Flash in the Dark [Closed]

Greenwood was not as boring of a town for Selena as it was for J. She understood, it wasn't his thing, so she too was glad to be out of there. There was only so much super bored Repear that she could take. The walk through the forests felt calm and relaxing for her. She felt no sense of danger, but rarely did she ever. Her senses locked in on what she could see and she only saw the wildlife. Repear seemed to feel something completely different and signaled her to be on guard. Her guard came up quickly and she readied herself. Was someone out there? She couldn't tell. Beyond the normal wildlife, she wasn't able to see anything. For an hour, nothing changed and she ended up slowly lowering her guard. If nothing was going to attack by now, there was no point in being fully alert.

Selena was confused as hell when Reaper suddenly went charging forward. She could tell he was dodging something, but what? She didn't get to see it until it hit the ground about a foot away from his face. She looked around rapidly. "Where is it coming from!? Where? Where?!" she thought, still not seeing it. Finally a few sounds of clanking armor hit her ear, but she couldn't get a location. "They're in the air..." she thought, wanting to curse them for it, but funnily enough they landed, surrounding the two of them. She could tell by the way they were all standing, they were ignoring her. When the man spoke up with a very stupid pun, she raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. At this point, two chains she once had had vanished and no one had gotten the chance to notice.

Wondering exactly what he'd want her to do, she looked toward Reaper and noticed something was odd. He wasn't moving. He didn't even seem to realize that they had been surrounded. Something was way, way off and she needed to deal with this now. "You're too close. Back away from him." she spoke up toward them, catching their attention and causing them to stop their obnoxious laughter, "I won't give a second warning." The men blinked at her and then asked the boss who the chick was. "None of your business, now get away from him." The men laughed at her, looking at her as if they didn't take her seriously. One of them stepped toward her, saying he could take care of the her for the boss. Selena began tapping her foot, looking like an impatient woman, but that wasn't the case.

Selena was getting a layout of everything around her, taking control over anything she could get a vibration through, and readying an attack. Even though one of the subordinates came toward her, the leader pointed a hand crossbow at Reaper. As he lined up his aim, the handle to one of her chains shot out of the ground and through the crossbow, breaking it into many pieces. It continued it's path and curled around toward Reaper. On the opposite side, the other chain shot out and copied what the first was doing until they both wrapped around him two times each. Like a spider, the chains acted as legs and shot up toward the top of a tree, pulling Reaper up with them as quickly as possible so no one could take a shot at him. "I won't let you get to him, so either leave or die here today."

Selena usually wouldn't have given them an ultimatum, but she wanted to know what was wrong with Reaper. The chains now acted like snakes, ready to strike at anything that Selena would deem way too close. Her concentration was at an all time high right now; nothing could get to either of them. "Fine." she said since none of them seemed to answer. The ground began to shake, as if an earthquake was taking place. The men looked around and then back to her in shock. She kept tapping her foot, her gaze staring off in a random direction as she concentrated on what was happening. To keep Reaper balanced, she also had one chain wrap around the trunk of the tree and sort of anchor him there. The men freaked out and went to run, but as they did, their death came without mercy.

Condensed earth shot from the ground in the form of thin spikes, firing up through the torso's of each man. A few survived, their armor making that possible, but they still fell. As they did, the earth they landed on seemed to come alive and wrap around their bodies before pulling them deep, deep underground to suffocate and die. Once this was done, Selena took a deep breath to calm herself down. A moment later, the chains would move Reaper back down to her and she'd hurry to his side. "J..." she knelt down next to him and put a hand on the side of his face, her expression full of worry, "They're gone... J, what happened? You... just froze up. Why didn't you move?"

When she got to him, she pulled her bag of gear off of her shoulder and set it to the side. He asked her a question that confused her, but she would answer it. "One second..." she said softly. She couldn't see and he should understand what she was doing. She reached into her bag, pulled out those glasses of hers, and took a deep breath before putting them on. A few grunts of pain could be heard as her Arcana was forced from her eyes and away from her head. She was dizzy for a moment, but she wiped her eyes to quickly adjust and looked toward him. His eyes seemed fine. "J... Your eyes are fine, they're there and uninjured." she told him, still worried. He was actually kind of scaring her. When he spoke up again, Selena closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip out of pure anger.

Then he asked her for help; she knew that was one hell of a leap of faith. He had never actually asked for help, she pretty much forced it on him. When he said that, she felt her heart skip a beat and a new found determination quickly built up within her. She nodded and then rolled her eyes at herself. He was like she normally was, he couldn't see. Nodding did nothing. "Of course, I'll get you there, I swear." Selena said and pulled her glasses off faster than she normally would. She clenched her jaw instead of sounding out any pain and tossed them back into their case in the bag. She pulled the bag back over her shoulder and even took his. "Do you want to go back to Greenwood or keep along this path until we find another town?" she asked him, wondering how quickly he wanted this done.

"You're going to have to trust me... a hell of a lot more than you've trust anyone in years." she said as friendly as possible, helping him to his feet, "If your sight is lost for any extended amount of time..." She hesitated and looked away from him. She hoped to god he wouldn't have to deal with this, especially since his wasn't any of his power awakening. He wouldn't be able to adjust like she was. Taking a deep breath, she spoke up again, but much calmer. "There are a lot of things you're going to need help with. Something as simple as walking along a path..." she put a hand on his shoulder and sighed, "You'll drive yourself mad if you think for even a moment that I might walk you off a cliff or into any kind of danger. I won't... So let's go." Selena slid her hand into his and held on tight.

Once she got him away from the trees, she'd begin leading him in the direction he would have said he wanted to go, whether along the path or back toward Greenwood. She'd do her best to keep him from tripping over any roots, stepping on larger rocks, or running into any trees. She kept him on the path and kept him close. She made sure her chains were firmly wrapped around him as well. Even though it probably didn't have the same effect, the chains made her feel safer. Having something strong and stable wrapped around you in an unstable world helped some people keep calm. Any time he may have tripped or lost his balance, those same chains would keep him steady. Although he was walking on his own, they acted as a crutch; the moment he needed it, they'd stiffen and keep him up.

Whatever one was faster? Alright then. Greenwood it is. She knew where Greenwood was at, so she could navigate there quickly and easily. She had no idea what wrong turn might lead them on the worst path. Selena wanted to make sure Reaper was okay and that's what she was going to do. And thought he never said it, he implied his trust in her. He 'knew' she'd never walk him off a cliff, huh? That was a level of trust he seemed to not be able to admit to himself. Sometime during their travel, they did stop and he put a blindfold on. She was about to offer her own blindfold when she realized how weird that would look and just let him do what he was doing. Once he was done, the two were on their way, hurrying through the forest at whatever speed they were able to move until they arrived.

When they got there, Selena made sure to get the attention of a doctor and brought him to Reaper in a hurry. She was pacing the entire time, hoping that Reaper wouldn't be blinded. The doctor said things would be okay, so Selena sighed in relief. Before he could say much more, Reaper stood and motioned for Selena to help him out. She quickly moved over to him, tossed five gold to the doc, and hurried along with Reaper. Once she got him to the bench, he explained what he wanted her to do and was actually a little worried about the plan. "J... I don't know if that's the best idea..." she said softly, "Unless you can give me the perfect set of directions toward your contact, with you not being able to see... I fear we'd get lost and your situation would become worse... It's best to stay here."

Selena actually felt her stomach turn when disagreeing with him and wouldn't be shocked if he could tell how much it upset her. She just didn't want things getting bad for him. "If there is another city you'd be safe in... We can hire a carriage, but traveling will be difficult... very difficult." Selena continued, "If you insist, I will try my best to get you where you want to go." Selena got her answer. It was understandable that after being attacked practically right outside of this village that he wouldn't trust being here. He wanted to go somewhere that he didn't have to worry as much. "Understood." Selena said and the two continued with their travels. Selena was constantly using Arcana at this point, sending it out to make sure she had a clear view of everything and keeping her chains with Reaper.

Selena couldn't remember the last time she felt her heart sink. He really was having a hard time. She watched him almost catch himself on fire too, but he felt the heat and pulled away from it. She wasn't used to having to keep this close of watch on someone, but at the same time it was breaking her heart, it was warming it. The fact that he trusted her enough to watch his back warmed her heart. It was both a sad and precious sight all at once. And when she cooked inner, she didn't want him feeling like a baby, so she didn't offer to help him eat. When she handed him the stew, she warned him that it was hot and he ended up spilling on himself over and over again. Selena felt really bad for him. He kept trying, but with each failure he got angrier. Finally, he snapped and threw the spoon.

Selena clenched her teeth. She kinda had expected that. The spoon slammed right into her forehead and fell. Before it hit ground, she caught it and stood up. She walked over to him and set her hand on his head, gently running her fingers through his hair. She sat down next to him and sighed. "Here..." she said, placing the spoon back in his hand, "Let me guide you..." She put the bowl into his other hand and at the same time flicked the bowl and spoon with her fingertips. The vibrations started and never stopped. They continued at such a low rate that she would be able to guide him and control the path the spoon was taking. "Now, memorize it... Remember the distances each are being held and where they travel..." she explained to him, wanting him to get the rhythm down so he can do it.

"Keep repeating the motion... and you'll get used to it without your eyes."

The morning came and Reaper was still asleep. Selena smiled softly at him and stood up. Dusting herself off, she began getting coffee ready, being as quiet as she could while doing it. Once it was set up, she placed it near him, but far enough away that he could figure it was there before accidentally knocking it over. Seeing him in this vulnerable state had been tearing her heart apart. He was always so confident, so strong, and completely independent. Sure, she hoped he'd learn to count on her more often and maybe even trust and care for her as much as she did him, but his frustration level was heartbreaking. She only hoped that his eyes would return to normal sooner rather than later.

In the morning, coffee was his thing. She didn't drink it. She preferred her water. She sat across from him on a log as he woke up. She didn't know whether saying good morning was something she wanted to do right now. She doubted he would ask for help, even if it was the smarter was to go about this, so she watched him, hoping he wouldn't mess up. It didn't happen that way. Seeing him spill it over himself, she rushed to his side and poured her cool water over his right leg to quickly cool it down. "It's okay... It's okay... calm down." she said softly, taking a thick cloth and dabbing the cooled area down to help dry him off. She looked up to him and ran her thumb along his cheek.

"This is temporary. It won't last forever... The doc said only a couple of weeks... Remember that." Selena told him, but her voice sounded off. There was a reason for this. Seeing him this bad after less than two days hurt her. She felt bad for him because he was normally the complete opposite and he obviously hated this. Yes, she was holding back a few tears for him. If he wouldn't cry, she shouldn't either. It was just much harder for her not to. "And if it takes longer than that, I'll search all of Arcadia, and farther if needed, to find you a healer. You won't be like this forever." Selena stood up and walked away. Her voice was becoming more distorted from holding back the tears.

"Alright, let's get going." she said about twenty seconds later. She began packing up their things, but poured a second cup of coffee first. This time, it was much cooler so he'd be able to drink it. Coffee usually was better hot, but he'd kind of have to deal with it for now. Once he was ready, she'd go back into concentrating on their surroundings and making their way toward his contact of his. If this was truly the one place that he felt safe, she was going to get him there no matter what.

The trip felt even more silent as it went on. Selena had been silent most of the time because she was concentrating, but this was different. It was like the auras around the two of them were just dead. Selena was still concentrating, but was actually forced to lessen the amount of Arcana she was using because of how dense the forest was getting. She had to keep watch, but every detail of every single thing that moved was overwhelming and giving her a headache. Because of this, the moment she lowered her damn guard, something fell and she didn't get to warn him and usually she would have. His reactions were completely understandable. As he lost his balance, he went to steady himself and the chains tried, but that damn crystal staff came slamming into Selena's face.

"Mmmmm!!!!!!!!" she clenched her jaw and yelled in pain through her nose. She dropped to her knees and hunched over, covering her face with her hands. Selena completely lost concentration and the chains dropped to the ground, allowing him to fall to the ground as well. It took a second for her to actually regain her composure. The pain took her breath away and she was hit hard enough to give her a bad bloody nose, and not an anime one either. Once she was able to think straight, she looked over to Reaper to see if he was okay. She quickly reached into her bag and pulled out a cloth, placing it against her nose to catch the blood. Slamming her hand on the ground, the vibrations went through and she was able to recollect the chains again and used them to bring Reaper to his feet.

There was a large part of her that wanted to pick on him and say 'you did that on purpose', but she knew he didn't and it'd probably just make him angrier. "L-Let's move..." she said and the two suddenly picked up their pace. Selena didn't allow him to walk any more. Instead, he was now a spider lifted about a foot off the ground and walking along that way. Selena decided then that it was time to get him to where he wasn't traveling. Maybe this contact of his could help them out. She was actually unsure of how long she would be able to handle this; not his being blind and helping him, but the constant anger and frustration he was feeling. Since she was really the only thing here, it felt like she was sort of his punching bag right now. And if that were the case, she'd need somewhere to rest too.

Selena was tired, but not of something. She was really just tired. The past couple of nights she had been on such a high alert that sleeping was practically impossible. She got some sleep, but not enough to be fully rested. When things went down, her reactions where a bit slower and it bothered her. Getting hit in the damn face was sort of an inevitability though. She helped him up from his fall and was thanked. This surprised her. She stared at him for a moment and then smiled, "Any time." Another two words that meant more when she said it than when any other person would have.

After a bit more travel, they finally found that place he had been talking about. At first, she was startled by the incoming voice, but realized that Reaper knew this man. Once asked, she let him down and led him into the cabin. She led him through to a bedroom and laid watched as he laid down. Realizing he was now fine and settled, she set all of their stuff to the side, wrapped one of her chains around her torso like she usually had them and set the other one down under the bed. Yes, this was another way she could protect him. Even if she were in another room, if someone tried to harm him, she could use this chain to fight from a distance and keep Reaper safe from harm.

As things were being explained, she sat down next to Reaper. She was about to correct him on something, but he grabbed her hand. Out of instinct, she sort of ended up wrapping her hands around his and held on. It was a symbol of her care for him, but also telling him that she was here. Once the man walked out of the room, Selena laid her head on the side of the bed. Reaper caused a smile to move onto her face as he announced his appreciation. And within moments, her eyes were wider than they had ever been. He was offering her a position by his side? Sure, he added the coworkers part, but that's not what she cared about. She had officially been offered a position alongside him. "Anything that will get me closer to your heart... So, yes... It'd be my honor..." she said with a giggle to follow.

"Understood." Selena was going to be a truer part of Reapers life very soon and she loved the thought of it. By inviting her to join his group, she was another step closer to fulfilling that promise of hers. She told him he would want to be friends with her. This was just proving her point. She was just another step closer to keeping that promise. It was silent for a bit, besides a tiny bit of humming Selena did. When the silence was broken, Reaper asked for her assistance again. Apparently, he had discovered his need for a bath. Selena wasn't going to say anything, so thank god he noticed it first. In fact, she could use one herself. Her out fit was just more airy than his armor was.

"Alright, I can help you out." Selena stood up and stretched a bit, following him back to the bathroom. For a few moments, the two argued about exactly what was going on. She didn't like being given this strange choice! Her first instinct was to jump into the tub with him. Even if he had given her that option, the idea of his opinion of her lowering because of some impulsive action bothered her. Finally, he just gave her an order; that was the Reaper she was used to. It took her a moment to realize what the order was though. She blinked a few times when it registered in her mind and then blushed. Before heading in, out of curiosity, she did make her way to her stuff and put on her glasses.

"Thank god he can't see right now..." Selena thought, knowing her face was probably red. As he began removing his clothes, Selena took note of all of the scars. He must have been in a lot more battles than she even imagined to get all of those. Either that, or it was a few extremely intense and difficult ones. Either way, Selena caught herself almost moving to touch his back, but pulled away before she could. Shaking her head, she removed her own clothes, not exactly shy since the man was blind at the moment. He went in first and she made sure to help him so he wouldn't slip. After he was settled, Selena stepped in and sat on the opposite end, stretching her legs out toward his side.

"Wait, shit..." she thought to herself when she realized something, "I didn't get to see it, damn it." Selena pouted momentarily, trying to glance through the water, but ended up blushing and turning away, as if he could see her. She sat there still for a while, not sure whether bathing at the same time would be okay with him. Wasn't that the point of this? Agh! She didn't know! Selena was broken from her thoughts when he spoke up and asked her to find the soap. She looked into the water and saw the white bar. "Of course, that's where it's at..." she gulped and glanced up to him, "No problem, but remember my powers are a little more difficult in water, hun." Yes, this was her excuse.

Selena reached forward and grabbed the soap. As she did this, the back of her hand rubbed along that before she brought the soap up. "Here ya go..." she reached out and grabbed his hand, placing the soap in it. The moment it was no longer in her hands, she blushed even worse. She had actually seen the lightest hint of pink appear on his face. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god." she thought when she heard the bloop again. She quickly grabbed the soap and handed it back, but he kept dropping it. Part of her wondered whether that little moment had caused him to be a little more clumsy than usual. "Cute." she thought and then picked up the soap again, "Here, let me do it for you."

Selena slid along the tub and moved to the other side. She'd help him slide forward a bit so she could get an easier reach of his back and then began to wash his back for him. She would be a liar of she said a thoughts of hugging, kissing, and full on sex with him did not pass her mind, but other thoughts that she had made her not want to disrespect him in that manner. If he wanted her in that manner, that was different, but there was no way she'd take advantage of his vulnerable state. Once she was finished, she washed wherever else he needed and then moved to her own body. Something about this actually relaxed her enough to let out a soft sigh; it was actually pretty unexpected.

"Would you like to rinse with the shower?" Selena asked and stood up. She stepped out first and set a few towels along the floor as he answered, "If you can help me with my balance, yes." Selena smiled and made sure the towels were straight. She walked over to the shower, turned it on so it'd get warm, and then went back over to him. She took the plug out of the bath to let the water run down the drain and then put her hand on his shoulder. "I put some towels on the floor, so lift your feet a bit higher while you walk." she helped him to his feet, out of the tub, and then over to the shower. She made sure he didn't trip over the slight step up into the shower and then stepped in too.

The water was already warm, so Selena made sure he was able to rinse himself well. In fact, she grabbed some shampoo and ended up instinctively helping him wash his hair as well. As she rubbed the soap into his hair, she ended up doing to him what she does to herself and massaged his scalp. "I went through this too..." she spoke up, "My sisters were sick and needed a medicine only found in Aria was their only chance... I pushed myself to the breaking point and my powers ended up activating... The adrenaline kept me going until they were safe, but the moment they were, I passed out and woke up completely blind... It took six months for my Arcana to normalize, then it took me over a year to fully understand everything I was seeing and how I was seeing it... And it took me even longer to realize I could control the movement of anything I saw... It was hard, and I got angry about it too."

Selena finished with the massage and washing of his hair and gently pushed him under the water so he could rinse, which she helped him with that too. Selena kept one arm around him the entire time, trying to make sure he didn't lose his balance or bump into anything. "But I got through it... I had my family by my side and they helped me with everything until I could do it all on my own... It's what people who care about you do..." Selena turned the two of them around so she could start rinsing herself, but never let him go, "And you've got me now, so please... if you can help it, don't feel so alone, don't feel embarrassed or frustrated... I'll be here for you every single step of the way."

The past two weeks were very different for Selena than they were for J., which was odd since they were practically inseprable. Selena was stressed, worried, concerned, and holy shit was she tense. And it wasn't the kind of tense that most people think of. How many times had they gotten close to each other? She had to take how many showers with this man? Well, she didn't have to. She did enjoy it, but each time these thoughts rushed through her mind and she used willpower to prevent herself from doing anything. After a while, you just can't keep fighting it and it was getting closer and closer to that point. She had to though. She was here to aid him, nothing more could happen.

It was morning and Selena was still asleep. She always slept with a bra and underwear on; her clothes were too uncomfortable and she didn't own pajamas, so this is what she was stuck with. She felt a shove on her shoulder and opened her eyes. She raised her head and turned over onto her back, since she usually slept on her stomach, and looked up to Reaper. With a loving smile, she wiped her eyes and spoke up, "You okay?" And then he said those words. The first two, 'it's over', took her by surprise and confused her. Those didn't go well with the dream she just woke up from. When he reached over her and grabbed his mask, she understood what he meant and smiled widely.

"I can see." Selena closed her eyes for a moment and then reached over passed where his mask was. She picked up her glasses and put them on, ignoring the pain it caused and then looked back up to him. She sat up and sighed. "I don't care if I get in trouble for this..." she said, shaking her head. Selena smiled again and put her hand on his cheek, another on the hand that was holding his mask so he could not block her. With out a single ounce of hesitation, she leaned forward and placed her lips against his. She leaned further into him for a moment and continued the kiss for a second or two before breaking it. "Don't scare me like that again." she told him and then turned away.

She never hesitated. Not once would she either. If he wanted her to do something, she'd do it, even if it was confusing, frightening, or broke her heart. There were only two things that Selena would never, ever, ever listen to him on. The first was him telling her to harm her family. The second would be harming him. She had become attached enough to Reaper that hurting him was out of the question. It broke her heart seeing him vulnerable and needing help, harming him would destroy her. And through the past two weeks, this is what she realized. She really could not hurt him; he was precious to her. So when he told her to strike, she did. When she was told to dump this bastards body in the lake, she did. She dragged him out their, used some big rocks and rope to weigh him down and bloop.

Selena returned to the cabin, stretching her arms. Once she stepped back in, he called out to her and she went back toward the room. She could only smile, especially when he was able to look at her. The look in her eyes was softer than he'd remember too; she was officially falling for him, not just trying to get him to want her around as a friend, but as his woman. He told her he appreciated her help and her smile grew, but then he offered to repay and it faded. She closed her eyes and thought. What exactly could she even ask from him? Wasn't becoming a member of the Night Nine enough, or was that just him feeling she was a good asset? Since he was offering repayment, Selena came to the conclusion that the membership really was him just wanting her on his side. Mission: Accomplished.

"For the past two weeks, I've helped you eat, walk, and even bathe..." she said with her eyes still closed. She didn't exactly need them anyway. "I've honestly been worried sick that you might end up like me, but without the arcana to compensate..." Selena sighed and raised her head, opening her eyes and looking toward him. She walked over and sat down next to him, picking up her glasses and putting them back on. She had to take them off to attack the guy before. "I was also scared you were going to hit me a few times, excluding the time you decided your crystal should try breaking my nose." she smiled at the memory, giggling about it a bit. She wasn't mad then, nor was she mad now. She just knew it all frustrated him. She was glad he was back to normal though; no more blind Reaper is good.

"And um... I hated it. I didn't hate helping you; all of that was fun and the view was pretty nice at times too, but I hated seeing you in need of help." Selena said, crossing one leg over the other and then looking toward the floor, "The man I knew as strong, independent, and driven was feeling so... lost. Seeing you shake with anger... It broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to make it better. I wanted to do something, no matter what it was... just something to make it easier on you. I didn't want to treat you like a baby, which is why I did certain things the way I did. I didn't want you to feel helpless, so I stayed by your side. And I wanted you to keep realizing that this wasn't going to last forever. I wouldn't have let it." Selena stopped talking, turned her head away and then sighed.

"Anyways... J." she cleared her throat and took a deep breath, "I learned one thing over the past two weeks. Just one. And that is that there is only one thing that I would ever want from you..." Selena said and turned back toward him with a sweet smile, "And at this point in your life, you're either not willing... or not able to give it, so please... don't offer me anything until you are." She leaned in and placed a light kiss on his cheek. There was a short crack in her voice while she spoke. "I don't think I could handle the heartbreak of being told no..." It was the first time Selena ever felt an actual love toward someone and she assumed that it would never be returned. So the easiest way of dealing with the rejection was by making sure it never happened. If she never asked for his love, he'd never say no.

"So, something tells me the impostor didn't call the people you asked him to call two weeks ago, so... should we take care of that?" Selena stood up, wiping her face while having her back to him. She turned back to him and pulled the glasses off, setting them to the side as she started feeling a headache come on. Two very different types of pressures in her head, one from trying not to cry and the other from her glasses pushing Arcana back, were causing a little too much pain in her head. "Also, is there any place that I can send some money out? My sisters are probably worried sick after not hearing from me for so long and could also probably use a little bit of extra gold in their pockets, so..." she pulled out a bag of her own coin and shook it, "I'd like to get this to them as soon as possible."

"I can see." Three words that she couldn't have been happier to hear. These three words were followed by a kiss, one that meant a hell of a lot more to her than the man she gave it to. Stubborn bastard, but it was her fault. She knew what she was getting into from the beginning, but she foolishly thought that she could show him what it meant to be cared for and what it meant to have somebody watch your back. She had learned to care for him and watched his back, but beyond that, she had learned to love him. It was probably one of the dumbest things she could have done and she was hating herself for it. It was like she had set herself up for heartbreak and even did it knowingly.

Day four after J's recuperation and Selena wasn't feeling any better. She needed something to occupy her mind. She had actually been avoiding J recently, keeping conversations short and even slept on the floor instead of right next to him. She had to deal with her own mind somehow, and her way of dealing with pain was distancing herself from it. When day four came, though, Selena decided that there was something she wanted to do. "Training. I don't want that shit happening again, so I want to train you how to fight without relying on sight." It wasn't too hard to convince him, so once he agreed, they started that afternoon; he was going to have to get used to using her blindfold.

During their training, she put her glasses on. If she hadn't, she'd naturally see with her Arcana anyways. At least with this, she could actually train him and remember how it was to fight blind as well. Lesson one: listen. The slightest sounds always mean something. From clothes rubbing against each other, the stretching of muscle, the sound of breathing, and the most important was the movement of air. Selena explained to him that it was almost like creating a sixth sense. He had to feel and understand what was normal and then realize when that normalcy ended. Every now and then, she'd toss a sack of something his way: coins, rocks, cotton, or paper, for him to dodge.

It was fun hitting him with rocks every now and then. It was a cute away of getting her revenge, but also getting the point across. Once he was able to hear everything and zone in on certain sounds, Selena explained that they'd move to moving while blind, not just standing there and dodging. Unfortunately, this was going to take a while, but it did give them something to do. After a few hours of training, about thirty minutes before the sun was going down, a certain someone had to take a break. Selena went over to the river and sat down. She took off her shoes and set her feet in the cool water to relax a bit. It had been a long time since she had done any training, let alone teach.

She kicked the water about a bit and began to relax, so she stretched herself by raising her arms and stretching her back. Unfortunately, she gave her current stalkers the perfect point of target. She heard a strange click, but saw nothing. Suddenly, this overwhelming rush of pain shot through her entire torso. She could hear the crack and felt her rib re-break. This strange four pronged hook slammed into her body, sending her flying backwards and wrapping around her torso, under her arms. Like a fish caught on a hook, she was suddenly pulled when the attached chain began retracting and dragging her along the shore toward a small boat that had not been there five minutes ago. The hit was strong enough to completely take her breath away; Selena didn't even get a chance to scream or fight back.

The pain was nothing less than brutal. Selena's body created a dirt trail as she was dragged along the ground. She struggled against the pull, but this metal grip seemed to tighten and it hurt her more. Within moments, her eyes caught the quick glimpse of Reaper jumping over her. Finally, she was no longer being dragged through the dirt. Half of her hair lay in the water of the lake as she struggled against the claw that had itself wrapped around her torso, digging into the skin as it crushed her ribs back into their previously broken state. Selena panicked, kicking her legs to try and loosen the grasp. She grabbed onto the metal, using whatever strength she had left to attempt to pry this constructs talons from her body. With each try, she failed and it seemed to tighten around her even more.

It was tightening, but not in the manner one would think. No. It was squeezing her, crushing her in it's hold. She didn't even hear Reaper's interrogation. She didn't look to him. She tried to call out for him, but the lack of air and zero room for her lungs to expand was preventing that one hope. By the time Reaper got to her, Selena's eyes were wide and dilated in panic. He could hear the short gasps, her lungs desperately trying to pull in the smallest amount of air, but not an inch of progress was made toward her being able to breathe. She was suffocating. She barely heard his words, but could not move herself. Her mind began to fade. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head until they closed and her head fell to the side. Her body fell limp as he was turning her over and she fully passed out.

Selena did not know the minute that passed her by as Reaper removed the three talons that this metal claw had holding her in place. The only thing she knew was her bodies sudden intake of air. That precious breath brought her back to life, her back arching upwards as her chest raised. She tried regaining her composure, but she was being dragged out of the claw. Pain. A heavy pain shot over her like a wave overtook the shore, as her ribs brushed against the remaining metal. She took in a deep breath to fight screaming when that happened, but when Reaper picked her up to take her in, that pain only intensified. Her body tensed, her jaw clenched, a tear fell from her eyes, and she grabbed onto his shirt with both hands and screamed into his shoulder. Her body was shaking at this point.

Inside of the cabin, she was laid down and the pain kept making her lose her breath. Now that she was still, laying comfortably on the bed, she tried concentrating on her breathing. As he left the room to find the pain medication, Selena grabbed onto the mattress below and squeezed it so tightly that she was hurting her hands and shaking even worse. He returned with pain pills and some water and tried handing them to her. She gave a momentary glare, but that changed to an almost defeated sigh. "J... I can barely move..." she said in a breathy and pained voice. He nodded and helped her take the pills and it quickly became obvious that swallowing was painful as hell. She didn't yell out this time, but she completely froze until the pain calmed and then she could lay into the pillow.

"This might tide you over. I am no doctor, as you know, but tell me where you are injured. If you know the extent of your injuries as well, it would assist me in treating you." Selena's eyes darted from side to side as she tried as hard as she could to figure out where the pain was. She just shook her head over and over again before finally taking a deep breath. "My ribs... I don't know anything beyond my ribs..." Selena was crying and she was not even attempting to hide it. She just kept shaking her head, sniffling, and clenching her jaw together. Not once did her hands release the mattress either. "I don't think I've ever been in this much pain..." she said through one of her sobs and half-turned her head toward him, "Who the fuck were they? And I do hope they're not longer among the living."