A.S.H

Not Dead

There was a firm reassurance, perhaps the bond itself speaking in my head, that he wouldn't hurt even a hair on my body. I believed it, mostly, though I knew Mai didn't feel anything but helplessness as his liquid gold eyes fixated on her. Her hand tightened more so around my wrist, sending a surge of pain through the nerves that caused me to wince. I couldn't even try to wriggle out of her grasp, and now her nails were digging into the skin forcibly enough to draw blood.

Mai inhaled a sharp breath and squeezed her eyes shut, scared of what was to come. He eyes travelled for a split second from her face, lowering until they caught sight of Mai's fingers clasped above my hand with a fierce grip, and it was as if the temperature in the room dropped. 

Everything became still. 

I let out an involuntary yelp when I sensed the trickle of blood crawling down to my fingertips, Mai's clasp becoming unbearable as her nails now dug under the layer of skin. His eyes snapped towards my face as I cried out, softening when they met my teary ones, though something grievously animalistic flashed when he saw the blood dripping around my wrist. She was hurting me albeit unintentionally, but he didn't like it. I guess the sight of my blood was the final straw.

His nails extended, sharpening at the edges, mimicking claws. He ambled, in deliberately slow steps closer and closer. The elegance in his movement with the light, soundless footsteps, gave him a hauntingly beautiful appearance, but I couldn't waste tine gawking; I knew I needed to act fast before anything happened to Mai, "let go of my hand Mai." Whether or not my voice trembled, I didn't take notice of it. I just needed her to to release my wrist, "Mai!" I made myself sound harsher, knowing it wasn't the best thing to do when she was at the point of collapsing, but she had to listen.

And she did, she unfurled her fingers enough so that I no longer felt excessive pressure on the cuts, and I was able to rip my hand free which gave some relief to the wounds. He was close, too close, teasing her with a warning growl like she were a helpless prey, which is precisely what she was. With my better hand, I grabbed her arm and shoved her behind me, obligating him to look towards me.

"Don't." I forced out a pathetic whisper, urging him to stop himself. He was furious, I could tell, scanning the ugly marks over my flesh again. "Please." I used the same pleading he'd used with me, and he did halt. He paused in front of me at arms length, but his rage was rolling off of him in waves, desperate to lash out in violence. He was barely keeping it at bay and that control was only momentary - the second it slipped, I knew Mai wouldn't last.

The bond. Even at this second, it screamed to pull us closer. I was scared, but not of him. Anxious, but not for myself. Pained, but not because of his actions. I was scared and anxious for Mai, because of the pain she'd accidentally caused me, so I put my trust in the bond with the hope that it would help him regain control and keep Mai safe.

I released her arm, and holding my breath, I walked towards him and closed the distance between us. I lay my head gently against his chest, the pacing of his heartbeats quickening and his own breaths stopping as I did. My eyelids fluttered shut, and I didn't know what to anticipate would happen in the next instant.

His body, like mine was tensed, although it slowly but surely relaxed the longer I stood leaning against him. Arms tentatively secured around my back, and though hesitant at first, they fastened with more strength. The bond tightened with his embrace, glistening in ecstasy, and I felt...at home. Before it was a sense of warmth and safety but now, it had intensified, sparking a fire that tingled over my muscles, relaxing them and making me feel content and at ease.

I'm not sure if I did it knowingly, though my own arms wrapped around his body exactly as his were on mine, and I realised he'd calmed down fully. It wasn't until I heard a loud gasp behind, that I noticed just how much I was enjoying this position, listening to the thrum of his heartbeats. I opened my eyes widely, recalling that Mai was still in the room and pushed away from his body to look at her.