[center][h2][color=fff200]<-{[/color] [color=dodgerblue]Back from the Ashes![/color] [color=fff200]}->[/color][/h2]A collaboration between [@Silvan Haven] and [@Banana][/center] Within Eve's room, the smoldering pile of ashes that made up of where she normally slept sat the female harpy, slowly caressing her neck where she killed herself to escape Hell. Why didn't she get declawed? She didn't know, but as happy as that made her, she still sat scared out of her mind. She felt unclean, unsafe, and violated. The ashes under her kept her a bit more secure, but she was still a bit shaky for the time being. A soft knock echoed through the silent room. The person on the other side was careful to make it as friendly as one could make a knock [Color=fff200]"Eve? It's Saef Harken. I don't know if you remember me but we were in the last battle together. I heard that you got captured and wanted to check up on you. Mind if I come in?"[/color] The knock startled Eve at first, but as she came to realize who it was, she climbed off her bed and fell down to the floor... landing on her butt. Her bed hung in the air so you could fly to it, but with her wings clipped she couldn't fly. At least, she was still in that mentality. She figured her wings would take a bit to fix themselves, but they were good to go. [color=dodgerblue]"Y-yeah! C-come in!"[/color] she shouted, trying not to make it sound like she fell. The door opened and Saef stepped through. He was different from the last time she had seen him. Gone was the shining white armor and gleaming scepter. In its place were casual clothes that looked more like what one might on the streets of Hyperion. Muted tans and whites seemed to be the order of the day. Calming colors. He momentarily glanced around the room before his gaze settled on the harpy on the floor. The paladin's gaze softened as he did so. [color=fff200]"Hey." He said. "How are you doing?"[/color] She couldn't have made it out of Hell's prisons without a mental scar or two. And as he understood it, Eve was fairly young. Too young to just brush such things off. [color=dodgerblue]"A-alright, considering I relived my worst fears,"[/color] Eve bluntly said as she stood up from the ground, her wing shooting a flaming feather out of it and spooking her. [color=dodgerblue]"GAH!"[/color] A pile of ashes along the side of her wall showed that this wasn't the first time it had happened. [color=dodgerblue]"... that... that's also happening."[/color] The room itself was quite warm. Fires were lit all over the room in forms of candles and such, seemingly surrounding the harpy in her element. Fires tended to calm her down to a point. Saef's hand shot out and a small wall of light caught the feather before it could start any new fires. He glanced over at the harpy who had launched it, looking at her aura with his mage's eyes. [color=fff200]" Your stay in Hell changed you. Care to talk about it?"[/color] [color=dodgerblue]"I-I guess I can..."[/color] Eve stuttered. [color=dodgerblue]"Well... from what I remember, I had my wings clipped and I woke up, chained and in a room full of nothing but water... then there was this woman, dressed in all red..."[/color] Eve trailed off as she felt something come to her face. Rain? Why was it raining in here? [color=dodgerblue]"... she stripped down and... kicked me into the w-water..."[/color] again, Eve trailed off and found herself choking on her words. [color=dodgerblue]"... I thought I was d-done with all of that. Done with that s-since the day we were freed..."[/color] [color=fff200]"#### it."[/color] Saef muttered under his breath, one hand clenching so hard it went white. He schooled his features though. This was a time for sympathy. The rage could come later, another atrocity to add to the cold rage in his soul. He moved closer to the battered fighter as symbols assembled in his head. He wasn't a therapist, not by any means of the imagination. But he could at least try to blunt the memory. [color=fff200]"You are done with it."[/color] Soft but with a titanium core. [color=fff200]"I swear it on my soul."[/color] [color=dodgerblue]"You aren't the first to say that..."[/color] Eve whispered as she recalled the events. [color=dodgerblue]"... after that was done, I found myself in a cell again. Wet. Used. Broken. I was faced with two options... stay there or find a way back..."[/color] the harpy found herself trailing off again, not wanting to say how she got out of Hell. It was kind of fitting, when she thought about it. A suicidal harpy doing what she knew best. He knew how she had gotten back. [color=fff200]"But you escaped. You didn't just stay there and let them use you. You are more than some Demon's toy. You took charge of your own fate and acted."[/color] He reached for a shoulder, the spell ready. It wasn't a memory wpie or anything of the sort. More of a local anesthetic for the mind. It would drain some of the color and emotion from the memory. He wouldn't push forward if she drew back. This could hardly be called healing if he forced it on her. And rape victims tended to be a bit touch-shy. [color=dodgerblue]"... it was a bloody escape, but I guess you're right..."[/color] Noticing the hand, she stepped back, pulling her shoulder away from Saef. [color=dodgerblue]"W-what are you doing...?"[/color] She was a bit afraid of the hand. This was a human in Heaven, after all. He could have some serious magic pulled back under that hand. Not exactly a surprising result to an unwise action. Saef cursed himself for his idiocy as he drew back. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he spoke. [color=fff200]"Physical contact is supposed to help sooth people and, well...it's easier to transmit spells that way. I know one, a subset of the healing arts, that blunts memory. If you wish I will do what I can here." [I]When you make a mistake you own up to it.[/I] [/color] A deep sigh came out of Eve's mouth as she stepped forward again. [color=dodgerblue]"If this will help me forget, then you may do so as you please."[/color] The hand came forward once more, this time with fingers resting on Eve's forehead. A small effort of will sent the spell flowing through the contact point in a sort of fuzzy rush. It was odd to say the least. The memory in question faded from prominence and intensity. Becoming less like an open wound and more like a months old scar. It wasn't a fix. The memory would still bring pain if dwelt upon for any length of time. Saef just hoped it would help the harpy properly recover faster. A small "Thank you," was whispered as Eve felt the memory dampen, her more spontaneous and spunky self replacing her depressed state. She was still a bit depressed, but it was more or less an underlying feeling. Another feathers shot out of her wing as Eve was spooked again, leaping around to face the wall where the feather collided and fell into ash. [color=dodgerblue]"HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT?!"[/color] Seems the memory dampening was a bit too strong. It was difficult not to make a birdbrain comment at that. 'Memory removal,' was most certainly not in Saef's list of capabilities. Harpies and general or Eve in particular must posses a certain lack of mental stability for something important to just slip her mind. Whatever the case it would be best to draw her attention away from the more traumatic sections of her past. [color=fff200]"Ever since you recent trip to Hell. My professional opinion is that exposure to the mutative aura there has increased your previous affinity to flames. Launching fire bolts should be just the start. I would urge you to be cautious however. We don't know what else might have been changed. Unknown mutations are nothing to sneeze at."[/color] [color=dodgerblue]"Oh yeahhhh... wait, you're saying that these feathers are only the beginning?!"[/color] Eve said as she remembered what had been happening for the last few hours. [color=dodgerblue]"... I think I'm gonna have fun with this."[/color] The harpy leapt into the air and attempted to fly, managing to stay in the air for a bit longer than anticipated before simply flapping her wings in place, still airborne. [color=dodgerblue]"Oh man! Wings aren't busted anymore too! Saef, I'm back to myself!"[/color] That was good to hear. She certainly had bounced by fast. Faster than he was certain was healthy to be honest. Sure magic could heal a flesh wound in moments but injuries to the soul felt like they should take more time and effort to heal. [color=fff200]"I'm glad to hear that. Just remember to be careful. If you have any weird Demon urges please tell me and we can deal with them together. Use this to contact me,"[/color] He said setting a device down on the nearby couch. It looked like a rectangular piece of glass, although when Saef's hand touched it a blue dot appeared in the center. [color=fff200]"Just press the blue dot and the tutorial will run you through how to use it via both audible and visual directions."[/color] [color=dodgerblue]"Okay! Thanks for all the help Saef!"[/color] Eve flew down to where the device was, lifted it up, and calmly began to analyze it for every feature. [color=dodgerblue]"I-Is this unbreakable?"[/color] Eve had to ask. When your main method of doing damage came from colliding with an enemy as hard as you can, you'd traditionally not want glass on you. Then again, it'd suck for someone to graze their hand on it. That brought a chuckle. [color=fff200]"It's certainly sturdy. One would need to be very determined to break it. Or have superpowers. I would suggest against bringing it into battle. That there is entirely technological and it would suck if it was hit with a blast of corruption or a stay bullet. [/color] [color=dodgerblue]"Man, you'd think breaking windows would be solved with unbreakable glass by now,"[/color] Eve said as she pressed the light on the device, a stray feather shooting out yet again, but not scaring her too bad. She definitely jumped a bit, but not to the point where she was defensive. [color=dodgerblue]"I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon."[/color] [color=fff200]"Well if someone invented unbreakable glass it would kind of kill the war business."[/color] Saef replied. [color=fff200]"If you are feeling better I'm going to head out. I've been gone from my company for too long and the paperwork is likely to reach lethal levels if not dealt with soon."[/color] With a nod of his head the Captain turned and left the room.