Even in these chains, you won't stop me

The impact stunned her, leaving a fierce ringing in her ears and a swirl of vile thoughts. It was almost enough to bring her out of her mental hell, almost. The impact had been jarring, and it distracted her enough from her pain for her to recognize the black, angry gaze that met her own holographic stare. Backing away from him, Lurid mumbled incoherently until he shouted at her to stop. The deep bellow of her name and the command made her jump, tensing muscles bringing a sharp pain snaking up her right forelimb, which made her suck in a breath between her teeth. Blinking at him and beginning to growl, Lurid snapped her agape maw shut with an audible click, and fixed him with an incredulous look. Threats, the deep, rumbling thunderstorm of a voice, that growl...She had known these things since she was little, and while they were directed at her, they did bring a tinge of comfort with them. She followed his orders, only defying his urging to keep going when she absolutely could not step any further. Lurid brewed internally, the wound causing colors and static to dance before her eyes.

It seemed to take forever, and the ivory demon did not greet the light well. Breaking from Alastor to turn back into the darkness with a shriek and her eyes shut tight. The moving air had washed her leg in searing, white-hot pain once again, and the light brought tears to her sensitive eyes. "Fuck!" She seethed but moved back out into the light alongside Alastor. Growling as he told her to sit, she obeyed, gingerly holding her leg up to him so he could study it in the light. At its widest point, the gash was an inch wide, and it tapered from just below her elbow joint all the way down to her metacarpals, on the same paw that had gotten cut on the crystal bridge. Her leg was horribly swollen, and the bone was nestled in the flesh but peeked through if moved the wrong way. If he looked carefully, he could even see the broken part of the bone where she had reset some of it. Luckily for her, it had been a clean break, but it made a right mess of her leg.  The pain began to numb itself, though Lurid suspected that was more from damaged nerves and swelling than actual healing. Her entire leg was bright crimson, a color that stained her neck and face as well. She visibly shook still, but being out of the dark helped with some of the residual shock.

She eyed the dark male as he came to touch her face, her brows furrowed with irritation, a look which slowly faded when she saw the sadness in his eyes. A series of jerking breaths came from her and she let fresh tears roll down her face, but leaned her head into his paw and tried to get herself together. The maddening, tornadic thoughts and memories that stemmed from pain were hard to get passed, panting and making awful, tortured sounds the whole time she struggled. Her nostrils flared, and she wore a stressed, lip twitching smile that broadcast how not okay she really was. She didn't blink, holding onto the onyx stare in front of her, trying to regain control. 'He looks so sad...' It was an echo from her memory, and while she heard him speaking, it was with the words from their young adolescence. 'You're okay, Lurid...' Maybe it was the pain clouding her thoughts or the way he was trying his best to be firm and gentle at the same time, hell, maybe it was the way the sun haloed him from behind, but she simply couldn't focus on what he was saying.

It was the way he cupped her cheek in the pad of his palm, the gentle drift of sandalwood and larkspur that hit her nose and made her mouth water. It was how he was looking at her. Blinking rapidly against tears and painfully sweet memories, Lurid cut off his speech as he admitted he was her Alleycat. 'Mine...' The thought came unbidden from her/ Without warning or hesitation, her good paw lifted so that she could reach out and touch his cheek then pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that demanded an answer. She kissed him as if that could magically heal her and she could function again; as if he had a magical healing potion on his lips and that was the only way she could get it. It was searing, possessive, needy, and desperate, but it was genuine. Alastor wanted her calm, and this was the only way she could think of that didn't mean hurting herself even more.