"Papa?" Vega lifted her gaze from her continuous staring at the legs which had always served her well at the sound of someone coming in and she looked surprised and pleased in equal measure to see him. Pushing her hands down onto the bed where she sat, she lifted herself up a little but she could barely move without it hurting and her legs were completely immobilised. "Papa!" Joq'an's long legs carried him to her in two steps and he wrapped her in an embrace, albeit a careful and gentle one. Vega felt her father's arms around her and she realised that she was crying too late to stop it. "Little Eva-bud," he whispered to her, just holding her and stroking her hair as she sobbed against his chest. "It will be alright, my bud, let it be, let it out." His whispered words to her were in Rakahi, soft spoken enough that only she heard them anyhow, but she clung to him and did just what he said, allowing herself to cry for the first time.
"Tell me, what happened?" Joq'an said and he sat, perched on her bed as Vega began to speak, sniffing slightly as she got herself under control. "There was a party on the docks, Papa, an' Arlo an' I got separated. I was sellin' some of the boxes I've been makin' an' we jus' got split. Then, there was this scream an' I went to look, but I couldn't find nothin' an' then there was this yellow stuff in the air what knocked everyone out. When I woke up, I 'ad a collar round my neck an' I was chained up." Joq'an breathed in through his teeth and continued to stroke her hair. The pair of them were there, her sitting on the bed with her broken legs sticking out in front of her, him sitting and simply cradling his daughter.
"Papa," Vega said and in the saying it she sounded young. "They took all the women, an' I broke the chains on me, an' the women either side, but they were mages, an' there were these.. well, like hands, I 'spose, that grabbed me by the legs an' dragged me right through the earth. That's what snapped my knee an' leg." He nodded and held her there. He didn't speak, simply sat and cradled her whilst being careful not to hurt her or move her. He knew his daughter, in the way that perhaps only a parent ever can and he knew that there was something more. His mind was racing as to what else they could have subjected his only child to and he was more or less ready to go and find every one of the Elements and kill them if it was what he was thinking. But, of course, it was not.
"Did they hurt you, Eva? The men?" It was the closest he could come to asking her what he wanted to and as she shook her head the expression on the older man's face spoke of the relief of a father as his arms around her tightened. Yet, there was something else, he was sure of it and so he waited to hear what she would say. But sitting there, in the bed which was already starting to feel like a prison, Vega had rested her head against her father and as he sat and patiently waited, he realised that his daughter had, in fact, fallen asleep.
He smiled and settled in, quite content to let her stay there as long as she needed to. Sleep, after all, was where she would heal.
"Tell me, what happened?" Joq'an said and he sat, perched on her bed as Vega began to speak, sniffing slightly as she got herself under control. "There was a party on the docks, Papa, an' Arlo an' I got separated. I was sellin' some of the boxes I've been makin' an' we jus' got split. Then, there was this scream an' I went to look, but I couldn't find nothin' an' then there was this yellow stuff in the air what knocked everyone out. When I woke up, I 'ad a collar round my neck an' I was chained up." Joq'an breathed in through his teeth and continued to stroke her hair. The pair of them were there, her sitting on the bed with her broken legs sticking out in front of her, him sitting and simply cradling his daughter.
"Papa," Vega said and in the saying it she sounded young. "They took all the women, an' I broke the chains on me, an' the women either side, but they were mages, an' there were these.. well, like hands, I 'spose, that grabbed me by the legs an' dragged me right through the earth. That's what snapped my knee an' leg." He nodded and held her there. He didn't speak, simply sat and cradled her whilst being careful not to hurt her or move her. He knew his daughter, in the way that perhaps only a parent ever can and he knew that there was something more. His mind was racing as to what else they could have subjected his only child to and he was more or less ready to go and find every one of the Elements and kill them if it was what he was thinking. But, of course, it was not.
"Did they hurt you, Eva? The men?" It was the closest he could come to asking her what he wanted to and as she shook her head the expression on the older man's face spoke of the relief of a father as his arms around her tightened. Yet, there was something else, he was sure of it and so he waited to hear what she would say. But sitting there, in the bed which was already starting to feel like a prison, Vega had rested her head against her father and as he sat and patiently waited, he realised that his daughter had, in fact, fallen asleep.
He smiled and settled in, quite content to let her stay there as long as she needed to. Sleep, after all, was where she would heal.
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