Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"You're not my Da. You don't have to offer me a home." Fiona said softly as she looked up at Brogan. "And I know I still have to account for that murder."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll get t'tha'. But after all tha's happened, d'ya really think anyone'll believe it was murder anymore? Rho an' Sam certainly don't an' I doubt Taqu'un will. An' no, I'm no' yer Da, but it's been a long time since anyone treated you like th'good lass you are. It's no' charity, Fiona. It's human decency."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona lowered her head slightly as Brogan said that, the weight of her past so heavy on her shoulders.

"I always assumed my Da was dead. He never came home one day. I was half starved by the time my grandpa came to take me home with him. Da never came back and grandpa said he wasn't going to." Fiona said softly. "What if he decides to come back into my life? It would ruin everything."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yer an adult now, lass, an' you've got plenty o' friends at yer back t'help you. If he does come back, y'can always come to us. I know yer stubborn an' self-reliant, but we'll always help you when you need it." He had her sit down beside him and he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Yer always welcome here, no matter what."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not the kind of girl that Sam needs." Fiona said softly, knowing that she could never be with Sam, even if he did kiss her until her toes curled. "We'd just end up breaking each other's hearts in the end."

 

[KieranSoares]

"How would you know tha' unless you tried?" Brogan asked her with a kind smile. "No one knows th'future, lass. But even if yer right, yer still welcome here. We don' like you jus' because Sam does."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I guess I have nothing else to argue with then." Fiona said simply, letting out a long sigh as she looked towards Brogan. "I'm going to check on Roman. I don't think I've brave enough to see Sam yet."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Jus' let us know if y'need anythin'," Brogan said with a nod. He wouldn't stop her or try to follow to make sure she didn't slip away.

Roman was off to the side of the courtyard, laying on his side as Annie tended to his leg after removing the metal shard that had dug into his flesh.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Hi, beastie." Fiona said softly as she came up to Roman's side, smiling as his great hands grabbed her close and hugged her tightly. "I missed you too."

She wrapped her arms around his scaled neck, hugging him as tightly as she possibly could. It felt good to have a creature love her as greatly as Roman did. He gave her hope that things might be alright in the future.

 

[KieranSoares]

Roman rumbled happily with Fiona near, pain-killing herbs leaving him slightly foggy but comfortable and sleepy. David came to help Annie, glancing to Fiona. "Good to see you're still out and about. We were worried."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Thanks to Invah for saving me." She said softly as Roman rumbled in happy contentment. "And your Da for stopping me from running away."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Brogan cares about all good people," David assured her while wrapping a bandage around Roman's leg and another about his neck for the bolt wound he'd suffered earlier. Then he went on to Invah, who was already tending to herself quite handily.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona simply stayed in Roman's embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest as he rumbled drowsily. "Get some sleep, beastie. I'll be right here when you wake."

In spite of the chaos that the keep had turned into around the battle, Heather had somehow found her way out to Invah. She had heard the beating of large wings and the roars of pain from her room. It had taken some stumbling on her part, but the moment that Heather had placed her fingers on those familiar scales, she knew that she had found the right spot.

"I'm sorry that I told them about you." She murmured softly as she sat on Invah's tail. "They told me that they would hurt my Mama if I didn't."

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah's great hands reached out to scoop Heather up and draw the girl close to her chest where her scales were softer and just as intricately patterned. "I understand, little one. Many would've done the same in your position."

 

[heartofcourage]

Heather hugged the dragon tightly as she brought her into her arms and held her against her chest. "I was scared, but I tried so hard to be brave. They told me that they would drown me and then do the same to Mama. I didn't want to go to the loch."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They might have..." Invah sighed. "And that would've broken my heart, dear. It's better this way, despite everything else." Either way, men would have died and the Ghis would've been attacked. But if Invah hadn't come out, more of the Invernessians might have fallen, and Fiona would've surely died.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Are you going to stay at the keep tonight?" Heather asked softly as Invah told her that she very well might have been drowned if she hadn't told them about her. "I've got some extra blankets I can share with you. We could sleep out under the stars."

Heather had very few friends outside of her family. She found it hard to make friends with people her own age since they were interested in playing games that she simply couldn't see to do. She was an old soul. That's what Gran had always told her. An old soul content to do things well beyond her years.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't think you have enough spare blankets in the whole keep for me, darling, but I'm alright without them. I'll stay with you if you like." Despite her great size, she was perfectly gentle in shifting Heather to the crook of her arm before she relaxed and laid her head down.

 

[heartofcourage]

"That would make me happy." Heather confessed as Invah tucked the little girl into her arm and lay down her head. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Invah."

 

[KieranSoares]

"And I'm glad you didn't run away," Invah said with a smile.

Inside, Kell was checking in on Sam who was now just resting, but Valentina had accosted Kell to tend to his own wounds that he'd tried to hide, having been not too far from the exploding cannon himself. Finally she sent him to Kate and told him to rest.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate was resting in bed when Kell came into the room. The look on his face told her that he had been sent her way by her Aunt Val. She chuckled softly as her wolf seemed slightly agitated, but she kissed his cheek sweetly when he came her way.

"You got sent to bed too?" She asked with a grin, snuggling up against her husband's side. "Papa grabbed me before I could help too much."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Valentina thinks I'm useless just because of a couple cuts," Kell sighed, even though one entire arm was wrapped up in bandages and he was limping slightly. He kissed her in return and settled with a sigh, feeling useless.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're not useless, Khelt." Kate said as he settled next to her side. "You're keeping me company. Your queen commands it."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You only say that to make me feel better," Kell murmured. "There's too much to do around here for me to be laying in bed." Of course that thought didn't apply to Kate, whom he believed needed to be resting.

 

[heartofcourage]

"What's good enough for me is good enough for you, Khelt Aleister." Kate said with a look that told him she wouldn't listen to his arguing. "The last time that you simply lay in bed and rested was when we went to Dundee for a holiday. You gave me one day in bed before you were up and charging forward."

She let him have a little smile, her fingers combing through his dark fur. "In fact, that one day is probably where we got this little one."