Panic blossomed in her chest. Elrena was not a woman that cried easily, or often, or without a great cause. The times Strelitzia had seen her precious person cry was in the single digits, and each time had been burned into Strelitzia’s heart.
She cradled Elrena against her in a hug, shushing and rubbing against her back in slow circles, rocking back and forth. She didn’t have anything to say--not until Elrena spoke about what was hurting her so much--so Strelitzia only murmured soft promises.
“I’m right here. I’m not leaving. I’ll keep you safe...”
Who hurt you? What hurt you?
And something...something stirred in her heart, then. Something not so nice. It burned, right in the center of her chest. Like an angry, smoldering ember. It was as surprising as it was frightening, but...when she hurdled over the fear, Strelitzia found herself ready for a fight. Any fight.
“I won’t let them hurt you again,” she whispered, her arms tight. This time, I’ll be protecting you...!
nonsexual acts of intimacy --- select from the following for my muse to respond to:
♔ : Finding your muse wearing their clothes
♕ : Holding hands
♖ : Having their hair washed by your muse
♗ : Your muse falling asleep with their head in my muse’s lap.
♘ : Cuddling in a blanket fort
♙ : Sharing a bed
♚ : Head scratches
♛ : Sharing a dessert
♜ : Shoulder rubs
♝ : Reading a book together
♞ : Caring for each other while ill (specify which party is which)
♟ : Patching up a wound
♤ : Taking a bath together
♧ : Your muse playing with their hair
♡ : Accidentally falling asleep together
♢ : Forehead or cheek kisses
♠ : Your muse adjusting their jewelry/neck tie/ etc.
♣ : Back scratches
♥ : Your muse crying about something
♦ : Slow dancing
If it were anyone else, Elrena would have thundered the person to the point that they were just a twitching mess on the floor…but to see Letzie be in such blissful joy after what happened…it destroyed any rage that built in her. Hearing the laughter that spilled out of Letzie caused Elrena’s face to burn hot, her heart to start beating quicker…and for her to start laughing with her. Her pride was hurt slightly due to her Keyblade being modified, but that was nothing compared to the relief of finally being able to laugh with Letzie again. Elrena could feel the tears start to fall down her face from how long she was laughing. This was great. This was good. This was…perfect.
Seeing Letzie summon her own Keyblade and poke hers, Elrena faked a huff, “So first you laugh at my Keyblade and then you make that joke? I am deeply offended.” Sarcasm was dripping on Elrena’s voice and the fact that there was a grin threatening to break on her face added to that. She couldn’t really be mad at Letzie…it just wasn’t possible.
Elrena’s eyes softened and she thought to herself, “…It’s great to hear you laughing again Letzie…” Elrena could feel the same heat on her face bloom stronger, but she didn’t care, she hated hiding her feelings sometime…and with that mark on her ankle…
Her laughter died down to nothing at Elrena’s fond remark. Well, less died and more like...it simply caught in her throat like her breath. Elrena’s words left her stunned and stammering, ducking her head down. She relinquished her Keyblade and fiddled with her blanket instead, a smile curling her lips that she couldn’t help.
“You know...Your Keyblade wasn’t...”
Oh, how to address this? To be honest, Strelitzia hadn’t intended on confronting those words any time soon. She’d...she’d been at rock bottom all over again, trauma and her own lack of self esteem pushing her down, down, down. How fitting, that Elrena somehow made her want to get back on her feet despite it all.
And...how wonderful was it, that her heart--aching so fiercely, begging for relief--seemed to calm down the moment Elrena’s was beating in synch.
“...It isn’t the only thing I remember from that night,” Strelitzia said, trying to be careful. She didn’t...maybe it wasn’t the kind of love that she was thinking it was. After all, the love between friends--that was just as powerful and special a bond as the one she maybe wanted between them. And if Elrena wasn’t--if Elrena wasn’t her Fated, wasn’t romantically interested--
She put a hand to her chest and winced at the thought.
...It’d hurt, Strelitzia knew that much. She wasn’t going to pretend that it wouldn’t.
...But, still. If Elrena loved her this much, as a friend? Then what more could she possibly ask for?
“Y-you know what, nevermind!” Strelitzia tried to laugh it off, looking away shyly as her own face bloomed with color. “I--it’s silly, don’t worry about it.”
Hearing Letzie’s voice should’ve calmed Elrena’s nerves and guilt, but everything just intensified ten fold. Her voice held so much pain that Elrena felt her stomach fall into the darkest pits of hell; where it deserved to be.
Quickly wiping her own tears, Elrena loosened her grip on Letzie’s hand but made sure to still hold her hand, “I-I mean…technically yeah…but if I was just a little faster then…then that bastard would be fried right now,” Elrena felt a similar anger started to bubble in her chest when thinking of how royally she fucked up that night, but she couldn’t feel like that right then. She needed to be there for Letzie.
Hearing the other’s comment about her Keyblade, Elrena felt a surge of pride bloom in her chest, something that was rare as of late since she regained her heart.
“Yeah…it took its sweet time coming back,” Elrena moved her right hand to her left hip and acted like she was unsheathing a blade, but instead a flash of light and a minimal current of lightning occurred and, “Wh-WHAT THE HELL!?”
Elrena’s face morphed into a comedic level of shock and anger when her Keyblade’s form appeared, “THIS IS LIKE MY FOUDRE ALL OVER AGAIN! I’M GONNA SHATTER THAT STUPID PIECE OF THAT GLASS!!!!!”
Strelitzia looked on in shock as the dramatic flourishing unveiled a...a children’s toy. She pursed her lips together as Elrena began to huff, sparks literally threatening to fly. It would be...so so rude, so rude to laugh. Plus, it’d hurt.
So she wouldn’t.
She...definitely....definitely--
“Pft--”
The first little giggle escaped, followed by a series of short, choppy laughs that bordered on wheezes.
“Oh--Oh no! Oh no ow! Oh!” She couldn’t stop herself from laughing, even if it hurt. “Ohhhh it looks so sillyyyyhehehehe--!”
She propped herself up to a sitting position, her smile wide. She wiped tears of genuine mirth from her face, coughing slightly. She stopped for a moment, breathing in and out, hand fanned over her chest to recover before lifting it up. With a pulse of light and flower petals, Strelitzia summoned her own.
“Mine’s still bigger,” she teased lightly. Then, she tilted it to lightly tap against Elrena’s Keyblade, surprised to hear a slight ting, as if the foam were actual metal. “Boop.”
The hell that Elrena had gone through while Letzie was recovering was worse than Sora killed Larxene and reformed again. She watched through the window of Letzie’s room to just see the other’s chest rise and fall, the sign that she was still alive. Flashes of that night kept her up to the point that hallucinations started to frequent her vision, but thankfully the last two nights she slept a little, so no more hallucinations.
For the first couple days of Letzie’s stay in the hospital, the medical staff wouldn’t let Elrena in. The first time Elrena started to yell at the poor nurses, who didn’t have fear in their eyes, but sympathy, and tried to sooth her. That just pissed the blonde off more and security had to escort her out. After Letzie was out of critical condition, a nurse notified her that she could enter Letzie’s room.
“…th-thanks…”
Slowly entering Letzie’s room, Elrena felt her head and eyes pulse with every beat of her heart; Letzie still looked so still, but the small movement of her chest and the eventual tightening of her fists told her that she was still alive.
Elrena rushed to the side of Letzie’s bed and grabbed her hand and squeezed, “Th-thank god…” words couldn’t express how Elrena felt right now and she hated it.
Feeling the tears fall, “I-I….I’m sorry that I couldn’t s-stop him….”
She jumped, then winced at how--
How this simple, human little reaction, caused a ripple-effect web of aches and pains to shoot through her body. Her entire chest ached with it. Or...Or maybe it was because she was seeing Elrena cry. And that--
Had that happened before? No, Strelitzia realized. She’d seen Elrena emotional, a few tears here and there, but this? This was something new. Something she hadn’t even seen before, back in the Age of Fairytales.
Be strong. Be strong for her, this time!
So Strelitzia swallowed, and dried her own tears. She gripped back, trying to sit up a little in bed, at least so she didn’t feel like she did back with the Hanahaki.
“Mm--mm. N-nnnnope.”
The words came out in a thin rasp, but Strelitzia smiled when they left anyway. It was genuine, despite how small it was, because Elrena deserved that, even if Strelitzia couldn’t give her precious friend the big bright grin she wanted.
“You don’t...g-get...to blame yourself,” Strelitzia said slowly, carefully. It hurt to talk, but she’d deal with it. “It’s...because you were with me...that I got here, safe and sound, right...? I-I...remember seeing you wi-with, your Keyblade. It was so pretty...”
The tension in the S.S.A. was thick, draping over the building like a cursed zone. Amaterasu’s ears were lowered in distress, flat against her head. There was no Guardian Sapling to restore, no way for her to bring peace to the land. The goddess felt so powerless; no Divine Intervention would have any power here.
The wolf trotted along the empty halls, paw pads making light sounds on the polished tile. Most of the humans who frequented these halls were either out working, or in their own homes. It felt so desolate compared to days prior. While the goddess typically enjoyed the quiet, this was just unsettling.
Instincts told her to check up on those who lived within the walls of the building. Some were out in other locations, others keeping themselves occupied to stay distracted. One, however, had yet to leave her chambers.
Strelitzia Nicolai. Amaterasu was most worried about this child.
Gently the wolf nudged the door open with her muzzle, the slow creak cutting through the bleak silence. Taking careful steps she padded over to the bedside, letting out a soft whimper to alert the human maiden to her presence. Poor thing… Looked so downtrodden.
She sat down on her hind legs, head coming to rest on the mattress. Her charcoal gaze was filled with concern, ears still laid against her head. Perhaps Amaterasu could provide brief solace…
Her “official” orders were: bed rest, bed rest, fluids, and what a surprise, bed rest. Strelitzia no longer had the energy to argue with that plan, truth be told. She didn’t have the energy for...most things.
It was like her heart itself was numb. Not just the organ, but...like, the whole of her heart. Her emotions, her strength, her will.
Just...gone.
I’m depressed, Strelitzia noted listlessly.
She heard the door opening and didn’t even flinch. Who cares who it is, she thought nastily. Maybe it was the Killer Joke back to finish what he started. It’d serve her right, wouldn’t it? Useless Strelitzia, who couldn’t even protect herself at the height of her power, killed right in her bed.
The only regret she carried was that Elrena would be so, so sad. But she’ll recover. And Wonderland will give her a Fated partner that will make her so, so happy, so what if I want to tear their hair out just thinking about them, it doesn’t matter, if she’s happy then I--
There was a wolf on the bed. Strelitzia thought it was a dog, at first, but most dogs weren’t so big, and didn’t have strange markings all over. Granted, they were a little hard to see--like Strelitzia’s vision was blurry--but definitely there.
“...Oh,” she squeaked quietly. “H-hi. Um. Did...you open my door?”
flowers for the girl in white || Strelitzia+Elrena
@cutthroat-nymph
TW: Injury mention.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Strelitzia woke up and immediately wished she wasn’t awake. Her chest was tight and sore, her heart a weeping mess, her lungs fluttering and weak; she wasn’t even completely sure she was breathing under her own power. The more aware she became, though, she realized she didn’t have that--that awful tube down her throat.
Just the ones in her nose. Eugh.
...How many times?
Strelitzia swallowed--or tried to. Her throat was dry. Her skin felt itchy and tight; like it’d been days since she’d had a proper shower. For all she knew, it might have been.
How many times...am I going to end up like this?
It’d happened as Nyctoblivia. Then during the Hanahaki incident. And now, this. Her hands clenched into fists and she focused only on breathing, trying not to cry. If only some good were coming from this--maybe more memories, anything!--it wouldn’t hurt so fucking much! But all she could remember was that devastated expression on Elrena’s face...and a...a Keyblade?
And...
“I...I love you...”
But that...that couldn’t be right. That couldn’t be right at all. Strelitzia bit at her lips and dragged an arm over her eyes, trying to force back the urge to cry.
The talks of a serial killer now being in Wonderland put Elrena on such an edge that she was sure that her lightning was shooting out everywhere; she knew of course that that wasn’t the case…but this was hitting too close to home. Memories of the first time that Letzie disappeared and finding out…what really happened. It made her walk to the other’s apartment even quicker. She needed to make sure that Letzie was okay.
Eventually the two did meet and had their dat- hangout session. Feeling Letzie’s hand hold her own felt right. For once in a long time, Elrena was happy. She was reunited with Letzie, Lauriam was back, the only missing piece was for the two siblings to meet, but that needed some planning in order to not overload her girlfrie- friend. She needed to stop slipping. Nothing’s been confirmed yet between them. She didn’t want to pressure Letzie into anything.
Chuckling, “Listen, the darkness has nothing on me, especially when I got youuuuu and Chirithy here!” Elrena tried to play off her little slip up, “and let’s be honest, I can just shock whoever tries to mess with us.”
Hearing Chirithy’s comment, she couldn’t help my roll her eyes and flick one of the Dream Eater’s ears, “Calm down~ I can teleport us real quick back to Letzie’s place before anyone could cuff me.” Even though Elrena tried to brush it off, she noticed that her walking pace had quickened after Chirithy mentioned the curfew…something wasn’t right…
“Hey, don’t flick my ears!” Chirithy hopped out of Strelitzia’s grip and landed on Elrena’s shoulder, lightly tugging on one of the long locks of hair. “Since your Chirithy isn’t back yet, it’s up to me to look after you too! You think I’d let my best friend’s Chosen wander around helplessly? Prepare yourself for nagging!”
Strelitzia watched and giggled, though Elrena speeding up did surprise her. The loose grip she had on the other girl’s fingers slipped, and Strelitzia didn’t mind it that much. She had to up her own pace a little, but there was something so...so gentle, and warming, watching Chirithy and Elrena interacting.
It was enough to send her heart fluttering. Then Strelitzia became aware of pounding footsteps; heavy, deadset, coming in fast. Police? Strelitizia turned around, hands held up in surrender.
“Ah, mister officer, please don’t arrest us, we’re going to the SSA I sw--”
TW: Blood, Violence, Injury (Extreme)
It was a blur.
Strelitzia choked out as the blade slide in deep. The serrated grinding against her ribs, the strangely painless tingling of metal peeling apart flesh. It was so cold, too, that it contrasted deeply as her assailant pressed close against her.
A crunch echoed in her head as the knife was twisted and then thoughtlessly extracted. She felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her backwards--as if her body were trash hanging off of the cutting edge of something precious--and she fell backwards. Wet, gasping whines left her throat as she clawed at the wound gushing hot red from her chest.
It backflowed, and she coughed, blood spraying out of her mouth. Her heart, then? And a lung, if the fluid quickly filling was any indication. She could hear Chirithy screaming in shock, their little voice breaking.
There was a figure above her that Strelitzia could barely make out. A man. Masked? There was a card drifting from his fingers, a Joker card, coming to rest in the growing pool of red.
...Again?...
I-I’m going...to die...again?
N-No! Please, no! Wide, glassy eyes stared above, rolling toward Elrena. Had she heard...? Would...would she have to see...again?
N-not her...not her...please, not her, don’t look, ‘Rena, don’t look, just run--!
These flowers were a godsend. A wonderful display of colour lit up in a yellow-y haze. Mikoto was used to displays such as these, having previously lived in an area better described as the Garden of Schools, yet that didn’t stop her striding merrily between the flower beds, her school bag in hand, humming a merry tune at her lips.
A tune matched by this girl with her watering can, sprinkling little trails of water dancing between spots of yellows and purples.
Mikoto paused in her footsteps as the other girl spoke.
“Not at all. I wasn’t waiting long at all. Still, flower arrangements, huh?”, Mikoto hummed to herself. Floral arrangements were the highlight of a young lady’s education. Or so it was said. Mikoto didn’t regard herself as much of a young lady but, well, she was a Tokiwadai student. She couldn’t say she wasn’t familiar with the art of arranging flowers. “Sure. Sounds like fun. I’m Mikoto.”, she shrugged, waving a hand in greetings. “Please lead the way, Miss…”
“Nicolai! S-Strelitzia Nicolai. But just Strelitzia is fine!”
Oh, shoot. She was probably letting her nerves get the better of her. She fidgeted in place before waving in response; it was probably, pathetically clear that Strelitzia was not...exactly...the best at speaking with people. Let alone strangers.
“R-right then. The flower arrangements! If you’ll just follow me...” She carefully picked her way over the clutter of tools and flower seeds, hopping back onto the path. She led Mikoto a few minutes away to a community greenhouse, where the other workers were already instructing their volunteers in bouquets and arrangements. Strelitzia found a clear table and grabbed the essentials; two vases, a pitcher of clean water, and a basket to hold all of the flowers.
“So! Um, I guess. we can just, stroll around here and see what you like the best. Or if you want to talk about flower language, we can pick out a special message. W-whichever you’d like.”
third time’s the (unlucky) charm || Strelitzia + Larxene
@cutthroat-nymph
Things were...
A little scary, in Wonderland.
A spree of killings, a bodycount that ticked higher with every phase of the moon? The Darkness would have had a party in Wonderland, if Heartless could manifest here. Strelitzia was relieved on that note; if Heartless were in Wonderland, they’d be drawn to the Keyblade. It’d put Elrena in danger. It’d put anyone in danger, really, but Strelitzia wasn’t too bothered.
It was okay...to be a little more protective over your Fated, right?
Not that she was certain Elrena was hers. She’d yet to ask Elrena to show off her ankles, and she didn’t want to push. They were still good, good friends, the best, and Strelitzia was content with that. Even if she was Fated to...to someone else, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be with Elrena, right?
The bonds between Hearts is stronger than even destiny, Chirithy told her quietly. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
“Thanks,” she whispered to her Dream Eater, before she swung the hand holding Elrena’s playfully. “What a spooky memory we’re making, huh? Listen...I don’t want you going off alone in the dark, okay? I know you’re a big girl and you can take care of yourself, but why take the risk? We can have a sleepover! I’ll make you those cookies you like so much!”
You, cooking? I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.
“It’s baking, Chirithy, it doesn’t count!” she whined, before summoning the spirit to their true form with a huff, holding them out under their stubby little arms. “I can bake better than I cook, for sure, b-but I’m getting better!”
“Better at burning, maybe,” Chirithy teased.
“Ugh, you’re the worst.”
“Hee hee. Anyway...” Chirithy’s floppy ears twitched. “You two really should start to hustle. It’s not safe out on the streets this late. Plus, do you want to get caught breaking curfew, Elrena?”
Spring was finally upon Wonderland, which meant that the flowers of the Walk of Hearts were in fragrant, riotous bloom. The air had a cheerful tinge of color to it, a sunny yellow haze. Realistically, it was probably just pollen, but Strelitzia didn’t mind it either way.
With Chirithy on her back in their sling, and her gardening gear on, the young woman carefully trekked up and down the lines of flower beds with her watering can, carefully sprinkling the freshly blooming crocus and daffodil, humming a wordless melody.
The soft sound of footfalls brought her head up, and she shielded her eyes against the sunlight.
“Oh, hello! I’m so sorry, I-I hope you weren’t waiting long. Anything I can help you with? We’re doing some flower arrangements, if you’d like to participate.”
