video;

[wolfishflame]

[It's dark. Whoever's broadcasting is outside in the middle of the night, and the camera slowly adjusts to the little amount of light filtering in from the stars and the barrier overhead.

When the broadcaster speaks, her voice is almost too hoarse to be recognizable, but it's Aly. She speaks quietly, but firmly.]

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
With what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire-- [And at that word, an angry gout of crimson flame flares up from her hands for a moment before disappearing.]
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate-- [The fire flares up again.]
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And will suffice.

[As she reaches to turn off the feed, something that looks a lot like blood can be seen smeared around her mouth.]

Comments

[wolfishflame]

[Aly turns when she hears footsteps, her heart rate spiking, ready to fight, always ready to fight, when she sees Devin and instantly calms down. Well, sort of. As much as she's able, anyway.

When he holds an arm out, she stares at him for a moment, not exactly sure what he's offering, before coming to a realization and hugging him tightly, trying to suppress a sob. There's blood on her face, and Devin should be able to smell that it's animal blood, not her own. Something big and raw, part of a fresh kill.]

[annihilist]

[It is some sign of growth, Devin muses distantly, that any discomfort with the embrace is due more to unfamiliarity than his training now. He sets this aside to examine later, as Aly needs to be the center of his focus.

He circles his arms across her back and shoulders, a bit less tightly than her grip but still solid, protective. This close, it's relieving to smell that the blood isn't what he recognizes as human. Why Aly would have animal blood at her mouth-- well, she had shown up in the forest that one time decidedly four-legged. That's got to be related somehow.

What does he even say? For a little while Devin is silent, searching for words that don't sound hollow in his own head.]

I've got you, [is what he murmurs softly, almost into her hair. He has questions, but they'll keep.]

[wolfishflame]

[And that's what finally does it - that's what breaks Aly's tight control, and she begins crying in earnest, her face buried into his shoulder. She tries to keep herself from crying too loudly or too obviously, but even if he wasn't a vampire with superhuman senses, Devin would be able to tell.

She doesn't let up her grip. It's good to have someone here and real because maybe then everything that she just experienced was one big nightmare and she could ignore the blood on her mouth and chin because if it had all been a nightmare then that's not real either.]

[annihilist]

[There's really not much Devin can do but be there and pretend he doesn't feel a creeping sense of helplessness taking hold. It's faint, at least, since this seems to be what Aly needs right now. After, though-- well, they'll cross that bridge when they come to it. Maybe being there is the best thing he can do.

Tentatively, Devin makes tiny circles with his thumb against her back, raises his other hand and cradles Aly's head against his shoulder. Things the Fool has sometimes done for him, for comfort and contact. Devin's heart aches for her with every sob and tremble, and he'll stay there patiently for as long as necessary, until she's ready to move or speak or whatever else.]

[wolfishflame]

[The comforting gestures almost make things worse. She starts sobbing harder. She doesn't deserve this. Not after what she did.

She starts mumbling something into Devin's shoulder, and after a moment, the words become clear.]

It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. I screwed up. It's my fault, I didn't...it's my fault.