Yarra stirs slowly, the world blurring back into focus piece by piece. at first, she is only aware of the dark shadows enveloping her. then, a familiar bed. and then, even more importantly: Absinth, gazing down at her with those brilliant emerald eyes and that wickedly seductive mouth. it’s enough to make a woman forget she was even injured. Yarra stretches, grunting at the pain. Absi is a welcome presence hovering at the edge of her mind and distracting her from the wounds. Yarra isn’t sure if she wants to kiss her or sink her teeth into her. but isn’t it the same thing, really? “well, this is a pleasant sight,” she purrs, winking. she tries to sit up, but every inch of her pulsates with agony, a reminder of that devil man and the hell he’d unleashed upon her body. now that her mind has cleared from the fog of lust and pain, a fury has taken root in her heart, growing with every moment of suffering. she’ll destroy him, rend his pelt from his body - both for what he’s done to Yarra, and for any pain she suspects he’s caused Absinth in the path. sitting up, Yarra fights back a wince and offers Absi a little smirk, hoping to disguise the pain. “hello, saviour of mine.” despite her joke, she knows it to be at least partially true: Absi has transported her to safety, has taken her to her room. without her interference, well…who’s to say where Yarra would’ve ended up. but despite Yarra’s pride, she, as usual, doesn’t mind Absi having seen her in such a state. if anyone has earned her warped idea of trust, it’s the monochromatic fae. "Speech"

Absinth's emerald eyes flickered with conflicting emotions as she gazed upon Yarra, her heart torn between the affection she held for the injured woman and the deep-seated hatred and fear she harbored for her father, the one who had inflicted such pain upon Yarrabelle.

As she moved to brush Yarra's cheek tenderly, Absinth reeled with the haunting memories of her father's cruelty, the echoes of his past rage reverberating through her mind like a relentless drumbeat. The mere thought of him filled her with a visceral sense of dread, threatening to drown out the warmth of her affection for Yarra with the icy tendrils of fear. She did her best to put on a smirk, emeralds glinting in the low lighting of her den.

“You flatter me. You’d have done fine without my help, I’m sure.” Absinth whispered, her voice tinted with a hint of indignation as she sought to reassure both herself and the woman lying before her. Ah. Fuck. She hated the need to speak of him. But Yarrabelle deserved to know. “So. My father,” Her voice trailed off, half questioning, half exasperated.
wormwood

Absinth's expression is a mirage of conflictions, and Yarra tracks them carefully, taking a moment to gather her own thoughts. "your father," Yarra inclines her head, gaze darkening at his mention, "is a bitch." she cracks a grin, hoping for a moment of levity, but quickly grows solemn as she recalls her encounter with the pale man. much of it is a painful blur, tinged red with pain and lust. Yarra swallows past her rage, voice rasping from her injured throat. "he was...wet," she murmurs. "absolutely dripping. and...clearly unhinged." which is really saying something, coming from the Saxe woman. "and during our...scuffle...i said your name." she lifts her head, searching Absinth's gaze for a hint of anger or betrayal. she hadn't met to say the fae woman's name, but in the midst of Yarra's delirium, there'd been only one word on her lips. and for a moment, she could've sworn the figure looming over her was her tantalising lover. "he asked after you, Absi. pretty insistently." the madness in his eyes had intensified, and his grip on her had tightened. Yarra lifts a paw to rub absentmindedly at her bruised ribs. "i told him nothing of you. i swear it." she lifts her chin, letting Absinth look her fill and determine the truth for herself. "Speech"

Absinth's chest clenched with a mixture of gratitude and concern as she listened to Yarra's recounting of her encounter with her father. The mere mention of him stirred a horrible twisting of emotions within her, but she pushed them aside, focusing instead on the injured woman before her. He could deal with… herself later. Her lips twitched into a half-hearted smile at Yarra's attempt at levity, though it quickly faded as the gravity of the situation settled back over them like a heavy shroud. She reached out, fingers tracing Yarrabelle’s cheek as she focused on her words rather than the dread knotting in her stomach.

Her father was wet? Then he came from across the ocean. Fuck. Clearly unhinged? Double fuck. Absinth froze as Yarra spoke of a scuffle, and that her name had been slipped. Damn. The monochromatic woman’s emeralds met the magenta woman’s gaze carefully as Yarra spoke, as she rubbed at her ribs, and especially as she reassured her that she’d protected her location in the end. What was there to find? Absinth didn’t think Yarrabelle would lie to her, not when she could be her brutally honest self.

“Thank you. I believe you.” Absinth smirked softly, her voice laced with relief and certainty. “He is a bitch. A nutjob. What did he do to you? What… did he seem like?” She paused, her gaze locking with Yarra's, searching for any trace of more pain or suffering. She wanted to know how her father seemed; mad? Sad? Sane? The last one seemed the scariest. Which of his poisons was he going to bring to her doorstep?
wormwood

Absinth seems to believe her, and Yarra relaxes, some of the tension draining from her body. she’d been worried that Absi would blame her, accuse her of putting her in danger by dangling her in front of her father like a prized possession. and in a way, however inadvertently, Yarra had. but how to explain it’d been an instinct, a knee-jerk reaction to the agony pulsating through her? she’d been at the devil man’s mercy, uncertain as to whether each breath might be her last, and in what she’d thought to be her final moments she’d seen Absinth’s face vesting down on her, offering comfort. a sense of escapism. “he was…charismatic, at first,” Yarra supplies in answer to Absi’s question. it makes sense the Fae would want as much information about her father as possible, and Yarra is willing to help in any way she can. supply every detail, no matter how minute, if it might keep her safe. “a little bloodthirsty, of course, but nothing beyond what we’re used to.” a wry smile here, tugging along one side of her mouth. “but he grew increasingly unhinged, knew no edges or boundaries. and when he heard your name, Absinth…” her stomach roils at the memory, the crazed possessive in his glare. “he unravelled completely. became so crazed it chilled my blood.” Yarra hesitates, a question dancing on the tip of her tongue. “you don’t have to tell me, but i just want to ask…Absi, has he hurt you in the past? do you think he will again?” "Speech"

Absinth's expression softened as she listened to Yarra's account, her shoulders though felt heavy with the weight of knowledge that her father was near. Hunting her, essentially. It was all her mind kept circling back to. But she had to remain in the moment, had to keep her wits about her until she could let the scream that was caught in her throat out where no one could hear it. No one could hear her fall apart like she wanted to, and then pick herself back up to face the nightmare that had come to life before her eyes. She was allowed to do that, wasn’t she? Ah, fuckkk.

She reached out, her paw coming to gently trace those bruised ribs of Yarra’s, the very same her father had touched; only Absinth was far kinder than he. Offering tender circles in some attempt to ease Yarrabelle’s soreness. An apology for her sire’s cruelty. “It’s fine, Yarrabelle.” Absinth said, her voice low and resolute. Steady as she could make it sound. But what to tell the battered woman about her brush with death? “He… has a knack for getting what he wants, anyways. If he was already here, in boreas, then it was only a matter of time before he caught my trail, or heard my name on someone else’s lips. And were it anyone else who’s not so fond of me, they might have led him straight to me.” She breathes the last sentence out like a praise, emeralds locking onto Yarra’s own verdant gaze. Tough, brutal woman – she’d taken quite the beating keeping Absinth safe. The proof was in the pudding, as it were.

A shiver ran down Absinth's spine at the mention of her name triggering such a drastic reaction in her father. As Yarra continued, Absinth's brow only furrowed further, her mind racing with the implications of her father's behavior. She hadn’t expected him to be in a stellar mood, but… hadn’t he always preached about keeping intentions hidden, even if it drove you mad? Silly Absinth, he was always mad. Master manipulator, why had she ever believed a word out of his mouth? “He is insane, to put it frankly. I don’t think he ever had any fucking screws to begin with, let alone loose ones.” She murmured, the pieces slowly falling into place as she explained the behavior to the magenta woman. What Absinth didn’t expect was Yarra’s admission that even she had been unsettled by the ivory man. “He is angry with me. Very put out. He’s throwing a tantrum. Because I didn’t sit and stay and wait for him to collect me. I will be damned if he thinks he can come back into my life and toy with me.” Her tone had begun strongly, conviction lacing every word and backed by anger; but as she went on her tone trembled, frustration falling from her tongue alongside the words as her lips curled in a hateful sneer. She ran away from a fate chosen for her, and from his embrace. It was better than being his plaything, better than being a strung out whore too.

Yarra's question hung in the air, heavy with unspoken uncertainty. Absinth took a moment to gather her thoughts before meeting Yarra's gaze with a dull resolve. The resignation that the next words out of her mouth might damage the image of herself that Yarrabelle enjoyed so much. That the monochrome predator had once been prey. “He's... caused me pain in the past, among other things. I was – I am his favorite. Which to him is just a pretty way of saying I’m his current obsession. He plays with living things until he breaks them. Like a spoiled child, with ever replaceable toys.” Absinth admitted, her voice barely above a whisper as her face, her mask of strength and confidence cracked ever so slightly, eyes flickering between uncertainty and haunting memories. Why hadn’t he just filled the void she’d left with another soul, another daughter? Something, someone, anyone that wasn’t her. What was she to do with the fear in her heart, the despair of the child she had been when she ran away from him in the first place?

wormwood

Yarra is silent as Absinth speaks, offering the occasional scowl or supportive grunt but otherwise giving the fae room to work through her feelings. besides, she quickly becomes entangled in her own emotions, trying to navigate them silently so as not to interrupt Absi’s focus. But the way Absinth talks of her father…it twists her stomach up in revulsion, bile rising in her throat, anger and disgust heating her veins until she’s practically shaking with it. the fury is like nothing else, a discomforting buzz beneath her skin that itches for violence – but not just any target would do. no, the Saxe woman aches to sink her teeth into the devil man’s skin, to flay him alive, to make him suffer a slow, agonising demise until she’s repaid him ten times over for the pain he’d evidently put Absi through. but Yarra knows it isn’t her score to settle. she’ll back Absi however she can, stand beside her as she deals whatever punishment she feels fitting, but Yarra won’t take the vengeance that is rightfully Absi’s. “made you afraid of him,” Yarra says finally, spitting out the words. "you were a child, and he hurt you.” she moves as quickly as her injuries allow, attempting to embrace Absinth, should the fae allow it. “you know we won’t let him touch a hair on your pelt,” whispers, voice harsh in the ensuing silence. she tries to nuzzle against Absinth, to hook her chin over a white shoulder and breathe in that comforting scent. “you’re one of us, now, and we take care of our own.” a bit sentimental for the Saxes, perhaps, but true none-the-less. she’s confident even her uncle Rhazien wouldn’t allow Absi’s father to harm her, despite their fraught relationship. Yarra draws back to look Absinth in those brilliant green eyes. “but i also know that you’re not that scared pup anymore, and that you’re capable of taking care of yourself.” a wry smile hooks the corner of her lips, hiking up one side if her face. “i hazard your bastard father is in for quite the surprise, should he be unfortunate enough to run into you.” the smile fades, and Yarra’s voice turns solemn, gaze steady and earnest. “whatever you want to do here, darling, i’m with you. i hope you know that.” it’s probably rather obvious how gone she is for the monochrome woman, but Yarra can’t bring herself to care. "Speech"

Absinth listened to Yarra in silence, her expression gradually softening as she absorbed the raw emotion in the Saxe woman's words. The support, the rage, the promise of vengeance—it all resonated deeply, touching something in Absinth she hadn't let others reach in a long time. Maybe never. As Yarra's words trailed off, Absinth allowed herself to be drawn into the embrace, her body stiff at first but gradually relaxing into the comforting hold. The feeling of Yarra’s chin over her shoulder, the familiar scent, it all made her feel momentarily safe. It was strange. This was a different side to Yarrabelle, one Absinth hadn’t fully realized she was seeing until the comforting words washed over her.

“Yarra,” She whispered, her voice growing in confidence as she reigned herself in; her nares taking in the scent of the magenta female around her. “That means more than you know. Thank you.” She pulled back just enough to meet Yarra's gaze, her own eyes shimmering with gratitude and a flicker of the old fear that still haunted her. But she was making more of an effort to return to her usual demeanor, if not for her own sake then for Yarra’s. She wouldn’t want the other woman to think any less of her for wallowing too long.

The corners of her mouth twitched up in a small, appreciative smile as Yarra continued, affirming her strength. “I’m not that scared pup anymore,” Absinth agreed, her voice gaining a bit more of its usual steadiness. Small, scared, terrified that he would turn on her. “He won’t find the same girl he once knew. I’ve grown, I’ve learned. I’ve become something he never expected. Something he didn’t make. Serves him damn right.” Right. He expected her to fall in line immediately. Go running to him, but she didn’t need him anymore. Parasite she had freed herself from. Her smile widened, a hint of dark satisfaction in her eyes. “You’re right – he’s in for quite the fucking surprise.”
wormwood