, this was the usual setting for one of her night terrors, as if on cue she saw his face as she heard the front door open and then close again. Sariah raised to her feet slowly, knowing she was dreaming allowed her to control the dream as she wished. If her own consciousness wanted her to see Noel then so be it, she had no reason to feel the fear she always used to, this wasn't real.

"Why do I always see you when I'm afraid" she asked as the dark figure moved into the room and she looked back at him, the situation felt familiar but also foreign, she was so far from the girl that she used to be that she felt like a bad dream herself at times. Sariah's strength came to her through her work and learning to love herself and the person she was, it had taken a lot of time, she had needed space and she had doubted herself but she had found it and she had held onto it with everything she had. "Because part of you knows you're weak and can't handle reality" the voice had snarled.

Sariah face had remained calm as she shook her head "I am not the weak one" she answered matter of factly running a hand through her golden hair. There was one bit of damage that Noel had done that she hadn't fully recovered from however, her level of trust and faith in others. For the longest time Sariah had simply expected the worst of everyone, the man she loved had twisted her love for him into a game only he knew the rules to play, her friends had backed away and left her on her own, hell even her parents had been too busy to raise her properly and eventually she had realized that the only person that would ever save her was herself. After that, Sariah had decided she didn't need anyone but herself as everyone else was too busy in their own lives to ever put her first.

"You're weak, you can't even function without me, every time something goes wrong you come running back to this very moment, you might tell yourself you don't Sariah, but you need me" there had been a time when that was true, she had loved Noel so much that she would do anything to make him happy, even if that meant never seeing her friends, doing what he said without question. "I never needed your sick and twisted games, I never needed you to tell me that I was worthless and I never needed someone to diminish a light they should have protected" he stare was hard and cruel.

Orion may have done things that she had to face and get over but he had done the one thing that Noel had never done, he had put her wellbeing ahead of his own, he had been ready to lay down his life to protect those he cared for, he treated her like she was worth the world and that was something she had failed to give him credit for when they had said their goodbye. "Then why am I still here?" the voice taunted with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. Sariah shook her head and walked out of the room and to the front door of the apartment.

"Where you going baby?" he had followed her standing in the doorway the very same menacing look on his face that felt familiar "This is the end Noel, I'm done being afraid of you" she spoke it calmly as her hand fastened around the door handle "I don't need you" she words felt like a weight was lifted of her shoulder as she admitted it before she followed them up "But I think I need him" she added before opening the door and being consumed by a blinding white light.

The blonde had stirred awake at the feeling of fingertips against her skin, as her eyes opened she blinked a few times sleepily trying to make sense of where she was and what had happened. After a few blinks the realization set in as her eyes met Orion's and then widened realizing that he was already up and about after everything he had gone through last night "You are going to be the death of me" she meant to speak it sternly though it came across more of a sleepy mumble as she shifted herself to sit up and gathered her bearings. Naturally her eyes turned back to him scanning over his body for key signs of healing and much to her relief, even the deepest of the wounds were looking significantly better than they had before.

The peacefulness on her face turned to a somewhat pinched expression, one of discomfort and unease which wasn’t normal for sleep. It must had meant she was having an unpleasant dream and the Therian truly hoped that he wasn’t the cause since going to bed anxious and afraid could give way to terrible nightmares. There was a strong urge to wake her but her features took on a determined look which was strange, though maybe it was just the way she slept, going through different emotions. He couldn’t help but watch her even if he was sure it was odd and maybe a bit creepy but he found her fascinating and he was grateful for what she had done for him. Sariah had given him hope when he thought all options were gone and he was alive because of her quick thinking even if she had question that decision the whole way.

He didn’t mean to wake her but his fingertips brush against her cheek as he pulled his hand away from moving her hair. He could see the flutter of her eyelids before her sleepy eyes open as she blinked a few times as she slowly came to consciousness. He could see the wheels turning as she tried to place herself since this was far from where she normally woke up. Granted this was his own home and he had been a bit thrown off when he awoke even though he passed out on the couch more times than he would like to admit.

“I would hope not since that seems a poor way to thank you for saving my life.” There was a small smile on his lips since he was sure she meant her words in a stronger tone but she was still trying to awake up. “I’d offer you some coffee but I’m not ready to try to move that much or that far.” The kitchen wasn’t that far away but with his splinted leg and sore ribs it felt like it was on the other side of the city.

It was easy to see the concern in Sariah’s eyes as she looked him over but there seemed to be some relief in her gaze from the sight of he now lesser wounds. It was a wide relief to Orion as well since the fear of leaving his children was no longer weighing heavily on his mind. “I’m normally a much better host.” His tone of voice was low trying not to wake his children since he could hear their soft breathing and gentle snores elsewhere in the house.  

“Thank you, Sariah. Maybe I should have had you on standby but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to involve you.” Mostly he had never wanted to place her in the position she had been in the night before. “I’m sure that wasn’t the situation you hoped for when it came to a trail for the serum.” He could hear subtle rustling from other parts of the house. “Though it seems this may have to be a conversation for another time. If you’re willing to see me again.” He muttered well aware that almost dying wasn’t going to have her forget what happened or the pervious conversation they had. That was another they needed to discuss since he wanted to move past their current tension.

Despite the feeling of relief that came over her in the knowing that his supernatural healing had kicked in, Sariah couldn't stop the flurry of emotions that washed over her as her eyes finished scanning each of the injuries and a shaky breath of reassurance left her lips, for the most part she was glad that he was okay, greatful to whatever Gods had been watching over them that very night and somewhat nervous as to what it will all mean in the grand scheme of what they were or weren't. A smaller but longer present part of her however was still afraid of what killing Elijah really meant, it had been a rash and reckless decision and Orion seemed to be fine with the fact that he had just chosen to take someone's life.

The words saving my life lingered in the air for a few moments before a half smile crossed the blonde's lips "I guess we can now call it even" she answered smoothly and shrugged a little, he had after all ensured that she had gotten out of that rather dangerous situation she had been in when they first met. Despite her disagreement with the things he had done, Sariah knew she would have saved him 100 times over if she could have, meeting his children had been an eye opener for her into the kind of life they must have lived before they moved to Evermore city and the level of loss they had all been through, she really felt for them and wished nothing more than for them to be able to find some of the peace in life they craved. 

Sariah shook her head a little in response to his words about coffee "You shouldn't even be sitting up yet, let alone trying to walk" she admitted with a stern gaze though it softened a little as she looked back at him "Don't give any of us more reason to worry" she added a little more sincerely in somewhat of a request, she had no doubts that he was going to try and be back on his feet way faster than he should have, but she hoped that perhaps he had a little sense left underneath his naturally determined nature. 

A sad smile twitched at the edge of the human ambassdor's lips "I know way too much about trying to do everything on your own" she answered and shrugged a little "Eventually you have to admit there's no shame in asking for help" it was key to note that Orion never asked for her help, that had been the decision of his daughter, someone who had never even met her before. She brightened a little however when she realized that this meant the serum had positive results in trial, with some work they should be able to limit the level of pain reaction it had caused.

By now even Sariah could hear the stirring of both Seraphina and Arwyn upstairs, as much as she wanted to stay and make sure that all was going to be okay, the last thing she wanted to do was get in the way of what was respectfully a time for family. In response to his mutter Sariah pressed her lips together, the two of them had both been on a roundabout of emotions for the past 2 days and right now she didn't really know what it was she wanted "I think we both need some time, I need some time to process" she answered with a slight tilt of her head, there had been a lot shared between them and some of it was things she wasn't exactly open about discussing most of the time. "It's been a lot for a few short hours and I need to go home and shower" she answered agreeing that now wasn't the time to be trying to figure out their differences.

Sariah leaned forward to press her head against his shoulder gently for a moment in a semi hug, she didn't want to risk hurting him with the movement but at the same time she felt the compulsion to be close to him, just for a few seconds. "I'm glad Seraphina decided to call me" she admitted in a soft whisper as her eyes closed for just a few seconds to allow her to breathe in the moment. Afterwards she pulled away and slowly raised to her feet before rounding the couch and collecting the things she had left on the floor in the corner. Standing in the doorway she looked at him and smiled "I expect you to be back to full fighting form the next time I see you" she admitted with a half smirk as she turned and started to walk back through the way she had entered the house.

Very few people had ever really been worried over his soul and the consequences of his actions. They were something he worried over as well and it was kind of nice to have someone who cared again even if he was sure Sariah wasn’t used to this and a bit on edge over their situation. Which was a rather odd situation and occurrence, one neither was used to and there was so much more too it now other than the way they felt about one another. Their jobs weren’t necessarily in the way and maybe it was part of what was pulling them together and apart.

A painful chuckle left him as he pushed a gentle hand against his ribs, “Not sure about even but I appreciate it.” Sariah had been in a tough spot but Orion wasn’t sure her life had been hanging in the balance, but her safety sure had been. It was odd how it circled  back around in such a way since it was obvious they would both place their lives on the line for the other. Though it wasn’t exclusive to just one another, to protect others they would both throw themselves on the sword so to speak and he idea of her putting herself in the same sort of situation he did, was like a tight hand around his heart. When coming to Evermore all Orion wanted was a peaceful and simple life, one that didn’t place his children in danger or cause their fear of losing him and in that regard he had failed miserably.

Clear blue eyes rolled no longer clouded with pain, “I’m a man that goes against the grain but even I’ll admit walking sounds like a bad idea.” His leg was splinted but still in a delicate state and not something he should be standing on let along walking on. “Didn’t intentionally give anyone reason to worry to begin with…” His voice trailed off at the end since he was well aware that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. His intentions in facing Elijah had been the best of intentions but it caused more collateral damage and fall out than he expected.

Orion only had a vague idea of Sariah’s life but no one that strong became that way from being coddled and shielded from the world. “I’d say you don’t have to but you’re smart enough to know that.” Despite his age and so called wisdom her words were still something he struggled with. Asking others for help wasn’t something an Alpha was meant to do they were supposed to be pillars of strength and what the community was supposed to be able to lean on, not the other way around. “You might be smarter than I am.” A smile played across his lips since despite her random rambling at times she seemed to know what he needed to hear.

The stirring from upstairs was not unexpected since he was sure Sera and Arwyn were unsure of what they would wake up to. They could probably hear the hushed voices from downstairs as well which meant he and Sariah would have to find another time to discuss things farther. Sariah was right, they needed time, he needed time to heal and Sariah needed time to process and decide where they stood. “Take all the time you need.” Though he didn’t need time to think, thinking tended to be dangerous for his mental health since it could easily overwhelm him. “I’m sure this wasn’t how you expected to spend your night.” He soothed well aware that just about anything would have been better than spending her evening into the morning in such a way.

Orion’s arms loosely wrapped around Sariah in the best attempt at a hug he could currently give. The Alpha wanted to hold her tight and convince her that he was fine and going to be find but pulling her into a bear like hug would only hurt him in his current position. The contact was enough to clamed his raging mind. When she spoke of being glad Seraphina decided to contact her he said nothing even though he knew she only did so because Orion asked. He knew it would have been better to tell Sariah the truth right now but it was part of a longer and larger conversation. All too soon Sariah was pulling away and getting ready to leave and he hated to see her go. He wanted to walk her to the door but he knew she wouldn’t appreciate him pushing himself for such a small gesture even if it was what he wanted to do. “Hopefully I’ll be seeing you soon.” He couldn’t say he wanted her here, he could but they both seemed to know now wasn’t the time or the place and he had to respected she needed her time and space right now. As the door closed he laid back on the couch a soft sigh on his lips knowing he would have to soon face reality and the consequences of his actions.    

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