closed;

[negativegate]

When; Nov. 1st and Nov. 5th
Rating; PG-13-ish with death and violence.
Characters; Rita (negativegate) and Tyr (blackshadow)
Summary; Rita and Tyr losing their heads. One of these is literal.
Log;

Once the influence of the Halloween curse ended and they were both back to normal, Rita...well, she felt pretty awkward. She'd had no idea the costume she'd worn was some vampire from Tyr's world, and there she'd gone and bitten his neck. Thinking about the fact that she actually drank his blood--it grossed her out. But at least she hadn't hurt him.

But it was exactly that which also struck her as a little weird. Tyr didn't usually like having his neck touched all that much, so it could've been the influence of the curse...

In any case, here it is in the morning, and Rita's still in costume at the house because she hasn't been bothered to change. She should probably apologize to Tyr if he's awake and see how he is.

Comments

[negativegate]

Curious, her eyes open again and she looks up at him. "Tyr?" Her chest still rises and falls slightly; even if she doesn't have to breathe, not doing it would take conscious thought. And even then...she might keep breathing, anyway.

Mostly, she's thinking that she's worried about how Tyr feels with all of this.

[blackshadow]

He can't help but worry when he sees blood swirling in the water when he touches her hair, though. He knows she's alive, but it's hard to ignore how she looks and feels, too.

But when she opens her eyes, he gets rid of that sad look and gives her a little smile. "I didn't want you to fall asleep..." he lies.

[negativegate]

He's a total liar. Even Rita can tell that's not why he asked her to open her eyes, and she thinks she might have an idea what the real reason is. But instead of pointing that out, she gives him a soft reply, keeping her eyes open like he asked. "Don't want to miss your turn to clean up?"

[blackshadow]

"Exactly," he continues. Deep inside, he knows Rita didn't fall for it, but he doesn't want to say anything. He wants things to be normal again...

His fingers keep combing through her hair even after all the knots of blood are gone. "Besides, you'd get pruny if you were in too long..."

[negativegate]

"Then I'd just stay out for a while to make it go away, of course." It's not quite normal yet... Bantering with him is still fun, but right now, it's mostly a distraction from everything else. Eventually, things will get back to normal, she thinks...

When he keeps touching her hair like that, she almost forgets to keep her eyes open and they drift half-closed again. It feels too nice.

[blackshadow]

"So you'll wash my hair and then climb back in?" It is fun to joke around, but it can't be the same. There's always something in his heart that holds him back.

And it still pulls him between being happy and being scared when he sees her eyes start to close again. Maybe they should just change the water now. That would probably make him feel better even if it won't change how her skin is the same lukewarm as the water. He caresses her jaw with the back of his fingers. "I really love your hair..." he confesses quietly.

[negativegate]

"We'd have to keep changing the water," she starts to say, and then trails off at his little confession. It gets her a bit flustered...and it's weird how that makes her feel even more normal. Maybe it's just getting to talk to Tyr that does it...

"Sh...should I grow it...?" She isn't even sure why she's asking that.

[blackshadow]

He doesn't say anything about the water when she mentions her hair. All he does is blink down at her and fan her hair out on the water. For a second, he doesn't even think about the fact the water is dull red with blood.

"Do you want to?" is all he can think to ask. "I like it this way too..."

[negativegate]

Her face flushes (she'll try not to think about how when her heart isn't beating to pump blood) and she glances away. As long as he likes it... "I'll just...see how much of a pain it is," she decides in a mumble. She hadn't really thought much about growing it out before.

[blackshadow]

...She really wants to grow her hair longer, he thinks. For the first time in the past twenty-four hours, he's thinking about something other than death and torture. Did she decide she wanted to because he likes her hair? That though makes him blush, too...

He scratches her scalp as he brushes her hair behind her ear. "Just clip it back if it bothers you..." Without really trying to, he smiles at her.

[negativegate]

He looks cute again--almost normal, if not for the blood on his clothes. "That's what I'd do, or I couldn't do research," she says. A part of her is glad to see him smile again, a smile that's more normal, and she's able to give him a small one in return.

[blackshadow]

"Maybe you can wear my bandana," he jokes as he ruffles her hair a bit. It's easier to smile when she's smiling back at him - it lifts the weight from his chest. She seems totally alive to him now.

[negativegate]

"Hey-" she starts in slight surprise when he ruffles her hair, making a face, then tries to pretend it didn't surprise her after all. Yes. "S-soon I'll just be wearing all your clothes."

[blackshadow]

He pulls back to sitting again and flicks his hands at either side. There's even a note of laughter in his voice. "Not until I wash your hair first. Get up."

[negativegate]

She can't help but feel some affection creep up in her when he sounds even a little happier than before. "I guess I won't stay in here forever," she manages to joke a bit, if softly, as she shoves herself up.

Huh...the water is a lot darker than it was before. She didn't realize how dirty her hair was...

[blackshadow]

It was really dirty... But she looks clean now, even in the dirty water. She looks like new. Cute...

"You need to give me a turn to get pruny too, right?" he jokes back.

[negativegate]

She keeps her eyes off of the water and on him instead, tiny smile still in place. She doesn't feel quite normal, exactly, but more than she did when she woke up. "That's right... So you'd better hurry if you want your turn." And she scoots around again so he can wash her hair more easily.

[blackshadow]

He really wants to hug her when he sees that smile. Her eyes look so bright, too... His Rita... He resists the urge to wrap his arms around her and instead just reaches over to take hold of the shampoo.

"All right, all right. Lean your head back for me a little," he tells her. A little shampoo in his hands and he'll get started.

[negativegate]

She sits against the side of the tub and leans back a little for him. "Good enough?" He's so sweet... It's weird to think that he was so angry yesterday when she tried to convince him his memories were wrong, but she knows all of those people were so important to him...

It makes her feel bad for him. And worry about him. But they'll go to the hospital tomorrow and see if they can find out anything.

[blackshadow]

"Yeah," he answers. Once she's leaning back, he starts to work the shampoo into her hair, massaging her scalp. Right now, he's not considering his memories, but he feels bad for yelling at her and running away... She deserves better than that. Even if he was...sad, she shouldn't have taken the blame for that...

But he's making up for it now, he hopes. "How's it feel?"

[negativegate]

It just bothers her that something's happened to him and they don't really know exactly what it is yet. She can't help but think it's something serious, what with the memories that have been changed...

But she tries to forget about it for the moment, mumbling, "It feels pretty nice..." And it does. It feels really soothing, and she relaxes in the tub a bit more.

[blackshadow]

That's all he really wanted to hear. He smiles again and pulls all her hair back into the lather, still scratching and massaging her scalp.

"When we get back, we should do this in our own bath more..."

Where the water will be nice and clear... She's the only thing on his mind. He has her, and right now, it almost feels like that's all he does have...and it doesn't feel so bad when he thinks about how lucky he is just to have someone like her.

[negativegate]

Feeling a bit better, she closes her eyes again as she just lets herself concentrate on Tyr's hands and voice. The idea does sound good...once they get Tyr checked out, she thinks.

"Yeah...so we can get all pruney there, instead."

[blackshadow]

"Exactly," he chuckles. He loves that she can be so relaxed... It's just like old times.

It really does sound like a really good idea to him... And when they get back, Rita will be herself again and they can forget about his memories. He'll just let her know that he doesn't reject them anymore.

[negativegate]

They can go back to normal eventually... But she needs to know what's happened to Tyr before she'll totally relax, first. And...what happened to her, too. There's no forgetting the fact that she still has no idea how she died.

Her voice is quiet again when she asks a few moments later, "Almost finished?"