Log; Complete

[henkonasuisho.livejournal.com]

When; March 27, Moody weather day
Rating; PG
Characters; [Smee (b_q_smee)] + [Zaheela (henkonasuisho]
Summary; What they came for was a chess game, unfortunately the city isn't the city without the drama...
Log;

Zaheela sipped her coffee calmly in the corner of the cafe, her eyes half shut and the simple chess set already set up. Her laptop was closed and tucked away so that she could focus on the match at hand. The hot liquid slithered down her throat, leaving the sensation of the warmth settling in her stomach. She couldn't help but think she was forgetting something though, and it showed with her ear twitching once in a while. Regardless, she waited for Smee to appear for their match.

Needless to say, Smee was rather looking forward to a relaxing chess game. The City had a habit of causing all kinds of stress and though the little pirate had slowly become used to it, it didn’t make it any more enjoyable. And besides, he hadn’t had time to really see Zaheela in a while, and he missed her. So it was with a smile on his face that he pushed open the door to the Café and entered, Lady trotting in right behind his ankles.

The ear twitched as she heard the cafe doors open, but she didn't turn around like she wanted to. She was anxious to see her friend, as he NORMALLY was, but turning around every time the door opened was somewhat pointless. She didn't realize that the sound of footsteps were interrupted by the small padding of a four legged animal; She was too busy enjoying the warmth of her coffee on a day like this. Over her head, a small sun, partially covered by some clouds hung over her head, a indicator of the curse. Hands wrapped around the cup, she waited, looking pleased.

The scrumpy pirate had not been hit by the curse himself, but he had observed the effects through the network, and therefore was not surprised by the appearance of a sun and some clouds over the Mithra’s head. He resisted the urge to just run up and give her a hug, as she did have a cup of something hot in her hands. Instead, he merely grinned, stopping by her table. “Th-this s-s-seat taken?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

Zaheela's head snapped up at the playful question and smiled, the clouds instantly disappearing as she placed the cup down and stood up to motion to the seat across from her.
“You know it's been reserved, silly.” She laughed, a bright smile on her face. She noted the small kitten following Smee, and only smiled. She kneeled down to pet the kitten.
“Such a cute kitten you have following you here.”

Smee couldn’t help but smile in return to the one he was offered, though he frowned severely when Lady hissed as Zaheela reached down to pet her.
“Lady!” he scolded, even as the kitten scooted away from the Mithra, retreating to behind the little pirate’s ankles. “Lady, that was very rude!” The kitten only looked up at him, letting out a small meow, her green eyes turning on Zaheela warily. Smee frowned in reply. “Don’t be ridiculous.” he told the kitten. “There is nothing wrong with her whatsoever.” He turned his face back towards Zaheela. “Right?”

To say she was startled was absolutely correct. She didn't know what could of set the kitten off, or how Smee could understand the small cat. Her hand stayed in place in the air.
“I don't think that I'm sick...” She murmured, unsure of what Smee meant. She stood up straight, the sun quickly turning into a confused breeze, whipping up her hair.
“I'm pretty sure that I'm fine. I've been researching in the library for the most part, maybe it's the smell of the books?” She questioned, eying the kitten and then Smee, her tail curling and uncurling slightly.

Smee frowned in reaction, looking as confused as the weather above Zaheela’s head currently displayed her as being. “I d-don’t—“ he cut off as the kitten meowed at him again, slipping back further behind his ankles as the Mithra stood. “Wh-wha-? Of...th-th-that’s terribly...”He turned his attention back to his friend. “She s-says y-y-y-you smell of d-death?”

It hit her, like a pail of ice water. Her eyes darted to the side. Ah, that... She remained quiet, unsure of what to say. It was true, when she had been... defeated, he was heartless. Zaheela didn't say a word, only closed her eyes.

If anything, the frown on Smee’s brow only deepened at her reaction, concern and worry clearly stealing onto his face. “Zah--?” he asked, reaching out and placing his hand over hers in concern. However he had to force back the need to immediately recoil, instead, lifting his hand off hers, brown eyes wide. “Zah, y-y-you’re l-like ice! Are you s-s-sure y-you’re n-not sick?”

She took a deep breath and shook her head, steeling herself for the inevitable reaction. Her eyes opened, and focused on Smee. She wouldn't hide this. She didn't MEAN to, but it had slipped her mind.
“No, I am not sick. And you shouldn't be surprised that I'm as cold as ice. I was killed.” Was her calm answer, the clouds above her head revealing the inner turmoil but smoothing out to a chilled wind. “It happened while you were heartless.” Zaheela continued, her hand reaching out and grasping Smee's hand and placing it against her bosom where the heart lay. It did not beat, it did not even quiver. His hand was strikingly warm, even through her shirt, against the cold flesh. Everything pointed towards her being dead, trapped, stuck in the City.

Smee couldn’t do anything but stare, shocked, at the Mithra. As she held onto his hand, her fingers were freezing, and the lack of heartbeat under his fingers chilled him to the bone. While he was...heartless...but that was...”Th-that w-w-w-was s-s-s-several w-weeks ag-g-g-go!” he sputtered, trying to stop tears from filling his eyes as the full impact of Zaheela’s words creaped upon him. She was...dead, she was dead.

“Then I have been dead for a few weeks. It slipped the mind.” She admitted, letting go of the hand and letting Smee's hand fall limp. The warmth settled into cold flesh before fading away. Gracefully sitting down, she sighed, ignoring the chessboard entirely for a moment.
“I was killed, my heart torn out. As a result, i fell into a deeper depression, so it never came to mind.” She continued, picking up the king's pawn and moving it forward, her opening move.
“It didn't change me though.” She tried to reassure Smee, but her smile was not all there. Admitingly? She missed the warmth, but she wouldn't let that hold her down.

It was, Smee decided, in a brief flash of hysteria that he attempted to squelch, rather like being punched in the stomach, hearing it that way. From her spot at his ankles, Lady was strangely silent, though for once he didn’t seem to notice. “Y-You...” It was all he could seem to get out as his throat closed up, limbs trembling as his brain tried to make some sort of sense of it all. However, after a long moment without any success, he gave up, allowing tears to slip out his eyes and down his cheeks, heedless of them as he threw his arms around Zah’s neck, hugging her tight as a small sob wrenched its way out of his throat.

When the arms were flung around her neck, She was startled, her tail shooting straight up. She wasn't sure of what to do in this type of situation. Her arms went up hesitantly before settling around his upper torso, trying to comfort him. She hugged him loosely, before hanging her head. This hurt him more then she had thought.
“I'm sorry.” She murmured, ears drooping as her arms tightened a bit more. She could feel his tears, still warmer then herself, soak into her shirt. It was times like this when pride had to take a back seat. She could taste the bitter tang of regret in the back of her mouth but she wouldn't cry. She didn't care if people were staring, if they had a problem, they could just bugger off, She would allow Smee to rant or cry all he wanted. She deserved it.

Smee couldn’t seem to be able to do anything but just hold onto Zaheela and sob. She was...dead, she was dead it wasn’t fair wasn’t---wasn’t---he shuddered, crying into the Mithra’s shoulder. Her apology barely registered, and if it had, it probably would’ve made him furious. As it was, he still felt far too much in shock.

She was good at waiting, patient (except when it came to certain things, such as perverted men, then her patience took a DRASTIC drop), and she merely waited for Smee to regain control, rubbing his back like a mother would their child, though her motions were hesitant. She sighed, her shoulders finally sagging as if weighed down. It was only in front of a few people when she would fully relax, always on guard, but Smee happened to be one of those people.
“It's alright, It's in the past anyways.” She tried to state, an uneasy smile on her face.

It took several long minutes before Smee was able to control himself, but when he finally managed he pulled back a bit, wiping his eyes. He almost asked who did it, but then he stopped himself, realizing that there was really nothing he could do about it, nor would it change anything. He sniffled. He wasn’t quite sure what to say at this point, but...

The smile remained on her face before she arranged her hands on her lap, tail almost violently twitching behind her and the clouds now a dark storm drizzling water over her head. She motioned to the board.
“It's your move?” She tried to say in a 'it doesn't matter much to me' tone, as if brushing off any semblance of angst or depression. She, however regretted opening her mouth the next moment when she saw the look on his face.

Smee was furious. Absolutely and utterly furious. And he was pretty sure it showed on his face. “S-Stop b-b-b-brushing it of l-l-like it’s n-n-n-nothing!” he stated angrily, fists clenching.

Zaheela leaned her cheek against her hand, her eyes half closed as her free hand moved to brush over the carved ears of the black knight.
“I just accepted my death Smee. I died, what of it? If words or magic could change that, I would of done so, but pining for my life back isn't going to help.” She answered in a clipped tone. Fingers brushed over the erratic piece, the cloud still dark, but the rain had stopped. She avoided his eyes though, her ears moving only once and her tail had curled around the leg of her chair.

She was right, of course. Yelling and getting angry about it wouldn’t change anything, but...He sighed, heavily, a lot of the fight going out of him with that breath. “....I’m angry you didn’t tell me yourself.” he stated.

“It slipped my mind, as I stated before.” Was her immediate response, eyes darting to observe the man. She figured he was distressed, and angry, but she didn't realize how deep the betrayal ran with her lack of straightforwardness.
“I thought that your captain would of told you that when you recovered.” She continued, finger tapping her cheek.

“It slipped your mind.” Smee deadpanned. “Oh, and believe me, Jas has it coming too.” His eyes narrowed. “Being dead doesn’t just slip someone’s mind.”

She winced slightly at Smee's tone, knowing now how deep she had dug the hole.
“I never made much of it. It's not going to stop my plans to go home, it's just an... alteration of states.” She said, trying to smooth Smee's ruffled feathers, and failing horribly. “I'm just not bothered by it too much.”

Smee barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he listened to her explanation. He always wondered why Zah and Jas didn’t get along...they were so bloody alike! It was like talking to a doppelganger! Which was why he was still wondering why he liked them both so damn much. Maybe he was just a masochist. With a heavy sigh, he sat down across from the Mithra, picking up a pawn and moving it forward.

Zaheela tried to smile uneasily, but the mood was tense, but at least they could rant at each other from the board. It certainly was far easier then trying to explain it all in words. Word games, clever remarks, they all came easily, but the straightforward truth to a close friend? Harder then hard for the poor cat. She moved the queen forward a few places, placing the piece in the intended place for the beginning of her trap.

The pirate was under no disillusions that he would win this match. None. Even with her few opening moves, the style was similar to that of his Captain, telling him right off the bat that this would not be his game. Nor the next. Nor the next. Nor ever. But he could put up a good fight, at least. And so he moved his bishop, allowing the anger to flow into the pieces on the board. They would be back to normal in a couple days. Smee would get it and move on, and Zaheela would still be dead. It was the same pattern he had with Jas. Funny, how these things worked. So they would play, and then they would move on.