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"It's only been one day... How did you end up like this?"
Remielle's soft voice passes through the heavy raindrops thumping on earth, now hampered by feathers. One of her wings arches over Belle's crumpled form.
Her head drifts up to her guardian from the elements, shrouded in a thick cloak. "Remielle...? What are you doing here?"
A smile curls upon her, "Awfully cold to your partner-in-crime, don't you think~?"
Belle's gaze holds lazily. One might assume she's unamused, if her eyes weren't so hollow. The mood reflects onto Remielle.
"...Alarms are blaring all over Roscaelifer; something kicked the nest. A fugitive has to stay on their toes, don't they?" She answers.
"From the looks of it, it's good I did."
Belle's head droops down again, finding mental refuge within the blades of grass being pummeled by the rain.
Remielle sighs. "Sitting in the rain won't melt you away, and you're smart enough to know Amber Hall is surrounded by Airspace Patrol by now."
"You helped me, so how about I help you? My place is small, but I'm sure it can fit two people for a night."
Silence.
Her lips purse, "C'mon, let's go."
Remielle retracts her wing, reaching down to pull the drenched Proxy off the ground.
"I'm not about to leave you like this."
Belle doesn't fight, simply shambling along wherever the angel ushers her.
-
The snap of a finger breaks Belle from her trance, blinking rapidly as her eyes realize just how dry they are.
Around her is no longer the damp, sequestered corner in Booastrum, replaced with a familiar sight; the ramshackle sight of Remielle's Eh-nah Gang sponsored hideout.
"Hey~ Earth to Proxy?"
Belle's eyes finally land on a sharp, enchanting pair of pink eyes.
"You haven't heard a word of what I've said, have you?"
"...No," she finally speaks.
Remielle opens her mouth to say something, but closes both her mouth and eyes after a moment of deliberation.
"That's alright." She softly takes Belle's hand, pulling her over and down to a collection of towels on the floor.
Without exchange, Remielle begins patting her soaked companion's face with a towel, each touch like the kiss of a pillow.
Belle's eyes trace her hands, mildly anxious, but as before, puts up no resistant to her angel. "...You don't have t—"
Remielle slides a finger down to her own lips. "Shh~ Just let me help," she hushes.
"Thank you," Belle quietly responds following a pause, sweeping her gaze away to the apparently more interesting floor, producing a soft smile from the recipient.
Silently the sopping proxy is dried, Remielle attentively watching her subject of care all the while. Every furrow of the brow, relaxing of features, or deepening frown: each a symptom of inner thoughts in turmoil.
"Belle..." The angel's voice calls softly, drawing an immediate response from the Proxy's dreamland.
"Talk to me."
"Whatever happened, you're in trouble, and... I can't let that slide."
"Plus," A soft smile crosses her, "we've been inside each other's heads, haven't we? I think our little 'Q&A' game can take a pause for now."
Belle's eyes tell of a mind working, but it doesn't take long to finish. "...Truvia. From Helios. She was here, in Roscaelifer. It was like a dream— maybe a nightmare— I don't know..."
"Something was wrong; I wanted to ask her, but I couldn't help but bring up that day."
Belle's head shakes, flicking dots of water around, "It was stupid, and it only upset her. I didn't even get a chance to apologize, or make it up, *anything*."
"And now I never will."
"'Never will'?"
"No." The Proxy's lip quivers, "...She's dead. Before my eyes."
Remielle's expression hardens, "Before your eyes? Belle, tell me what happened."
Finally, their eyes meet. "She wasn't even supposed to be there— she could have been anywhere else but there..."
Remielle's dainty hands cup the sides of Belle's head. "*Belle.*"
Silence takes over the lamentations for but a moment.
Belle swallows, her body remembering it has functions it needs to perform. "...We were investigating the singularity leakages... It somehow led us to Dracaena's office."
"Dracaena was there, but it... wasn't Dracaena. I don't know what it was, some sort of ethereal, or an Enchainer, or Girtablullu, *something!*"
The angel carefully listens, even as her companion loses her cool.
"It attacked us— Pyrois and I, and—" Her eyes clamp shut, as if it would do anything to block the image from her mind's eye.
"Before anything could even process, Truvia... She entered the room, and... Ngh..." She stifles more tears, "it killed her instantly... She didn't... even get a chance to escape..."
"Oh, Belle..." A memory flashes in Remielle's mind. It's not the same, but... She can feel Belle's pain. The loss.
"I couldn't do anything... Again." The word is laced in anguish, "her childhood was ruined because of me, and now her life's been ended because of me..."
Tears break free, but Remielle is quick to thumb them away. "...Belle, you feel helpless, I know... But you can't villainize yourself."
"That incident... You were at the nexus, but it was a tragedy. Out of your control; you were a child. This... You had no part in it."
"I can't... I can't change your mind, I know that." She pauses, "I can't watch you tear yourself apart, either."
Angelic hands leave her face, revealing that she had scoot closer at some point, their knees gracing each other's.
Belle's eyes dart down, then back up... Halting for a moment half-way back up. "But—"
"No buts."
"It's a mess out there, more than I know, but... Right now, in here, it's just us." Remielle sighs, "I can't remove your pain, or make you forget it, but... I can keep you from being alone."
The Proxy's face draws a weary smile. One that fears to be undeserving, but... more afraid to decline.
"...Why are you so good to me, Remi?"
A short giggle peeks into the conversational gap, "You think these wings are just for show? I'm a real angel, you know. ...Just for you, though, my cute little Proxy~"
The warmth on Belle's cheeks only burns hotter dried, too hot to hide. Not that she could hide much from Remielle anyways.
But that doesn't mean Remielle can always hide things from her. A twitch of discomfort from her soaked wings catches her eyes.
Promptly, a dry towel nearby finds its way into Belle's hands. "Then, you dried me, so it's only fair I return the favor."
"...It looks uncomfortable to have your feathers be that wet."
"Oh—" Remielle's tongue clicks, "let that one go, did I?"
"Here I was thinking that I could wait until you were asleep and roll around the towels until they were dry~"
"Like... a reverse bird bath?"
"*Belle!*" A faux offended gasp bursts forth, "with all your Thiren friends, I thought you would know what language is touchy for us!"
By now, she's learned enough to not fall for it, and her silence speaks to that.
"Hm, I need new material, do I?" Remielle muses to the evader of her japes.
Her smile is terribly contagious.
"Just give me your wings before I go and grab them myself!"
The angel's eyebrows hop, and she hums bemused, angling so her snowy wings are easier to access.
Belle's touch may not be as trained, but it hardly matters from the touch of a... 'friend'.
Between the sorrow and comfort, the room falls into a lull, not one of tense suffering, but one of gentle companionship. Not something intense and passionate, but what some may consider deeper. Safety.
It takes longer than she might expect to dry the angel's wings.
"How do you even do this yourself?"
"Hm?" Remielle's head turns half-way around, "oh it's positively a pain. All my options have some disgusting consequence... Blow-dry it, and the hot air makes me shed, let it air dry and it takes *forever* just for it to get some strange smell..."
"Ugh," she scoffs, "even if I try to hand-dry it myself, I can never get every spot."
An unseen grin curls, "That's why I would just roll around Beli's bed until they were nice any dry~"
"And she was okay with that?"
"Oh heavens, of course not! She would be so, so upset! ...Only if she caught me." A mischievous giggle gives hint to the slight dimple visible from the back-side of her face.
Belle exhales, "you didn't think she noticed even if she didn't see you?"
"Of course not! She'd be chasing me all around Eridu otherwise."
This confident proclamation finds contention.
"No, she definitely knew."
"You wound me... Are you doubting my clandestine skills?"
This time, the battle of hidden expressions finds competition.
"Trust me. Anytime Cissia sneaks a bag of chips into my room, or takes a nap in my bed when I'm out, I can tell. Doesn't matter how careful she is."
"She knew. She just cared enough to leave it be."
No response comes from the now-frozen angel. She can't deny, that would be such... such a Beli thing to do.
"...You sure like to surprise me with your sharpness, don't you, Belle?" The tone is light, unaccusatory.
"You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeve~"
The pain of what transpired now hours prior dull as Remielle's suggestion comes to fruition. Nothing has been solved, and for all intents and purposes, it's being avoided. But right now, none of that matters, because these two marred victims have each other.
"Plus... With how much you pay attention to me, it's only fair I pay attention to you."
Now, the blush is pushed to Remielle's side. She wonders if Belle even realizes how forward the things she says are, or if it's intentional. A familiar ache surges in her chest. This time, it won't go ignored.
"Are you almost done, Belle?"
"Huh? Uh... Kind of? Did I do something wrong?"
"No. Not at all. I just have an idea," the angel spins around into a cross-legged position. "It's late, and you've gone through enough tonight. It's time you sleep."
"Oh, yeah, I, suppose you're right?" The way she phrases it confuses the Proxy, but... the concept isn't wrong.
"Um, do you want me to find a spot somewhere else, or...?"
"Nope, I have a perfect spot for you~" Remielle stands, dragging Belle up with her, and over to the quaint tent pitched in the corner.
"Consider this punishment for taking so long with my wings! You'll be my towel for the night, finishing the job!" Her grin grows massive, tumbling herself onto the mattress inside.
The wing facing upwards curls out, an open invitation.
Belle's face flushes like Zhu Yuan's tomato plants. "W—What? You mean... Sleeping together? I—"
"Oh my, Belle, use language like that and people might start talking~"
"Iiiii.. Hhhhh..." The Proxy's brain short-circuits as she attempts to process the sudden temptations laid out in a deadly voluptuous form before her. One that she couldn't help but steal glances as in passing moments, but when presented with a willing display, she can't help but, well, let some restraints slip.
Her wings ever so slightly curl back inwards, "Unless... You don't like lil' ol' me?"
"No! N—No, no," Belle frantically corrects, a meek, but eager step forward. "I just... Are you sure? It's okay?"
Her head slacks onto the mattress, "The offer doesn't last forever...~"
Impurities clouding the edge she had earlier, Belle quickly sits herself onto the mattress, but hesitates on laying down.
"Come on, at this point you're more of a tease than I am!" Remielle continues to prod, amused by the difficulty she has gazing upon her while being noticed herself.
"Get your little self down here." With a swift motion she grabs Belle's arm and yanks her down next to her.
The poor Proxy is practically inert, eyes wide, like a prey caught. Well, assuming a prey wasn't terribly upset about their position.
The still mildly damp wings slip around Belle, sapping some of her body heat. "There."
"Don't worry, I won't let you freeze. The warmth will be paid forward~..."
Belle's heart couldn't possible be thumping any faster, even if she was coming face-to-face with Bashmu without Pyrois.
Silence descends once more. Remielle's expression softens, as if she accounted for this.
"I get being speechless as my beautiful form, but, I need to know if this is okay, Belle."
That same expression falls to something solemn, "If I've made a misunderstood terribly..."
"I think I like you, Remielle." Belle's wide expression states with an urgency like it's being forced up with all her might.
The angel freezes. *Huh?*
She can't help but crack up, even if she's noticing every little hint of embarrassment amassing on her companion's face.
"What a smooth-talker. C'mere." With that, both wings and arms pull the Proxy into her embrace.
Even in her stunned state, Belle's arms respond in kind. Her eyes close, the sensations magnitudes more heated than any of the dreams she's had in the past...
"Uh— Sorry, I just... like you." She repeats. Flirting? Who do you think was going to teach her? Wise? Cissia? *Billy?* Yeah right.
"You know... Somehow it sounds even better the second time~" Remielle's soft voice reverberates against Belle, their bodies held closer than anything the proxy's been in her life except for her stuffed animals.
"Now do your best to relax, *my Proxy.* You'll never get to sleep with that jackhammer in your chest."
"...No promises," she chokes out.
A blanket is pulled over the two, locking their physical marriage in finality.
Belle was promised to not be alone. Just for the night, but now... She may never be alone again.
-
The sun would rise after a well needed, peaceful, joined rest.
The only abnormality being that Remielle would awake to find that Belle has slid herself down, head buried into her chest. Sneaky.
Was it conscious or subconscious? ...Doesn't really matter to the angel. She looks comfortable.