• Mature • Breaker of Hearts (Virikai)

[Maebella]

22 Zi'da 717

Once class was finished and her belongings were packed away, the Eídisi walked through the Azure Wing, heading towards the exit. A glance at her fingertips revealed that they'd picked up a fair amount of ink and she wondered if she'd managed to smear it on her face. As a result, she headed for the nearest bathroom, intending to check her appearance in the mirror. Up until recently, she probably could have walked around with ink marks all over her features without even considering it as a possibility. The young woman had always been concerned with her studies more than her appearance and while she did her best to appear tidy, she'd never been overly concerned with her physical presentation; she'd always worried far more about how her mental capabilities were presented. Now though, there was always the chance that she might unexpectedly encounter Virikai and imagine what he'd think if she had black streaks on her face?

She'd found herself thinking about the lordling more and more over the past few trials since she'd attended the social event at the Academy. The way he'd looked at her, spoken to her, touched her wasn't to be easily forgotten. Of course, reality had been far less interesting than fantasy and it was even more difficult to remember the fragments of dream she could recall from the same night. Just recollecting it was enough to set heat rising within her, heartbeat thundering. The events that her sleeping mind had conjured were far more embarrassing by trial-light, revealing an infatuation she hadn't been wholly certain she had. What was more, it was the result of her mind rather than a reflection of the truth. The notion of seeing him again after thinking such things... Mae suspected that she'd turn into a blushing, stammering mess, finding herself unable to meet his eye.

When she got herself in front of a mirror, she discovered that her suspicions had been well founded as there were some dirty smudges along her hairline and on her cheek from sweeping the troublesome strands out of her face. Fetching some tissue paper, she set about scrubbing the ink off, brows pulled together in concentration. She was working away diligently when she heard the voices, loud and excited even outside the door. The scholar didn't pay any attention though. She'd found that young women could be quite excitable and she thought of it as irritating more than anything else; thus, she did her best to tune it out. Hence when the door burst open, she didn't even glance that way, not even in the glass' reflection.

She ignored the noisy, near hysterical tears until an emotion-laden voice shrieked, "You Eídisi bitch!" Mouth open, the scholar's head turned in time to see a familiar redhead charging at her: Caesia. Gone were the consciously pretty smiles, replaced by a tear-soaked face that was quickly becoming blotchy and eyes that communicated such rage that Maebella found herself recoiling, although she didn't understand its reason or how it could be directed at her.

"Is there something the matter?" she asked quizzically, eyeing the other woman warily.

"Something the matter? Don't act so sarding innocent! Do you even care what you did?" she snarled, giving the Eídisi a shove, the strength of which shocked her. "Why would he want you, huh? What by Yvithia have you got? A bit of novelty if he could get into your knickers, as if that would ever happen! Frigid bitch with your head so far up your arse, it's amazing that you'd deign to speak to any of us!" Caesia snarled, bringing her hand up and around so fast that Mae's head whipped to the side when it struck her cheek. She whimpered, raising her arm protectively as another blow came, smacking against it rather than her face. There were a few more solid slaps before a fist collided with her stomach that bent her double and had her dropping to her knees, spluttering from its effects.

The assault would have continued if two other young women hadn't dragged the enraged redhead away from her, probably the girl's friends. Still, they struggled with her, the linguist fighting like a wildcat in her desperation to get at Maebella, screaming insults and only slightly coherent while the scholar cowered away from her, still in pain and terribly confused.

"Why did you have to take him from me? You're already some lordling's slut, you don't need Jevan! I saw you with Talius! Not frigid to him! Not frigid when it suits you!"

The redhead managed to spit down into her face before her friends finally talked her down, explaining that Maebella wasn't worth it. It gave the Eídisi the chance to get to her feet and all but run from the place, her body shaking from the shock of it all and not entirely certain what had just happened. She was in pain and she felt oddly humiliated, trembling from what she saw as mindless abuse. But she couldn't forget the rage on Caesia's face and although she couldn't understand the reasons why, Caesia obviously blamed her for something to do with her boyfriend. She didn't think that the young woman had sought her there but had presumably wanted to sob somewhere in peace. She suspected that the linguist had been dumped. Still, her own part in it remained a mystery although the girl's words had stung, particularly about her relations with Virikai.

The young woman moved through the Academy in a daze, finding her way to the main exit by force of habit, still a-tremble as she moved onto the grounds, hugging herself as she stumbled past the Viridian Wing.

Credit to Rose Greenwood

[Virikai Talius]

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Late for class, Virikai seemed to in no particular rush as he strode down the halls of the Viden Academy in the direction of the Viridian Wing. He did not have to weave his way through the student populous, slowing himself down or even appearing to be desperate. Instead, the crowds parted, giving himself a direct route through to the Wing itself.

The Talius scion had never been late for anything in his life before, and it was only because of the incompetence of the timetables at the Academy - who had, in their ingenuity, scheduled his second class of the day to occur immediately after the first… in an entirely different Wing. He was not the only one to be running late, so it did not bother him in the slightest.

Despite his desire to go to his next lecture, his pace slowed when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hunched figure of a familiar person up ahead. “Maebella?” Virikai’s voice came over the loud chatter of the rest of the students milling around as he diverted his course and approached her. He stopped in front of her, forcing her to halt too. “What’s wrong?”

He inclined his head to the side, and noticed how her normally flawless skin had an obvious blemish on it. Frowning, he lifted his hand and one finger rested under the girl's chin while thumb and forefinger gripped her jaw. Impervious to the potential observers around him, he firmly lifted her head, tilting it to the side to inspect the damage closer. Across her cheek was a flourishing discolouration, the result of physical damage. Someone was going to suffer for this, under his pleasure.

White eyes flashed with barely concealed fury at what he was seeing. The girl was clearly shaken up, clearly upset by whatever had occurred. Maebella was outspoken and, on occasion, indecorous with how she spoke to people, but she was not offensive, and certainly not aggresive. Virikai could not imagine her ever deliberately antagonising someone enough to deserve this. Even if she had, no one had the right to damage that which he had staked a claim to. “Who did this to you?” Virikai asked, his voice dangerously quiet, his anger palpable within the air. The hand curled to turn Maebella’s face, peering at her intently.

[Maebella]

Her name reached her slowly, awareness surfacing sluggishly so that her head turned too late, Virikai's appearance in front of her coming as a shock. She actually flinched, his presence too sudden to her as if everything was at a crawl for her while around her it was on high-speed. She gazed up at him, wondering how to begin formulating an answer when she didn't fully understand what had just occurred. A girl that she was vaguely acquainted with had suddenly attacked her in the bathroom and she wasn't sure why but there might have been an accusation about Mae seducing her boyfriend away from her. Even if she could put it in terms that made sense, the overall meaning felt too bizarre to be real. So she just regarded him stupidly, unsure how to voice her chaotic and nonsensical thoughts.

His touch made her jerk, eyes flicking shut in the expectation before she remembered who this was. This wasn't that crazed woman, not everyone was ready to smack her and punch her and spit. When she cracked her lids open, she could see the way that the medical student was scrutinising her face and she realised that Caesia must have left a mark. The fury in his gaze was startling and she was reminded of the redhead flying at her... but also her dream. He'd acted with obvious rage then too and violence. That glow in his eyes certainly seemed to hint at potential violence in the future too. She didn't want her pain answered with more, even if it was against her aggressor. She didn't want any one else to hurt. The scholar just wanted to purge it from her mind.

"Virikai, leave it be. Please!" she pleaded in a whisper, the desire for this to end here and now clear on her face. "It won't happen again, it's over! Please, just leave it be!" Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, the young woman blinking rapidly to dispel them before they could collect. She wasn't going to cry here in front of everyone. The shock was wearing off now and the scion wasn't helping matters. The true distress of the event was getting ready to crash over her like a wave and right now she was only feeling the lap of its waters at the edge of her mind. She didn't want to have a breakdown in this place, she didn't want to have a breakdown in front of the aristocrat, not for real.

Her fingers came up to pry his hand away as she made her retreat. The soft blue digits moved to caress her cheek, wonderingly seeking to see if the damage could be discerned by touch. She could certainly feel its sting although she couldn't tell if it was inflamed. It was a matter for later. Instead, the fingers moved again, clawing for hair, wanting to cover a mark that was apparently quite visible. She just wanted to go home and- No, not home! She didn't think she could stand the idea of bumping into one of her roommates or have them hear her if or perhaps when she cracked. If she could hear sounds of sexual congress through the walls then she wouldn't take that chance.

The Eídisi didn't know where she'd go but she couldn't stay here. There was a creeping sensation on the back of her neck, a notion that perhaps Caesia was moving behind her somewhere, ready to carry out another attack if she caught up to her. She was prepared to move aimlessly. She didn't want to be near Kai with his fury on her behalf either.

Credit to Rose Greenwood

[Virikai Talius]

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When she flinched, Virikai almost lost his control there and then. “Easy, Bella,” he murmured softly, using the same soothing tone he had used with his dog when she had delivered a litter some arcs ago. “I am not going to hurt you.” What had happened that would cause the ordinarily bold and bright academic to shy away from someone, even a stranger, in a crowded corridor? It was so unlike her.

Gingerly, he reached up to touch her cheek. He was not an expert in the field, but his qualifications and experience in the FRA had given him enough knowledge to be aware of what sort of force would be needed to cause such a mark to appear. The face was particularly sensitive, with blood vessels close enough to the skin to cause them to rupture more easily when aggravated with blunt force. It probably looked a lot worse than it actually was. But that wasn’t the point. “The mark is the obvious outline of a palm. This is deliberate damage, and it is fresh. That is not something I can ignore. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

She refused to answer, prising his fingers away and stepping going him. Virikai would be damned if he would let her leave so easily. He turned and grabbed her arm, pulling at it so she would be forced to whirl and face him again. His grip on Maebella’s wrist was not tight enough to cause her any pain or physical harm, but it was enough to cause her minor discomfort and illustrate that she would not so easily turn her back on him without his permission.

Students around them had to act quickly, and the pair were given a few bemused looks as some of them even slowed down to try to see what the commotion was about. A quick, hard glare from the Talius scion was all that was needed to send most of them scurrying away from them. Maebella was clearly humiliated by the experience, made work by Vikritai, but the academic seemed oblivious and immune to the tortures of anything so socially crippling or mortal as feeling awkward.

He closed his eyes and counted to five. When his rage had calmed down, muting to more normal levels of anger as opposed to the red haze of fury that had previously stolen him, he opened them again. Looking back down, his icy gaze pinned Maebella to the spot, noting the sheen of unshed tears that glistened in the girl’s eyes as she stared determinedly back at him. But the girl was trying to protect her attacker - someone violent within the Academy. Unacceptable.

“Do not walk away from me, Maebella. Do not force me to repeat myself.” The authoritative tone was back, quiet enough to not draw further attention from an already conspicuous curious group of students, but Virikai had found that he had never needed to raise his voice to get what he wanted.

[Maebella]

His voice was so soothing, his tone like that needed to calm a skittish animal. Was that how she seemed to him? Perhaps. She was ready to flinch from him and she wasn't a stranger to his touch. Still, she simply wanted to be free of him, to crawl off to some quiet place to lick her wounds in peace, figuratively speaking. However, he seemed intent on finding out all he could of her situation although she had no intention of giving him the answers that he sought. Still, when he asked if she was hurt anywhere else, a hand moved unthinkingly to her abdomen, remembering the blow that the other woman had given her, how she had felt ready to retch after it. No, she didn't care if he was a medical student, he wasn't examining that. It had only been a single punch; Mae knew that she was fine, stubbornly believing it.

She should have known that he wouldn't simply let her go but the grip on her wrist still caught her by surprise, Virikai using her own momentum against her to turn her back to him. It sent heat rising in her cheeks, frustration and embarrassment warring within her as people stared. One glare from the scion sent them skittering and that somehow made it worse. She didn't need this kind of scene, never, but certainly not with him. The phrase 'lordling's slut' reverberated through her mind. To hear it come from someone else was painful because it was something that she'd wondered. It was worse that an outsider might see it though and she wondered if everyone who looked on was wondering the same thing. Then again, they didn't know her. To them, she was probably an anonymous face, some girl that the Talius heir could feasibly be courting for all they knew.

The young woman didn't want to do this here but it didn't appear that she had any choice. Humiliation and anger managed to push through everything else, the distress and pain, so that she was able to fix the man with a hard, glacial look. Her chin lifted a tad, defiant and proud. Just because Caesia had reduced her to something that cowered didn't mean that she'd allow him to do the same.

"Yes, it was deliberate. A young woman who was in the midst of hysterics hit me. I don't know why and I didn't stay to find out answers; I doubt I would have gotten anything coherent out of her in any case. She wasn't exactly in her right mind," she explained coldly, tugging hard against his grasp. Oh, she'd stay standing here but she wasn't going to be tethered to him. "I could hardly understand her but-"

She paused, fidgeting a little, the defiance that had been in her just moments before seeming to whoosh out of her. She sighed, drained and looking it. "I need to think about this, Virikai. I haven't had a chance to process this yet. Just leave me be. I'm sure you have other places to be in any case. Why don't you go and leave me alone? Maybe you don't care about making a scene in front of a bunch of nosy students but I do. I don't need you treating me like some sort of ragdoll to be pushed and pulled. By Yvithia's name, allow me to leave with at least some semblance of dignity intact!"

Credit to Rose Greenwood

[Virikai Talius]

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The subconscious movement of the younger scholar’s hand to her abdomen did not go unnoticed by Virikai, and his eyes narrowed as he followed the movement. Had she been punched? Had she been pushed into something? If the damage on her face was so obvious, Virikai wondered if the damage to her abdomen could be worse. But the fiery look in her eyes prove that she was not a child to be coddled. He was reluctantly… not quite impressed, but of a similar sentiment.

He released the girl’s arm, confident that she would not attempt to walk off again if he did so. “Do you know this girl? Do you know why she was… in hysterics?” The scion made efforts to construct his question so as to not imply blame on Maebella. It was not that he thought she was to blame, but more because he was aware of how upset she must be, and evidently embarrassed by the entire situation; he would not alienate himself from her, even if she was so insistent on being left alone.

Weighing up his options, he stepped around her, indicating his unusual companion to turn back the way she had originally intended to go. “I have nowhere important to be right now,” he lied easily as his hand came to rest on the small of the woman’s back, guiding her through the crowd as they headed back down the way he had originally come from. “I would like to ensure your wellbeing. Humour me.”

The crowds of students had begun to dissipate, most now in classes or heading to study rooms away from the main thoroughfares of the Academy. “Do you have another class to attend today?” Her answer would make his decision for him: either a quick trip to the Infirmary, where he would have her rushed through to seeing a healer as soon as they arrived, or taking her to his home, where he would have the luxury of ensuring her health at his own pace. He did not believe her to have any internal damage, but he was not willing to take the risk.

No one was now looking directly at them as they walked. He was glad, it would make it easier to probe further. “If you need to process it, I must assume the attack was from someone you are familiar with, and you know her motivations. I will not force you to tell me about it but sometimes people find… that talking helps.” Virikai found no use for talking about his experiences and feelings. Nonetheless, he did recognise that even if he himself was exceptional, most people may have started blubbering about their sorrows far earlier if they were in her position.

[Maebella]

The scion seemed willing to release her but she didn't think that that would be the end of it. Letting go of her arm wasn't the same as being willing to let her leave. It wasn't the end of the matter and she knew it, even before he started asking questions again.

"Vaguely acquainted with her. One of my classmates is courting her. Well, I think it's a matter that he was courting her but isn't anymore. I gather that that's what made her so upset," she murmured, no longer able to meet his eye because she knew that she was trying to dance around the point. She didn't want to voice her suspicions, ridiculous though they might be, because she felt that Virikai might wonder about her. He might simply scoff at it and ignore it altogether but it was the sort of thing that made her feel strangely unclean. It wasn't something that she was ready to reveal, especially as she might blurt something about what Caesia had said about their relationship, whatever it was. Maybe he wouldn't dig into it... and maybe she'd sprout wings and fly away.

When he indicated that she should leave, she glanced uncertainly at him for a moment, unable to believe that he was allowing her to leave but sure enough when she went to do so, his hand landed on the small of her back, sending a jolt through her. She shifted her bag on her shoulder, not wanting to interfere with his touch.

"Oh no," Mae groaned, realising that she'd have to humour him. Well, it wasn't necessarily going to be awful. Although if he decided to bring her to the Infirmary, she might never forgive him. At least it wasn't going to happen in public. Well, not as public."I'll humour you, Virikai. I suppose I'm grateful... or rather I might be later. At the moment, I'll admit that I'm actually rather pissed off at you," she told him, flashing him the ghost of a smile. There were many ways that she could have phrased it but she'd settled for something that felt appropriate and certainly not considered polite because she was indeed quite pissed off at his insistence on checking her over.

"I don't have any more classes to-trial, no, this isn't one of my heavy trials," she explained, wondering if that would change how he proceeded. As it was, she had no idea what he was planning on doing. Was he planning on walking her to her accommodation? Was he bringing her to the Infirmary? Was he going to perhaps buy her a drink to settle her scattered nerves? She certainly didn't feel as bad anymore, his presence seeming to have returned some order to her mind so he probably wouldn't consider the latter. All should hope was that it wouldn't be too humiliating for her.

In the meantime, she had to get through what felt awfully like an interrogation. He just wanted to know what had happened, she couldn't fault him for that. Her behaviour had been quite out of character for her so it made sense that he'd want to know what had brought it about. Still, it seemed invasive to her.

"I don't want to talk about it but I'm sure that if I say nothing now that you'll keep asking about it until I finally do. I suppose that there's little point in postponing the inevitable," she murmured, the scholar sighing resignedly. "I was in the bathroom, tidying up after class when I heard loud voices outside. You know how noisy humans can be so I didn't think anything of it. It was annoying, yes, but worth my attention? No. It wasn't until she screamed at me that I realised that she was there and when I looked around, she was charging at me with such a mask of fury..."

She shuddered at the recollection, shaking her head. Even now, the extent of the young woman's rage staggered her. "She'd obviously been crying and quite recently. She was hurling all these obscenities at me and senseless accusations. Vile, slanderous things. She was still screaming when she slapped me in the face and she would have kept doing it if I hadn't covered my face. So she punched me instead. In the stomach."

Maebella raised a hand, trailing it over her forehead before she passed it over her hair, not wanting to think about what had been said next and dreading the questions. Still, she blurted what she could. "She just kept screaming at me until her friends pulled her away and then she spat at me and I got out of there," she said in a rush, her ears seeming to ring anew with those hateful words.

Not frigid to him!

The aristocrat's hand on her back wasn't helping matters. Maybe she'd had a point. After all, how perturbed had she been by her roommate flirting with her and then had allowed Virikai to say all manner of things, to touch her and in that dream... True, it had only been a dream but she certainly wouldn't have dreamed about her roommate in such a way.

Credit to Rose Greenwood

[Virikai Talius]

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Virikai hummed and nodded at the brief expansion of information that Maebella provided. It was not enough, not nearly enough. Someone had attacked her because of a classmate? There was no logic behind that. Granted, Virikai knew many who did not often engage their brains before acting, but even this seemed to be on the extreme end. Was it because Maebella had also had a relationship with this classmate? The academic decided not to push the topic further out here in public, but stored it for later retrieval in a private location.

“Such language is not necessary, Miss Arval,” the lordling gently reprimanded his companyion as they continued down the corridor, past the entrance that would lead them directly to the Viden Infirmary. He did not look down, nor reward her with a smile of his own. His expression remained impassive as he stared forward at their direction of travel, but his tone was not overly-critical of her.

The decision had been made for the pair of them that Virikai would take her to his own accommodations. He knew his sister would not be at home, his father would be out too. At worst, his mother would be home, but she would not question him; their relationship was far more healthy than that which Virikai shared with his father. There would inevitably be a few slaves or servants, but they were nothing to worry about. “Good, come with me,” was all he said, though it was unnecessary, when Maebella was already being guided by him through the halls of the Fortress.

Listening quietly, Virikai was glad that Maebella had decided to supply additional information, though it did not make him feel any better about the situation. Regardless of Maebella’s… involvement with other men, there was no need for violence and vitriol. His initial reaction was to hire a guard to protect Maebella, if this sort of thing turned out to be a regular occurrence. Or could he have her moved from her accommodations, and away from this other man, if there were no such shenanigans going on?

It briefly occurred to the Talius heir how damaging this could be for his reputation, if there were rumours surrounding Maebella’s chastity. The pair were not courting, but they had been seen together in public enough times now for questions to be asked and eyebrows to be raised. Kai came of age during the next Season - the time for well-mannered frivolity was long-since over. He would be pressured into taking a bride before long.. or at least pressure into taking the appropriate steps towards such a life.

“We’ll talk more later,” Virikai could think of nothing else to say, as he diverted off the course that would ordinarily take Maebella down to her accommodation in the lower levels of the Cliffs, instead leading her into the Obsidian Prism of the Fortress, where the nobility of Viden were housed. It was a great tower in the fortress, carved of ice and stone. The Talius residence, which Virikai would one day inherit from his father, was some way up the tower, offering exemplary views of both the city and the tundra from the narrow slit windows.

He doubted Maebella would be impressed with his decision to take her this way, and he wouldn’t force her if she adamantly decided against it, but he would firmly encourage her to accompany him. She had, after all, agreed to humour him. “Sit down,” he told his guest, indicating to the plush seats by the ever-lit fire as he ordered a slave to collect a cold compress and wrap it in some fabric. Removing his cloak, he handed it to a second slave, before rolling up his sleeves and approaching, kneeling in front of the girl. “You said you were punched in the stomach?”

[Maebella]

Necessary or not, Maebella felt like adding a few more choice words. She certainly felt that she was in the humour for such a thing and he wasn't wholly disapproving; she could gather as much from his tone. Still, the young woman chose to behave herself, but mainly due to the fact that she wasn't much in the humour for talking. Speech didn't seem to be required in any case, no need for her to voice some sort of protest because he allowed them to pass by the path that would have brought them to the Infirmary. Instead, they carried on although she had no idea what their final destination would be. She could have questioned him on the matter but she'd find out soon enough anyway so what was the point?

He calmly accepted her explanation, not raising any queries now although she was quite certain that she'd find herself interrogated later on. That probably meant that he had plans to spend time with her later in the trial. In fact, he took an unexpected course, diverging from the path to her accommodation and instead-

"By Yvithia, surely you're not bringing me to your home?" she exclaimed, aghast at the notion. Oh goodness, how would that look if they were spotted? What on Idalos would anyone think of a young woman accompanying Virikai Talius into his family abode except that she was- that he was- A shudder went through her, the notion of such a thing reaching the ears of her classmates too horrible to imagine. How many others would come to a similar conclusion as Caesia? Oh they might think that there was a greater level of propriety but it wasn't like she was the proper sort for the scion to marry, which meant that it would appear very frivolous indeed. It made her shrink into herself. There was also the horrible idea in her mind that she might bump into one of the Vorens and that raised a new sort of terror in her.

"Is it entirely wise to... Oh, Virikai! When I said that I'd humour you, I didn't mean this!" she groaned, covering her eyes with a hand as heat rose in her face. Still, in spite of her protests, she allowed herself to be guided into the place, allowed to take a seat in what felt like the heart of the nobility's Inner Sanctum. The scholar perched herself on edge of one of the comfortable seats, not allowing herself to sink against the luxurious material. She had no intention of making herself comfortable - at home - and she too anxious to do so in any case. Her embarrassment and overall discomfort only intensified as he rolled up his sleeves and kneeled before her.

This is a medical thing, not a sexual one. Medical, not sexual, she told herself, the words becoming a mantra in her head.

She'd had physicians examine her before, it was perfectly acceptable, there was nothing strange about it and of course the Talius scion had training so there was no need to read anything further into it. Still, her face flamed because she could understand what must occur next and she wished that she'd protested more strongly to coming here. Instead, tentative fingers played with the lower buttons on her blouse, hesitant to open them.

"Yes, I was but it probably didn't do any harm. It's probably only a little bruised, if that," the Eídisi explained, knowing that she was making a rather futile attempt to prevent this. With a sigh, she did what was necessary, undoing buttons from the bottom upwards. There was no need for her to undo them all or take off the blouse, only to unfasten it close to halfway, revealing the long undergarment beneath. Hesitantly, she grasped the hem of the soft material and raised it over her abdomen, her arm remaining in place under her breasts as she held it there. She found herself unable to even glance at the lean blue surface, ridiculously self-conscious and chiding herself for what was honestly the height of ridiculousness. There was no reason to feel so shy over her bloody abdomen! It wasn't as if she hadn't exposed far more of her body to another before. Yet it did nothing to dispel the feeling or pale the darker hue that her cheeks held.

Credit to Rose Greenwood

[Virikai Talius]

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It was highly amusing, Virikai thought, that Maebella was worried about being seen. It was hypocritical, given that he had experienced similar concerns, but he was only worried about his general reputation - it had never crossed his mind that people would assume illicit activities would be occurring in the middle of the day.

Once in the apartments, Virikai’s expression was one of clinical impassivity as Maebella hesitantly undid the buttons on the lower half of her shirt and it up to expose her abdomen. Her body was well looked after, Virikai was in no doubt after seeing her in a dress only trials ago… and he had seen a number of bodies through his work for the Facility of Retrospective Analysis, as well as his experiences as a medical student. This was nothing new or exciting.

There was evidence of minor bruising, but such things were to be expected on such a soft area of the body, with no bones to protect it. That was what worried the Medical Student - the internal bleeding could be superficial, but it could also be indication of injury to organs, if the blunt force was heavy enough. “Lie back, please.” He pushed forwards on his knees and angled his arm to support his latest patient to turn to the side and read horizontally alone the chair. “Do you feel any abdominal pain?”

The slave returned with the cold compress. He accepted it and dismissed him without a word of thanks, or even glancing away from Maebella, merely passing the compress to the girl, “Hold the against your cheek, it will reduce the swelling. I am going to physically examine your stomach. Please tell me if anything hurts.” With one cool hand pressed flat against the girl’s stomach, he used two fingers of his other to press down against it. He would repeat this process across and around the bruised area, watching Maebella for reactions of pain, and feeling for any swelling.

He didn’t feel any obvious signs of swelling, but that didn’t quell his concerns. “There doesn’t seem to be any damage, but I would like to monitor you for the next few breaks at least. If the damage is severe, we may not see symptoms for the next seven or eight breaks. For now, I will have another compress made up for your abdomen. You are to remain there and rest.” Virikai disappeared for a few ticks, and when he returned, he had another compress.

“I will have one of the guest rooms set up for you tonight.” He explained as he approached again, fingers lightly brushing over the bruised area once more before lightly applying the compress. With his free hand, he reached down to take Maebella’s writs in his, turning it so his fingers could find her pulse, at which point he began counting. Nothing to be concerned about there. He could monitor visual signs, but would not be able to notice any symptoms without her help.

When he spoke, it was dispassionately, though with every bit the domineering tone Maebella had become accustomed to. However, where Virikai’s eyes were normally unreadable, they were now coloured with obvious concern. “I need you to tell me if you feel any nausea or light headedness, or any new, unusual or severe pain in your abdomen or back. If you notice any blood in your urine or bowel movements, or experience discomfort when attempting to perform these faculties please tell me immediately.”

Off Topic

WELL. That killed the mood following our dream...