Quiet Kind of Storm

"It hurts. Please just make it stop hurting. I can't do this again. Please." Musa's whimpers were all Riven could focus on even with the din of the fight all around him. He rushed over, only now being able to see her pupils glowing, more red than purple in the dark lighting, wide with fear and pain, so much pain. The sight cut Riven to the core, his hands shaking as he gripped her shoulders. Her knees started to buckle, so Riven shifted his grip, now supporting almost all of her weight as she cried out, her eyes still glowing.
"Hey you're okay, you're gonna be okay Musa, just focus on me, okay?"
"Mhm," she grunted more than said before he felt her mind lock onto his. It was so unlike Rosalind's harsh presence, it was more a feeling of closeness to her. He found he didn't mind it nearly as much as he probably should've, but instead focused on controlling his feelings, trying to project anything that might be able to ease the pain.

Riven was dimly aware that they were still in the middle of a battleground, but as he started to try and move Musa away from the slowly dispersing fight, she collapsed in his arms. He bundled her up, trying to be "more delicate" this time. Once she was safely tucked into his chest, he broke off in a sprint, rushing to get Musa away from the emotions that overwhelmed her. Branches and greenery lashed at Riven's face, but for once he didn't care, all that mattered was the fairy in his arms. She looked so small, so delicate just lying there and it scared him. Musa was anything but delicate, yet she suddenly seemed so fragile. He yet again wished he had taken the time to train her, he knew it wouldn't help with this flare up of her powers, but seeing her looking so helpless reminded him of the heart-wrenching feeling when he realised she was alone in a school full of people who wanted to hurt her. It was something he never wanted to live through again. He never wanted her to be alone again. Her being in danger sent his panic levels through the roof, but of course it didn't mean anything, she was just a friend. He was allowed to be scared for a friend, right? Especially when that friend had explicitly asked for your help in order to avoid exactly this situation. He had hoped that by leaving her untrained she wouldn't have to fight the battle, that she would be far away from danger when it came. He should have realised it meant the opposite.
"I'm an idiot aren't I Musa." An idiot for refusing to train her. For leaving her alone. For not seeing how much she needed it - needed to be able to hold her own in a world that insisted she was merely support.

Eventually, Riven figured they were far enough from any intrusive minds, so he set Musa down, leaning her limp form against his body.
"Muse, you can wake up now, you're safe. C'mon Musa, just open your eyes, show me you're okay so I can go back to beating your ass in training" Riven pleaded. Thoughts raced through his head; what if the sudden overload had fried her mind, what if she had some injury he hadn't noticed before, what if– No she would be alright, she had to be. He started to give her body a once over for anything he might have missed but found nothing other than minor scrapes and bruises, so he settled for lightly slapping her cheek in an attempt to wake her.
What was he thinking, bringing her away from everyone who could help, who actually knew shit about mind fairies, hell about any fairies. Was there something he was meant to do, say, some kind of fairy restart button? Before he could stress more, his thoughts were interrupted with a groan.

"Riv?" Musa's eyes fluttered open, revealing that they had reverted to their natural colour, Riven had never been so happy to see those gorgeous brown eyes.
"Yeah, Muse, I'm here."
"No, no, they're back, make it stop, I can't– I can't block them out. They're stronger than before. Please, no, you have to make it stop."
Riven tucked her into his chest, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of his neck, his hands rubbing slow circles on her back. He couldn't imagine what she was going through, all these feelings rushing into her head, barely knowing which were her own, the weight of everyone else's baggage crushing her from the inside out, all of this along with the screams from the battle, the pain and loss from both sides. There really was no winning. And there was nothing he could do apart from be there and hope his presence helped in some way, so he held her tight even as she howled long into the night, mourning the return of her powers.

Eventually, Musa calmed down enough for Riven to walk her back to her dorm, albeit with her leaning heavily on him. During the walk back he couldn't help but look down at her, the fairy facing all her fears, going back into a building that was full of emotions and noise and so much pain. It was impossible not to be in awe. She was brave, she was determined, she was amazing and Riven couldn't believe she was trusting him with this raw, vulnerable version of herself. Despite all his attempts to play it cool, to push everyone away, she saw him, the scared kid hiding behind the mask of douchebaggery. It terrified him.

It took them a while to walk to the main fairly building given the walk was more of a limp as Musa awkwardly tried to make her way without being entirely carried by Riven, despite his efforts otherwise.
"If I can't walk to my room, I probably shouldn't be there, and if the girls see me like that they'll get all worried and protective, and they won't believe I can take care of myself. Plus, they'll probably threaten to castrate you for even laying a hand on me."
Musa hated that feeling, the one she got when her suite mates looked at her like she was some sort of wounded animal that needed saving, like she was weak, like she needed help, the pity that flowed off them were like waves, resounding and all consuming. She knew they meant well, but it was hard. They had no idea what it was like. And besides, she could take care of herself, she had been for years before they came along. She didn't need to be protected and wrapped in cotton wool, although her current situation may have implied otherwise, given she was literally almost passed out in Riven's arms. They would take this as a sure sign she was unable to even survive a fight and if they knew how much her powers hurt her, what she had done to get rid of them, they would never stop trying to protect her. She could only improve by failing, by getting hurt, by falling and getting back up again. Riven knew that, and he never treated her as delicate, with his swords or with his words, yes she ended up on her ass most of the time, but she was learning, she was growing. For some reason it was different with him, he never looked at her like she was less, never felt sorry for her, but also encouraged her to improve, most of the time anyway, when he wasn't being all "you'll get yourself killed".

"Fine but let's at least go slowly" Riven pleaded. He was worried, the closer they got to school, the more she seemed to lean on him, her face paling with each step. He was tempted to ask her to stop and lie down for a while, but he knew it would only insult her strength. She needed this, if she couldn't even make it indoors, she wouldn't be able to function in life, he knew how she needed to feel useful and capable. He knew because he felt the same way, even when he fucked up all his relationships, drove everyone away, he was still useful, he had his body, his power, his strength and no one could take that away from him, he could take care of himself, he was independent. Musa faced losing this, if she couldn't get control of her abilities she wouldn't be able to even stand without help in public situations, wouldn't be able to go out, have fun, meet new people. The loss of her freedom would be crippling, if their situations were reversed, he didn't think he would be able to take it.

With time, they eventually made it to her dorm, but upon entering the suite Musa doubled over, crying out, and Riven figured there were just too many emotions swirling in the atmosphere, so he carefully guided her to his room instead. He set her up on the bed and was preparing to go find someone to bunk with before Musa fixed him with the sweetest look.
"Can you stay, Please?"
"Won't I be too loud, I don't want to make you feel any worse–"
"It's a good kind out loud" Riven just gawked at her, so Musa continued, "It's like how a storm is quiet, it's so loud everything else fades away. And when you're at home and the thunders rolling and you're snuggled under a rug, you just feel safe."
Riven just laughed, but inside he was beaming, she felt safe with him. How could he say no to that? So he climbed up into his bed with her, their bodies fitting perfectly together. Musa curled into his side, and he knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her.