OOC: Hope it's okay I kidnapped Rei for some cozy Christmas together. =P Rei only.


It had been a little more than a month since Laurian had left St. Catherine's to go back to her own home. She had responsibilities there and as much as she wanted to be near her girlfriend, those responsibilities just had to go first.

She had felt rather lonely the whole month, but tried to stay positive by looking forward to one event: Christmas. Rei would be here with Christmas, and she had a nice surprise for her as well. Laurian just wished she could've been there when they went to pick her up, but she had no time. She even had no time to be out and greet her, but they'd see each other that evening at the party. At the moment, however, she was being kept busy by other women who helped her getting dressed and look nice.

It couldn't be soon enough, but finally Laurian left her room to be on to the party. Her arm was still in a sling, though it wasn't exactly necessary anymore. But Laurian wanted to surprise Rei... for as far as it was possible to surprise a Seer with anything.

It was crowded in the room, but relying on her inner Slayer senses, Laurian went straight to her girlfriend. "Rei," she said softly, once she was close enough for the Seer to hear her. She wanted to say more, but the happiness of seeing her girlfriend again made it impossible for her to say more.

OOC: Open to all. Just about all Slayers and Seers will be able to feel what happens to Laurian, though other chars can of course just drop by because they wanted to practice their own music skills.

Backdated to the weekend of 8 and 9 November. (Feel free to decide whether it's Saturday or Sunday.)



It had been a while since Laurian had gone anywhere near the music room. She used to go there quite frequently as a professor assistant, when she helped Haruka out with teaching students how to play the harp. If she'd know beforehand that becoming Haruka's assistant meant being her slave and help her with after school activities as well... Laurian smiled to herself. She still would've done it.

And she had little reason lately to go to the music room, since she had only one hand she could use. It was a bit difficult to play piano or guitar if you had only one arm to use.

But she went over there today, because she felt the need to play a bit. And not for any reason as she did before, when music was her way of communicating with Moira, when music was her way to let out all of those emotions inside her. Today, she wanted to play just for the sake of playing and enjoying the act of it. It had been an even longer while since she had done that. More than seven years now? Definitely a long time ago.

Her arm was still held up by an arm sling, but Christel had told her that any day now, she could try to take off the sling and start training the implanted muscle. Laurian figured that today might be as good as any other day.

She entered the music room, which was empty at the moment, though with all the sound barriers so easily created in this room, it really wouldn't matter if some other people dropped by. Laurian didn't waste any time, but went directly for the arm sling as she moved towards the piano. A guitar might be too heavy to lift, but a piano might be doable. She could wriggle all her fingers in all directions, and she could even turn her arm a little, although that did hurt quite a lot.

That pain, however, was nothing compared to what she experienced when she took the sling off. Laurian stopped in her tracks, just paralyzed by the pain that shot from her arm through her whole body. It was mind-numbing and she was unable to do anything, except gasp for air and fall on her knees, because her legs could no longer support her. In a reflex, she tried to catch herself before she fell on the floor, but when her arm touched the ground to break her fall, the pain only increased more.

It was almost as if she was back at that room, the one where they used to torture her. She'd thought she had buried it safely under layers of memories in her mind, but this brought it right up. She could hear them, she remembered every detail of that moment too vividly...

Laurian had wriggled her way cleverly into Rei's room. She didn't have much to do, even though she still commanded her Order from this very long distance. But simply giving out commands or passing on her wishes to a few people she could trust did not take as much time as it seemed. And she was feeling lonely and in much need of some sweet attention of Rei, even though she knew her girlfriend almost had to be busy, with this being her last year.

At first, Laurian was content with just lying there and watching Rei do her homework. But she soon needed more. She needed attention. She needed Rei in her arms - or rather, arm - with the Seer stroking her gently or spoiling her in any other affectionate way.

She began with intentionally releasing some urges of 'I need to be cuddled', for she was almost certain that Rei could pick it up. It began sparingly, but Laurian soon sent out more and more of those urges until Rei would come to satisfy it.


OOC: Yes, Rei only. =P She doesn't want to be cuddled by anyone else.

OOC: ...I still haven't read it. *guilty look* Told you it could take a while. But hey, whatever I list here referring to that thing with Rei... they're just rumours. ^^; So... don't have to be correct, right?

Rei only. She needs her Rei.



She had heard the rumours. She might be sick, injured, weak and locked up in her room for weeks, even months. But she still wasn't crazy and she still could hear things. Laurian knew she probably should have gotten out of her room, should have found Rei, talked to her or tried anything else. But she didn't. She had told Rei she would wait in her room for her. Wait until her girlfriend was ready to take her back. She didn't dare to go out and find her, afraid that all she'd have to face was rejection.

She heard rumours about a fight. That Rei had changed into someone completely different, being bitchier than usual and even attacking other students. And that there had been a huge fight. She didn't know how much of it was true. But Liz had come to her, shy and afraid to be push aside. The girl had told her that Rei had turned back to normal, but locked herself up in the room. She'd almost pleaded to go see Rei. She had not reacted to the pleas, hardly even heard them.

But they had been stored in her mind and for a few days, it was the only thing Laurian could think about. She hoped that Rei would come up to her, but that didn't happen. She finally took the decision to go and see her, even if it was only one last time. She had to see her, for at least one last time.

Unaware of her spiking fever, which had gotten worse again because she didn't do anything to stop it, Laurian stumbled out of her room. All she knew was that it was chilly, and her legs felt heavy, but she just brushed that aside, blamed it on her never fully healed after the kidnap and rescue.

Laurian somehow managed to get herself to Rei's room. She couldn't exactly remember walking there, just that she got there from her room somehow. She leaned against the door, hesitating. Afraid. Afraid that maybe Rei didn't want to see her. But she had to do it. And so she knocked. Laurian just hoped Rei wanted to see her.

OOC: Open to Rei, whenever she's ready for it. XD (No need to rush, just wanted to have it written out.)


The door was closed, a sign that Christel had left her alone for several days again. Laurian wished the older woman would just stop wasting her time like this. She had tried in the beginning, but Christel didn't want to hear about it. Now, she no longer wanted to talk about anything, and no longer wished to put her wishes in words. In fact, she no longer wished for anything except one thing: to have Rei come back at her.

She curled up on her bed and leaned against the wall. At least when Moira died, she could still loose herself in battle and school. But now, with her arm still useless, there was nothing she could do to help her get over the loss of Rei. Because Rei may be still alive, but she no longer wanted her, and it seemed that Rei was no longer who she used to be.

Laurian shivered. Christel had said something about a fever, but Laurian hadn't really listened. It didn't matter what it was anyway. Nothing mattered. She closed her eyes and shivered again. Nothing mattered without Rei, and all she wanted was to have Rei back. With that thought running circles in her mind, the once proud and strong Slayer fell into a feverish sleep.

Not long after she'd tried to make things right with Rei and failed completely, Christel had said she could leave the infirmary and stay in her old room here at St. Catherine's or go back home.

Laurian had chosen for St. Catherine's.

She knew it was stupid, but she wanted to stay here in the hope that Rei would forgive her for all the things she'd said and done. She had remained true to her word and had stayed away from the priestess, even though the separation hurt her more than all the injuries she'd received from the Blackbirds. Those could be suppressed by painkillers, but there was no painkiller for emotional pain. Laurian knew she'd grow over it one way or the other, but until then she waited.

She didn't come out of her room either. She had locked herself in there and the only people who were allowed to come in were Christel - who needed to check up on her and brought fresh supplies to eat - and Rei. Unfortunately, Rei hadn't shown up so far.

Laurian was shuffling through her room, carefully carrying a cup of coffee, when it all of a sudden happened. Excruciating pain and a weakness she'd never experienced before. The cup fell to the ground, shattered, and coffee spread over the floor. Laurian hardly noticed it. With loud, painful gasps, she sank through her knees. All of her strength seemed to flow away from her body and she couldn't keep herself standing anymore.

The tall, proud warrior was now reduced to a crippled woman with no strength, who could only 'stand' on hands and feet. Laurian stared at the broken cup and the brown puddle, trying to understand what had just happened, when her vision got distorted. She could still see the cup, but as if another layer had been placed over it, she could see Moira. And not just Moira, but herself as well, during that fateful night where she had been forced to kill her. It was different than her nightmares or guilt-plagued mind; there were no accusations, just the plain truth of what had happened.

The vision changed and now Laurian saw Rei, but not as she remembered her girlfriend. Violet eyes bore down at her, but they were cold, distant and most of all: malevolent. Her raven black hair moved at the gusts of wind and power. A power that was far from holy. And she was dressed in clothes Laurian had never seen on Rei before. It looked like Rei, but Laurian knew it wasn't Rei. Or it wasn't the Rei she knew.

And then the scene changed again. It was Rei again, like in the vision before, and Laurian saw herself. Her left arm was still crippled, but she'd grown strong enough that she could handle her sword with one hand. Almost like a repetition of Moira's death, Laurian was forced to watch how she fought with this evil version of Rei.

"No," she whispered, knowing already how this would end. "No... don't do this... don't tell me..." She saw how her sword slid through Rei. Rei stiffened, and some blood gusted out of her mouth. The first tears fell from Laurian's face and she tried to reach out and save her girlfriend. "No, don't do that. Please, don't die. Don't die. Rei, don't die..." But it was too late. She saw Rei's body fall to the ground. She'd all seen it before and she knew it was too late.

"No!" The vision faded, leaving the strong Slayer curled up on the floor and crying openly. She couldn't hold back, she couldn't stop. A Slayer shouldn't receive visions, and Laurian had no idea why she'd just had one. Maybe it was her friend trying to warn her? She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd be forced to repeat the same mistake.



OOC: Her door is locked, but if you manage to unlock it from the outside and want to come in, I'm not going to stop you. =P

OOC: Forwarded to the end of this week, but since we're both busy and I'll be in London, I write it right now. First response Rei only, but if you want to join and gawk at how bitchy Rei is... feel free to do so.

It had been two weeks since the incident and that she had lashed out at Rei. Laurian couldn't even begin to describe how guilty she felt; in some ways it felt even worse than when she had been responsible for Moira's death. Rei had stayed away, just like she'd demanded in that rash moment of anger. And so Laurian hadn't been able to apologize either. She wasn't even certain if she could apologize... or if the words would get stuck in her throat. But she knew she had to do something to try and fix this.

But the only thing she had was trying to get better. So Laurian spent every waking moment pushing herself to the limit. She didn't even bother to hide it anymore; the only thing she cared about was to be able to walk when Rei's birthday arrived. But a week was far too short to reach such a goal, even for a mighty Slayer like her.

It was a week later when Laurian was finally able to shuffle slowly out of the room. To protect her damaged arm, Christel had fashioned a sling. It should keep everything in place and the last thing she needed was more damage to the muscles. With a gift firmly grasped in her free hand, and also using it for some support at the walls, Laurian moved through the school to find Rei. It was painful and it was exhausting, but Laurian gladly accepted those as her punishment for hurting Rei.

When she finally found her girlfriend - if she could still call Rei her girlfriend - Laurian kept a safe distance. She didn't know if Rei even wanted to see her. She could understand it if she wasn't welcome. As long as she could give the present and maybe even force herself to apologize out loud... that was all she wanted.

"Rei...?"

It had been about a month since she had been rescued from the enemy. Of those four weeks, she'd spent two weeks in coma and the other two weeks in almost complete silence, rejecting everyone who tried to come near her. She allowed Rei in her room, although her presence was still painful to her. But she would rarely speak and any time Rei touched her, bad memories flooded her mind, sending her in an almost complete panic.

But she hadn't been sitting still. Her current state frustrated her, and although Christel kept telling her to take things easy, Laurian did not listen. During the nights and other moments when no one was around, she'd do little exercises with her right hand. Her left arm was completely useless, but her right arm began to restore gradually and it allowed her to do little things. First, it was nothing more than closing her hand in a tight fist and open it again. Then little movements with her arm, shifting it left and right. And finally the attempts to lift it.

This afternoon as well she was practicing again. It was painful and exhausting, but at least it gave her something to do.

Christel bustled around the infirmary, searching for someone who could help her. It was time to change Laurian's bandages again, and she needed help with that. But of course, there was no doctor, no nurse, no one available.

The witch then saw Rei sitting in the waiting room. Ever since Laurian had gained consciousness, she'd refused anyone to get near her, or even get in the room. This must have been hard for Rei, who only wanted to help. Well, she could help this time, no matter what Laurian said. Isolation wasn't good for the girl in the first place, and Rei deserved to be with her.

She moved quietly towards the young Seer. "Miss Rei, do you think you can help me with something?"