Eternal City RP
Ailward Guard
Never one without the other. (Siobhan and Dominic)
Dominic sat in the worn plush recliner, slumped down in a fitful state of sleep if it could even be called that. The last four and half days had been equally the worst and best chaotic hours of his life.
Seeing Siobhan wake again in his arms after most certainly breaching the afterlife had nearly made him pass out as the mix of adrenaline and relief rushed over his body like the flood of a broken dam. It was a good thing he'd already been on his knees otherwise he would've collapsed with her right then on the spot. Time had slowed enough that he drank in every word she'd whispered to him, his chest having felt like it split open at hearing her voice again. Seeing that familiar soul behind those blue-green hues. The one that somehow looked back at him and thought he'd be worthy of her love.
Then mayhem erupted. Everyone was suddenly sweeping in to check in on Siobhan when all he wanted to do was take her from that room and bring her home. She was slipping in and out of consciousness and it took a lot of coaxing from Billie Mae to relinquish his hold on her to let the diviners check on her vitals and whatever else they needed to do to make sure the affect of Discord was truly gone and done with.
They hadn't been too sure.
Two days had gone by and she remained asleep. Her pulse was getting stronger, but she only slumbered. Hardly moving. The others tried to tell him it was good that she rested, but every moment she remained unconscious had only made him more worried that she would never wake again. So as she slept, he stayed awake, pacing about her room, about the hall where they'd put her. Then through the thousands of bookcases before coming back again to her room where she continued to lay in bed with magical swirls of energy rotating around her which monitored a variety of things on her wellbeing. Or so he was told.
On the third day they said she could come home with him and it had only relieved him slightly. Penelope had decided she would be okay without their spellwork, but to consistently keep an eye on her. As if it were possible to do anything else. Dominic had placed her in his bed and there she remained for the next day with no change as he constantly came in to check on her while texting the others with updates on her condition.
Now it was the fourth day. Siobhan remained looking peaceful and he had watched the even rise and fall of her chest from the doorway where he leaned against the frame. His body was screaming at him to sleep and so he found himself in the recliner he'd taken from the living room to keep vigil, a cup of old coffee in his hand from early in the morning. Despite what his body wanted, his mind would still not let him pause, so though he was drifting somewhere between asleep and not, something seemed to be tethering him back to consciousness.
His eyes lifted with great effort and he saw Siobhan sleepily looking to him from the bed as pale afternoon light cascaded over her. She was looking at him.
Dominic nearly dropped the mug as he moved. Placing the drink down on the floor, he sat on the side of the bed and reached for Siobhan's hand, kissing her fingers, and putting them against his face. He stared quietly for a moment at the familiar eyes he'd missed before speaking, his voice raspy since he hadn't used it in over a day. "Hey, you."
Ailward Guard
✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~
Dominic gently squeezed her and breathed into her hair. He didn't deserve Siobhan. He never did. Especially now when he had been adamant the years before that they couldn't be together anymore when Evermore had taken a turn on a path for the worse and he had pushed Siobhan out of his life. "I'm not going anywhere. Take whatever time you need. I'll be here for you as long as you want me." He didn't want to fall asleep then. The fear that she wouldn't be here when he woke up again made his chest tighten, but he forced himself to relax and oblivion took him in only a few short moments.
Somehow, it was always his nose that woke him up. Or so it used to be when there was someone else in the house besides him. Usually it would be his alarm that had to drag him from sleep when he was able to get a few hours and that was because the liquor was holding him under with an iron grip. It was one of the only ways he could get any rest. Now though...
The sudden thoughts had him forcing himself awake. A shiver of panic had him looking down to the pillow that he clutched which should've been Siobhan and he was suddenly wondering if it had all been a dream. Those terrible hours raced through his head of watching Siobhan battle her way back from death. What if she hadn't made it? What if he had made it all up in his head to cope after passing out from exhaustion? Maybe he was finally losing his fucking mind. It was about time too, but no. The scents of everything suddenly slammed into him like he'd run into a wall of sensory overload as he spiraled. Bacon, coffee, Yaya, and... her.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Dom moved through the doorway, though every step felt heavy with the expectation of disappointment. Then, relief made his knees nearly buckle. Seeing Siobhan in the kitchen again, cooking as she loved to do with the animals surrounding her and looking for any scraps like they hadn't eaten in days, felt like he'd fallen into some dream. It was so normal. At any moment he expected to actually wake, but he made himself move.
He wanted to reach out and touch her as he neared. He wanted to keep Siobhan wrapped in his arms and safe from the world, but smothering her was not going to help her through any of it. Especially since they both needed to figure themselves out again. So, instead of caging his arms around her waist, he flexed his hands to shake out the need and moved to the cabinets instead, opening one to pull mugs down. "You would be cooking instead of resting," he murmured enough for her to hear and smirked, pouring the coffee into the cups. "How are you feeling?"
Aug 9
Nephilim
✓ Siobhan Leslie ~Mod~
✧ Never one without the other ✧
Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach, a ghost of a gesture she had made so many times before, though now it only served as a reminder of what had been lost. If she had known then, maybe things would have been different. But those thoughts were a dangerous path, leading her into the endless spiral of what-ifs that she couldn't afford to fall into. She swallowed hard and focused on the task in front of her, flipping the bacon with a practiced hand, trying to push the haunting memories aside.
She moved to plate the food, preparing a dish for him even though she wasn't sure if he wanted it. It felt like such a simple act, but it was one that connected her to the time when things were easier between them. She joined him at the table, where he poured coffee, the rich aroma mingling with the scent of the bacon. "Asking the heavy questions already?" she teased, her fingers trailing gently over Fluffy's head as the dog nestled it in her lap. The warmth of the fur beneath her fingers was a small comfort in the overwhelming sea of emotions.
"I'm better in the sense that I'm me again," she continued, her voice softer now, more introspective. "No more battling for control, no more struggling just to be present." But as she spoke, she couldn't ignore the reality of her situation. Her body was weak, frail even. The clothes she wore hung off her frame, two sizes too big, a stark reminder of how much she had lost. "I don’t even know the last time I ate," she admitted, taking a cautious bite of the food. She wasn’t sure how her body would react after so long without proper nourishment. "Discord kept me weak by barely letting me eat. Alcohol was its favorite… I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to drink again." She shrugged, but the movement sent a sharp pain through her shoulder, a stiffness that reminded her she was healing at a painfully slow human rate.
Her thoughts drifted to the idea of a hot bath, something that might ease the ache in her muscles, but the thought of undressing filled her with dread. The scars that marred her body were not just physical; they were a testament to the horrors she had endured. Last time, she had been perfect in his eyes—soft, unblemished, angelic. Now, she felt like a shadow of that person, a woman broken and scarred by unimaginable pain.
She caught her reflection in the window, and the sight nearly broke her. Her once vibrant purple eyes were dull, sunken, and her skin had lost its healthy glow. She reached up, touching her cheek lightly, feeling the roughness of uncared skin beneath her fingers. The memories flooded back, unbidden—Discord's cruel games, the drugs, the fights, the strangers who inflicted pain on her, the knives, the whips. Her body had become a canvas of suffering, and she couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing her like this.
She could feel the weight of the silence between them, the tension of all the unsaid words and unresolved emotions. Finally, she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "Discord was always seeking ways to gain full control—drugs, fights, sleeping with strangers, having them hurt me… knives on my skin, whips on my back, and it wouldn’t let my body heal as a reminder of the pain. Unless I handed everything over to it." A small snarl escaped her, a flash of anger at the memories that refused to let go.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, afraid of the expression she might find on his face whether it was horror or pity. Fluffy's head was still in her lap, and she stroked it gently, unsure if she was trying to comfort the dog or herself. After another long moment, she finally lifted her gaze to him, trying to shift the mood, even just a little. "I see you kept a lot of the things I made," she said softly, a tentative smile on her lips. It was a small thing, but it was something—proof that some part of her had remained in this space, in his life.
Aug 20
Ailward Guard
✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~
Dominic followed to the small table for two and sat across from her. Though the plate was there and he hadn't eaten in the blur of days that all melted together, he kept to the coffee he'd poured for them, lifting it to sip and still being unable to keep his gaze off Siobhan. It still didn't feel real that she was here let alone alive after everything. He expected the shoe to drop at any moment, proving to him that the hope he had clung too was nothing but a joke to the universe as it inevitably ripped her away from him again.
He remained quiet as Siobhan scratched the surface of the years she was being manipulated by Discord. It made a flurry of emotions break over him, not one lasting long enough for him to really hold onto. All he wanted to do was reach out and wrap his arms around her again. Hold her to ensure she didn't shatter into pieces that he knew he probably couldn't put back together again. It was something Siobhan had to work through on her own too, but Dom would always be sure to be there for her when she faltered and needed someone to lean on. Scream at. Whatever it would take to find her way out of the darkness. So, he clasped his hands around the mug in an effort to not smother.
It was hard to listen to, but she didn't need coddling either. Time had proven that given the extreme circumstances Siobhan had endured in her life. She had always been and still was the strongest person he knew. Her resilience had always been astounding because if it had been him in her place, he knew he would've broken. Pieces of him were breaking now even when she actually thought he cared about the physical change her body had taken from the varying forms of abuse she endured. Dom instantly shifted from the chair he sat in, to kneel on a knee before her.
His hand gently took hers in his, resting them on her lap as his thumb brushed softly against her skin, his other hand cupping her face, his fingertips sliding into her hair. "Sweetheart," he started, finding her gaze. "You will always be beautiful to me. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing." His voice was low, but also resolute so she understood he meant it. "If you don't want me to help or aren't ready to see yourself just yet, that's okay. Maybe the best option is the outdoor shower. Privacy and no mirrors." He stroked along the edge of her sharper cheekbone for a silent heartbeat before dropping his hand and pulling away.
His eyes swept over the cabin and a wry smile formed. "Yeah, I just left them up. Decorating is not really my thing and some of that shit in the shed is too heavy to load in the truck and donate." They both knew perfectly well he could lift pretty much anything she made given his therian strength. Dom had tried to pack it up. More than a couple of times. It never worked out as planned. "The rest of your stuff is still there. Tools. Wood. Everything I was going to hang onto for you till you found your own place. I'm not sure what Rissa did with the things at your apartment since you've been gone though. I think she put it all in storage."
Dominic slid back into his chair and grabbed a piece of bacon to fold entirely into his mouth. It was time he began taking care of himself again too and eating was a good start. A small groan of pleasure rumbled through his chest as he grabbed for another. "I've asked for a small leave from taking anything on from the Ailwards. Only if it's an emergency or meetings will they call me in. But.. don't think you can't ask for some alone time too. If you want it to just be you, I can head out. Work or stay at the manor. It's not like there are many places to be alone here, so I can find somewhere else to be if you want space."
Nov 12