[hr][center][color=khaki][h1]Freya Leander ~ Cait Sith[/h1][/color][/center]
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[@Aviaire] [@Heartfillia]

It all happened at once. No sooner had Freya looked away than the chainsaw woman rushed at them. The catlike girl reeled and toppled, but before the villain could strike, a shockwave from Enterprise knocked her back. Just then, a certain other pro hero made her appearance, using her lion-like strength to slam the attacker to the ground with minimal effort.

Freya let out the breath that had caught in her throat. This was the first time in years she'd been glad to see her sister. [color=khaki]"Felicity! Thank you so mu-"[/color] She trailed off as Sphinx turned that look of pure condescension towards her and her friends. The insult that followed hit Freya like a punch. It rang true as far as she was concerned - but not as far as Eira and Renard were.

As much as she wanted to shrink back, she met that piercing gaze. [color=khaki]"Y-You don't know what you're talking about,"[/color] she spat. Her classmates had never seen her outright angry before now, but she didn't care. [color=khaki]"You don't know them. Everything I thought I saw in you, Fliss, everything I looked up to you for... I see for real in them."[/color]

Sphinx snarled and growled. [color=sandybrown]"Oh? I don't know what I'm talking about?"[/color] That sneer returned. [color=sandybrown]"Are you saying you know more about hero work than I do, kittycat? After this, no less?"[/color]

Freya suppressed a shudder. [color=khaki]"What I'm saying,"[/color] she said, glancing at her two nearby comrades, [color=khaki]"is... Ah!"[/color] The rest of the sentence - she knew, she'd [i]seen[/i] the traits that made a true hero - never left her mouth. She stared at the slumped figure beside her. [color=khaki]"Renard...?"[/color] Her friend, although still breathing, didn't respond. [color=khaki]"Oh no, please, tell her off, make a joke, just say something!"[/color] A fresh wave of guilt sent tears spilling down her cheeks once more. [color=khaki]"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"[/color]

Sphinx simply strode away, muttering something that sounded like "weaklings" as she dragged the bound villain with her.

By now, more pro heroes had arrived on the scene, but a look around revealed the damage already done. At the sight of the two other wounded forms - Sofia unconscious and Gabby sagging away from the scorpion villain - Freya could barely breathe. Another explosion rippled from inside the building, a brutal reminder that although help was here, the situation continued to spiral out of control.

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Saturday. A day Freya usually looked forward to, as it meant a good sleep-in. Curled up in the hospital bed, though, she'd slept fitfully, nightmares invading her slumber.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, the images flashed through her mind. The chainsaw attack out of nowhere. The birds. Sofia in a pool of blood. Abigail, a nasty piece of work but seemingly on the heroes' side, revealed as a traitor. The mangled forms of guards who'd never made it out. And Renard's reaction, that frenzied look that was utterly unlike him, the physical and mental state he'd ended up in, all because of her recklessness...

For several minutes, she sat hunched on the bed. Then, she eased herself up, groaning at the aches that still jolted through her body. She'd recover, the medics had said, and the use of healing Quirks meant it would happen in a reasonably short amount of time, but fears for her friends nagged at her mind. Taking one of the seafood snack bags her parents had brought her, she dragged herself from the room and down the hallway, stopping at one of the doors.

Her grip tightened on the bag as she stood there. What on earth would she say to him? Would he even want to see her? A tearing sound drew her from her thoughts. Looking at the bag, she cringed. She'd grasped it so hard, her claws had started to poke from their sheathes, piercing the plastic. She pulled the packet free, only to rip it even worse. Great. Holding the edges together, she cast a panicked glance from the door to the hallway. Could she risk coming across as that tense? Should she get another one? If she did, would she lose the nerve to face him?

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. [color=khaki]"Renard, it's me."[/color] Slowly, she pushed it open with a creak. [color=khaki]"I just... I just wanted to check that you're ok. And, uh, those snacks I was going to give you... I've got them right here."[/color]