@emptyvictory said: [ wash up ] my muse is caught in the bathroom washing the blood from them by your muse.
mercy had grown accustomed to the odd noises you’d hear in the night after having lived in the city for so long. when you dealt with insomnia and stayed awake all night long, you learned to pick out the things you heard and figured out when to be concerned and when to simply let things go. while she wasn’t quite used to sharing her living space with anyone else, she was trying to learn how now that niko occasionally used her apartment as a safe house, a place to collect himself or take a breath, a place to prepare and to plan, so while she tried to give him as much space as she could, there were times her concern pulled her from her own affairs if only to ask him if he needed a hand every once in a while, even if it wasn’t exactly her place.
that was why this particular night had pulled her from her room. she saw light flooding from the open door of the bathroom into the hallway and wondered if maybe it would be best just to pretend as if she’d heard nothing, felt nothing, and should simply go to back to acting as if she were asleep. niko’s affairs were none of her business, right? but if that were the case maybe he wouldn’t have actually taken her up on her offer to stay with her, would have taken his troubles back to his own private space, rather than here with her.
whatever she’d have chosen to do though, didn’t matter much; her feet had already carried her into the doorway where she stood at the threshold, eyes widening when she saw him trying to rinse himself clean.
“please tell me that isn’t yours.”
whether he wanted her there or not the woman still moved to his side to offer some assistance, stepping in close despite her aversion to crossing over boundaries and issues of personal space; there was no time for anxiety or propriety here. not when something was potentially very wrong.
“what happened. and why didn’t you call me.”
these weren’t questions, and while her tone was firm and she was known for her volatile temper, mercy didn’t actually seem angry. if anything, she looked as if she held a bit of guilt behind her gaze. she wasn’t there to help, and if niko was hurt it meant she hadn’t been there to help him when he might have needed her.
none of it sat right with her, and it was preventing her from looking him in the eye. caring for someone else was so exhausting sometimes and as selfishly as she wanted to flip a switch and cut it all off before it consumed her, mercy was in far too deep for that now.
all she could do was at least try to assist in whatever way she could. she just hoped that would be good enough.