Ciara Devaney - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

It was all so beyond her control. Rae was used to being unable to interact with the world around her, but she wasn't used to caring that she couldn't.

Ciara had just seemed to explode with anger, the woman who had been so crystal clear to her becoming suddenly out of focus, swarmed by a miasma of red and black fog that seemed to contain dark lightning within.

Rae had been helpless as she watched Ciara attack the armored man savagely. Though she'd thrown herself at her, trying to touch her, to draw her out of it, something...the miasma wouldn't let her close. She was just a ghost again, with no power to interact. It was frightening. And it made Rae realize just how much she had come to depend on Ciara.

Once the woman was unconscious on the floor, Rae was sobbing uselessly beside her, begging Ciara's attackers to stop, even though she knew they couldn't hear her. The miasma clung in a way that was almost...smug.

She hated it. Almost as much as she hated her own helplessness.

Ciara was taken and patched up, then bound more completely than Rae had ever seen. The incessant machine noises would have been calming if she wasn't sure that the buzz was coming from the miasma that refused to leave Ciara.

Rae reached into it, but it shocked her fingers, a warning. She wasn't used to feeling anything and the sensation of pain was almost more startling than the fact that it fought back at all. After a few minutes of clutching her hand to her in shock, Rae moved back to Ciara's side. If the...thing could hurt her, maybe she could hurt it.

Ciara was awake and the buzz...was more like words now. It was distracted, Rae was sure of it. Making herself as solid as she could, she swept her arms through the cloud, trying to drag it from Ciara.

There was pain as soon as it realized, but Rae struggled through it. She pulled at the almost-present miasma, shoving it away from Ciara.

It took no thought to climb onto the table beside her, curl up around the woman in a protective fashion. She was crying, filling the air with the sounds of hurt and despair.

Rae was exhausted, but she stayed close, whispering to Ciara, "I'm here, I'm here. I won't let it hurt you. It's okay, Ciara. I'm here."

The Price of Insanity

Again.

The damn itch was starting up again.

Exhaling slowly, she focused her gaze on the oh-so-familiar ceiling of the subterranian lab and gave her wrists a light tug. Cable clinked against the edges of the bed, and her hands moved only a scant inch. Ciara had awoken to find Nighlla’s patience had obviously worn out and she was bound hand and foot.

…not to mention the straps above her breasts, over her stomach, her hips, thighs, knees and shins…

Unable to move, the thief was left to stare blankly at the ceiling and think.

…they could’ve chosen a more elaborate torture, but perhaps this was simply more elegant.

  You see? This is what your approach to everything gets you. Really, it was much simpler before you let that charlatan toy with our connection. You had no troubles such as this when I held the reins.

 Closing her eyes did nothing to block out the voice. Not that soft, insidious whisper that was liquid and enticing, purring in the back of her mind. Ciara knew attempting to knock herself out would be futile; there was no hard surface close enough to slam her skull against and the… whatever the hell she was hooked up to would start shrieking out high-pitched beeps if she held her breath. 

  It was easier, wasn’t it? Just letting me help you. Guide you through everything. I’m certain you could’ve gotten something more enjoyable out of that interesting little construct if you’d just let me handle it. Or were you eyeing that big Elonian that you took a nip out of? Handsome, wasn’t he? Ooo, or what about that sassy little redhead that came up to play ‘rescue Prince Charming’? 

One slow breath in, one slow breath out, and she closed her eyes, blocking out the sight of the lab’s ceiling for the more familiar sensation of gazing into fathomless dark. The dark was welcoming and she would’ve fallen gratefully into it, into silent stillness, if not for that continual, laughing murmur.

  I know how much you want to just give up, pet. You could. I’ll take care of everything for you. Handle it all. I could, if you like, give you the chance to roll in his blood. Go take back your woman from whatever upstart happens to be warming her bed. Perhaps having that little blue-haired tart on a chain would ease the cold, hm? Or money? Money enough and we could have everything we wish purchased and no harm done to anyone. You could simply buy your little blonde back. Give her everything she ever wanted. 

Vaguely, Ciara could recall that simple message that had taken her down to the beach. When that… whatever she was had arrived, the thief had been looking across the bay, remembering that ridiculous duel which hadn’t ended, as she’d so hoped, in her death. 

 …probably not the best train of thought to be on when someone began asking questions about the Clubs. Or her work. Or him. Or looked at her and spoke of trust, of all things… Had it been then that she’d heard the sibilant voice rising beneath her thoughts, speaking the name she didn’t allow herself to consider. Ever. 

 …she had been trapped. Was trapped. Was still trapped.

 A shudder worked down her spine that she was barely aware of, and when beeping rose, the redhead did not pay it any mind. Soft hissing filled her ears, rising with her own snarl in a crescendo that drowned out anything external. Muscles tensed as the redhead began to thrash anew, twisting her neck and curling her spine in an attempt to bite at the strap across her collarbones. 

 She didn’t know she was keening loudly.

 …or that she was crying.

Rae had been distracted. Too many people, too much nearness and it eventually made her lose track of Ciara while she found a quiet spot to sink into. It was only for a night.

One night too many.

When she found the woman again, it was with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Despite the rest, despite her happiness at seeing Ciara, it was all clouded. Like the miasma of red and black that surrounded her.

Rae rushed at it, trying to push it away as she did before, but she just heard a chuckle all around her.

Silly girl, said the sibilant voice whispered, did you think I would let you have her? She is mine.

"No!" Rae shouted, though the sound would be nothing but wind in the real world. "Let her go! She's not yours. She doesn't want you. You're...you're hurting her!"

The ghost slammed herself against the miasma, watching Ciara move from man to man with abandon. Rae cried, moaned, wailed, and none of it seemed to help. Nothing got through.

When the miasma finally started to clear, when the awful thing was sated, Rae was there.

"Ciara, Ciara please look at me," she begged, making herself as solid as possible, leaning over the woman with beautiful aqua eyes. "Don't let him do that to you. Ciara...I need you. You're not alone. I'm here for you. Always."

She wrapped her arms around the woman and hovered close. The next time she saw the red and black cloud, Rae vowed nothing would stop her from destroying it. Nothing.

Ciara was hers.

“I’m done with this. You’re boring and a waste of my time.”

It ran through her head, over and over again as she fingered the scorch mark on her discarded leggings. Ciara spat again, trying to get rid of that peculiar taste in her mouth, and dropped her forehead onto her left knee. Again, she saw Serenity’s smile as the echo of a pistol being cocked rang overly loud in her ears.

 Again, she heard those words.

 Again… She heard the gunfire.

  I told you, sweetness… There’s only you and I.

Her jaw tensed, and without intending to, the thief broke into a bitter laugh.

  That’s it, my love. I will never leave you. I will never discard you. Your choices cannot hurt me, and I… Well… 

It was almost tangible, that echo of sensation, as if a warm hand stroked her cheek. 

  I will not let you be hurt anymore.

A single rose the colour of peaches was left on the doorstep of the shop, with a tattered parchment wound about the stem. Slanting, narrow handwriting glared up, reading- "You look happy. Stay that way, please. ~C"

Milli bent down to pick up the flower, frowning slightly. She hadn't seen roses in so long...

"What is it?" Valec asked, ever cautious.

Reading the letter twice over, the engineer shook her head sadly. "Something from someone I lost. Wishing me happiness." She leaned into Valec's embrace when he pulled her close and kissed her head. "I just hope she finds the same," Milli said, glancing around. She knew she wouldn't catch sight of the red-haired thief, but that didn't keep her from trying.

The search took more than an hour, wandering about to the different post boards throughout the city of Lion's Arch. The missing, the heroes, the dead. Milli's head was filled with names and she'd spent a rather long time sitting on an upended stone outside her former shop staring up at the hollowed out remains.

Her guard, Lydia Carlysle, stood watch beside her, silent except when spoken to, making sure she was safe. Milli wished Valec had come, but at the same time she was glad he had stayed away. She needed to do this one her own. She relied on him, and while she knew he didn't mind it, likely enjoy it, she still had to be her own woman. That included searching for the names of her friends.

She hadn't seen Jack's name yet. Thankfully. One of the notes looking for someone looked like it was penned in Ainsley's hand. She would send the woman a letter later, see if she couldn't find her in Divinity's Reach. Ciara's name had been absent as well. Neither had she seen Jackrel's or November Morsus's names. She would have expected either of them to be looking for the other if they weren't together. So either they were both dead or both alive. Another letter to be sent to the Reach.

It was at the last post board that she found it.

Ciara Devaney

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she thought she was going to be sick. Her fingers slid back to the top of the page. Deaths.

Milli stumbled back, bent double as it seemed all breath left her, one gloved hand pressed to her mouth.

"My lady, are you alright?" Lydia asked, rushing forward to wrap her arms around the other woman, watching their surroundings and assessing the situation. "Can you stand? We should leave."

Milli shook her head. "No," she managed, gasping. The sobs ripped their way from her throat and she continued shaking her head. "No, I want to stay."

"Soon, then," Lydia said, standing up to keep watch as Milli's grief overwhelmed her.

Milli pressed her hands to her face, covering her eyes, pulling free her eyepiece and stuffing it in her pocket. Such rough treatment of the device was unlike her, but this was not a normal situation.

She remembered meeting Ciara. It had been Lady Livinia's masquerade ball, both of them Jack's dates, Fire and Ice. And Jack had tried to pull them all into bed. Cia was having none of it.

Milli had been pursued by men and women before, but she had never pursued someone herself. She wanted to understand Cia, comfort her. Care for her where it seemed no one else did. She remembered Cia kissing her in front of Clockworks & Mechanicals Unlimited, a surprise. The second kiss had been Milli's, on the beach. And even then, things were so fragile. Milli had never been able to make it work, to put the pieces together just right.

She remembered Cia with aqua hair, so like her eyes. How soft it was in her fingers. How sweet Cia's kisses could be, but delicate. Like spider silk, always about to break.

And after she'd saved Cia from the torture of her other knee's shattering, she'd demanded Cia stop doing things that were so dangerous. And Cia had refused. That rift had never healed. It was a rent in her heart even now. They had started to mend it, but now...

That was the hardest thing about death. The finality of it. What was done was done. And there was no changing any of it.

She cried for nearly ten minutes before Lydia lifted her to her feet. "We should go home, my lady," she said gently, but brooking no argument.

Milli wiped her face quickly and looked up at Lydia. "What happened to the bodies? Can we find her?"

Lydia shook her head. "I don't know, my lady. We can look into it."

Milli nodded as they headed back toward Nemesir Manor. "She was my friend. I would like to know where she came to rest."

It was easier to be alone when you knew someone would be coming back to you. When you knew that being alone wasn't a permanent state. So when Ciara went walking, Rae let her. There was a kind of thrill in it, waiting for someone to return, to want to hold you and kiss you and talk to you when they did. It had been so long since she'd been human, she nearly didn't remember it.

The rabbit warren had fascinated her that morning, and she watched the growing babies emerge slowly and scout around, little hops barely getting them off the ground. She could observe them for hours, and when Ciara had told her she'd be back, Rae just smiled and waved her off, content in watching the little balls of fluff learn about the nature of life.

Another thing, though, was that she didn't dare move. She didn't want Ciara to be unable to find her. To lose her beloved when she'd only just found her...would break her in ways she didn't want to contemplate.

Ciara's voice drew her attention, though, and she looked over, brown hair bouncing, a bright smile on her lips. It grew larger as she saw the bouquet and listened to Ciara's request.

Rae's smile grew, if that were possible, and she rolled to her knees, then stood and carefully accepted the flowers. She knew how much concentration it took to hold them, much less tie the ribbon around them so carefully. She held them up to her nose, and though she didn't smell much, it was the gesture that was important.

"They're beautiful," she held them to her chest as she reached up and kissed Ciara on the cheek. "And I'd love to go for a walk with you."

It was hard to contain her giddiness, not to try to rush Ciara to their destination. Because, if she understood correctly, the journey was just as important. With her other hand she gripped Ciara's hand and fell into step beside her. "Have I told you lately how much I love being with you? How much you make me smile just by doing things like this?" she held out and admired the flowers again, grinning. "I couldn't ask for a better lover. Or a better friend." She gazed up at Ciara lovingly, tracing the familiar, beloved features with her eyes as they walked.

Five Facts about Millicent Bowyen. Also, you don’t have asking questions enabled on your page. — theshadowedcorner

Should have that fixed now! <3

1) Apples are her favorite treat and she has a serious sweet tooth for anything apple-flavored. She still has a few apple candies left from the last bag Ciara gave her before things went to hell. But those are mementos, not treats.

2) She doesn't know it yet, but she's having a baby girl, whose name will be Taliyah.

3) Though she's known her less than a year, she loves her sister, Tsuu, as deeply as if they'd been sisters her whole life. When Milli loves someone, it's never half-measure.

4) She never says it, but she misses her little one-room hovel in Lion's Arch. It wasn't big or particularly comfortable, but it was hers and it held a lot of good memories.

5) She would invite every friend and acquaintance she's ever had to her wedding, but she doesn't want to end up crying over the ones who are missing during the ceremony.

@clockwork-kisses said: ✘ Milli and Ciara!

Alas for the early end and untimely demise of one half of that duo. :D