Who: Faith and Reyna (They need a cool ship name) What: Nightmare dust and the aftermath When: 2nd Feb Rating: I guess warnings for patricide? Status: In progress
Reyna was exceedingly glad that Faith was back to her normal age. Fifteen year old Faith had been… unsettling to say the least. Especially because Reyna was fairly certain that young Faith was more experienced than Reyna was. Which was just.. weird. Not that Reyna was a prude, she knew how things worked, but she was praetor. And her attempts at relationships hadn't worked out because the world and the gods had always intervened and interrupted.
Which meant Reyna was taking every opportunity she had with Faith, even if it meant pressing the Slayer up against the wall of a hallway to kiss her. Since the Iris messages, Reyna had taken to wearing her cloak and weapons all the time. Perhaps it was a bit more bulky, but Reyna would not be caught unaware.
She pulled back with a smile. "We should try to get a room to ourselves soon-"
Someone knocked into her from behind with a muttered "sorry" which Reyna returned before the world started to shift and she found herself backing away from Faith until her back was against the other wall, imperial gold sword drawn and shining in the dim light of the underground hallway.
"Get away!"
Faith had been enjoying the company of her girlfriend having come back from being a teenager. She’d still had a thing for her, and of course Damon, but still hadn’t opened up that can of worms. Mostly she was happy just to be around her again. And yes, there was the kissing. God she’d missed the kissing. She pouted jokingly as Reyna pulled back and was about to pull her in again but instead…
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Reyna’s eyes widened. She looked shocked, and suddenly she’d gone full on fight. Sword drawn...seeing something Faith just...didn’t.
“Hey, babe what is it?” she said dropping into a fighting stance of her own. She didn’t see anything but she’d been Slayer long enough to know how little that meant sometimes.
“Tell me, what’s going on, what’s happening?”
"Get out, Hylla!" Reyna yelled, seeing only her sister and her father. But no, she'd killed him. This couldn't be possible.. if he'd come back, then they had bigger problems. She slashed at the the air, sword moving with practiced ease.
"I killed you once and I can do it again even if they hang me for patricide! I will not let you harm anyone here!"
Hylla? Her sister. Hylla wasn’t here. And her father, how was this even possible. There was something worse here, something she couldn’t see, something even her Slayer senses weren’t picking up on.
“Reyna?! It’s Faith. Can you hear me babe. It’s Faith. Come on, come back to me.” she reached for Reyna’s hand, trying to ground her, give her a connection for whatever this...this mess was.
None of this made sense. Even for her.
"You have to get away," Reyna said, turning to face Faith, looking at her, but not seeing her. She was shaking, her sword trembling in her hand and she tried to push Faith out of the way. "Before he hurts you. I can't let him hurt you."
There was panic in her voice when she turned to face her father again. "¡Salir ahora!" The Spanish spilled out as she slashed frantically at the air, tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't let him hurt anyone again. "I won't listen to you!"
There was something more here. Something Faith apparently didn’t get to see. In this story she was Hylla. And so she backed off slightly, just a little, just enough, and waited. Making sure Reyna was safe was her highest priority.
She didn’t know spanish. Didn’t understand a word of it. But she knew emotion. She knew those tears. She needed a way to help Reyna and right now she had nothing. Nothing at all. This was some kind of messed up and she really really didn’t know what to do next. B was better at all this, or Angel. They could have fixed this. But B was upset and Angel was...he’d gone. He’d been taken.
“...Reyna” she whispered, softly, just enough hoping she’d hear even in spite of it all.
No matter how much she slashed, Reyna couldn't kill him. It had been so easy last time. She slid against the wall, tears streaming down her face as she shook. "I can't…" she whispered quietly, sword clattering to the ground beside her as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm not good enough.."
Faith ran to her side, the sword coming to a stop finally. “Hey, no...no you are absolutely good enough. You’re badass, you’re strong, you’re honorable. And, you bagged a Slayer, no small feat. Now come on back to me, come on and talk to me, please?”
She didn’t quite know what to do with any of this but she needed Reyna. She needed her.
“I love you Roman” she said softly.
"I couldn't though.. I couldn't and he's going to get her.. he'll kill her.." Reyna couldn't stop the tears as she glanced at Faith, something familiar about her and she leaned against her. "We have to stop him. We have to stop my father.."
She'd seen him walk off, but that meant he was still here. Somewhere.
Her? Hylla?
Faith looked back to her girlfriend.
“You need to talk to me here, because babe, I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t see your father. So what exactly am I supposed to do here. Tell me you at least recognise me or I will go all true love’s kiss on this bullshit.”
What was the damn hallucination and why, why of all things did it need to happen so soon after she’d gotten back to her right age.
There was terror in Reyna's eyes, a level which hadn't been there when she'd faced Orion in combat or when they'd fought the werewolves here. Then she'd been calm and stoic, every inch the roman commander. Now, she was… Terrified. "I don't know. It's not working. I keep trying to kill him but he won't die…"
Well this was something she had no idea what to do with.
“Do you want us to go looking for him?” she said finally, she didn’t know who Reyna even thought she was right now, was she Faith or Hylla, was this that fight with her father or was it Mount Weather.
And what the hell had done this to her.
“So, we make sure he does die.” said Faith finally. Maybe actually killing him would end this. “We make sure he dies and we go from there. Okay.”
Recognition crept in, she knew that voice. The voice that wasn't Hylla's. "Faith?" she asked in confusion as she went deathly pale. Had Faith seen? Did she know? She couldn't think about what Faith would do if she knew about Reyna's father and what Reyna had done. She glanced around, noting the dimly lit tunnels, the lack of sunlight. This wasn't San Juan. "Nico. Nico can fix it. Can send him to the underworld. We can't let him loose here."
Reyna was still shaking as she reached for her sword and got to her feet, glancing down the hall. "We should find Nico."
Faith had seen, and Faith knew. Faith also didn’t give a crap. She knew about broken families and thought there was probably a reason for how bad it had all looked. But nothing would make her love her Roman any less. She would be here for Reyna as long as was needed.
“Nico. okay good, we find Nico and this becomes all alright, okay? You and me against the world, you remember?
Reyna nodded, slipping a hand through Faith's and squeezing as hard as she can, needing something to hold onto, something that would tell her this would be okay. "Nico's stronger than I am…" she admitted. At least in terms of dispatching people and monsters to the underworld. Her eyes searched Faith's, seeking something as she chewed on her lip. "You and me. He has to die though."
Faith didn’t buy that. “He’s not stronger. He just has a different skillset. So enough of that.” She needed to get Reyna to Nico and find out more about what this fight would be like, and then when all this was done, she and Reyna could talk, she could finally open up about all this and Fath believed it would only make them more solid.
“If you say he has to die, he’ll die. Okay? You know I’d never think anything else. I trust you, Roman, and now I need for you to trust me.”
She squeezed Reyna’s hand and helped her to her feet.
“Just focus on me, just on me, come on.”
Reyna focused on Faith, feeling more a child than the warrior she was. After a long moment, she nodded, her knuckles white where she gripped the sword tight. "Okay.. okay.."
Reyna took a deep breath, shakily getting to her feet. "I won't let him hurt you, Faith, I promise.."
He wasn’t going to be hurting anyone if she had her say. And she could be entirely pushy with douchebags trying to hurt people she loved. It was a Slayer thing. She took Reyna’s hand once they were both standing again.
“No one is gonna be hurt. Okay? No one but that dickbag.” There was a story there of course, one Reyna hadn’t told her yet, but she would do that in time. Faith didn’t resent the secrets. Sometimes there were good reasons for all of them. “Now come on, we’ll find Nico and figure out what the fuck that was and how I get to shoot it in the head if it comes back.”
"It was my father," Reyna whispered. "He.."
She couldn't finish the sentence, so Reyna squeezed Faith's hand and nodded. She was still trembling, completely undone by what she had seen, but Faith was grounding. Safe. "He's probably in our room or Anakin's.."
She started heading down the hall towards her room, sword still drawn and ready for battle..
Faith moved quickly, she would need to be there just in case she got any more visions, god forbid in front of any civilians, she could do some real damage. But for now she seemed to just want to get to Nico. if anything happened in the interim she would have to put her down and get her there a different way.
“Your father.” she said, as they walked, not quite ran, unless, she supposed, it made it too easy for her pursuer.
“We’ll talk, we will, but we need to get you to Nico, right. Just know that I love you, here and now, know that. Okay?”
Reyna stopped in her tracks, turning to face Faith. "You.. You can't… I'm… worthless." Her father's words echoed in her mind, she was still caught in parts of the nightmare. Tears welled in her eyes. She pulled away, heading quickly towards the room and throwing the door open. "Nico? Nico.. we have a problem.."
“Worthless...Reyna you’re not…” But of course she’d pulled away, left to see if she could find Nico who Faith quickly worked out wasn’t there. Faith closed the door, leaning against it and gestured to Reyna to come to her.
“You’re so far from worthless. But I know, I know what it's like hearing that every time you turn. You start to believe it, right? That maybe he’s right. But know what pulled me out of it. My friends did. It took a long time, lot of work. But Angel, B? People giving me a chance to prove I was more than my Dad ever saw? It proved I wasn’t. And I can tell you right now babe. You are not at all worthless.”
Faith looked around the room. Unsure if Reyna was seeing him now. Either way.
“Hear that asshole. She’s worth a thousand of you.”
Reyna bit her lip. Faith couldn't know just what her father had said. But maybe that's why they did it. Why Hylla became an Amazon and why Reyna pushed herself until she made praetor. She swallowed hard, glancing between Faith and the door. "I… Faith…"
But the words wouldn't come. "We need to find Nico. He can help.."
“In a minute, okay. I’m gonna see what’s going on”
It didn’t take her long. Magic gone wrong. Dust of some kind, washing clothes and a shower.
...Well, that was doable.
“Hey...look, this can go away. If you trust me. I can help, we need to get you clean. We need to get you showered, okay? Can you do that for me?” Faith was more worried than anything else, but at the same time, this was not how she first intended to drag her girlfriend into the shower.
Reyna studied Faith, shifting her weight on the balls of her feet, wondering if she could get past the Slayer to go hunt down her Father. She gave Faith a skeptical look. "A shower? How is a shower going to help? My father is out there and who knows what he might do…"
She was ready to stop her from leaving if it came to it. But she’d rather do this a nicer way. Let her shower first and explain later.
“You need to calm down first. And it took a toll on you. It was all a lot to take in, so...come on, let me do this for you and then once we’re done, once you’re ready. We’ll go looking. Okay?”
"I'm fine," Reyna growled. Even as she said the words, her shoulders shook, her hand tightening its grip on the sword until it was almost painful. She had to find him. Had to finish this. Again. She couldn't let him win, but… there were streaks of tears on her face and she was trembling like a frightened child again.
"Fine. But.. as soon as we're done, we go find him. Promise?" She was heading to the bathroom, already though, taking off her cloak and her boots without letting go of the sword.
Faith followed. She hadn’t stripped yet, this was about Reyna not her, but she did pull the Roman into a tight kiss before letting her undress. She really hoped this worked and some good came out of it. The sword stayed in her hand but she couldn’t argue that.
“You ready babe?” she asked finally, switching on the water over the faucets.
She hated seeing her like this, scared like this. She deserved so much more and she hated even the memory of what he had put her and her sister through.
Reyna nodded. It was idiotic, she knew, taking the sword into the shower, but Reyna couldn't let go of it. She needed it. Needed the protection it offered. She couldn't be unarmed in case he came back. She wouldn't let him hurt anyone else. Reyna could feel the tears and anger welling up again when the spray of water hit her. It took a moment or two and then..
"Shit.. Faith…" Reyna bit her lip, stepping out of the shower to set her sword aside before going back in, leaning her head against the the cool wall of the shower. "Gods, I'm sorry.. I.." She wanted to forget it ever happened, wanted to make Faith forget what had happened. She didn't need more people knowing she'd committed patricide. "Faith.. it's.. what the hell was that?"
And suddenly she was back. Her Reyna. She dropped the sword and Faith smiled just slightly, pulling her into her arms. “It was some kind of...magic dust crap. You needed to get it off you or you’d keep seeing him. And you honestly, don’t need to worry about it. You did nothing wrong. Okay?”
She didn’t need to have any of it explained, she didn’t love Reyna any less.
“Do you need more time in the shower?” she asked.
"Another minute or two. I want to make sure I get it all off." She scrubbed herself hard, as if she could get every memory of her father off if she tried hard enough before rinsing off and turning off the taps. She stepped out of the shower, wrapped herself in a towel and then wrapped her arms around Faith tightly, not caring that her hair was dripping wet or that she was probably getting Faith wet.
"This is why magic sucks," Reyna said, brushing her lips against Faith's before resting her forehead against hers. "I.. He.." She sighed heavily. There was so much. So much she kept inside that Nico had only found out by chance. "I don't think I'm worthless anymore," she said quietly. "Not since being at Camp Jupiter. Did you… you said some things.. did you mean all of them?"
She wasn’t wrong, Magic did suck, to the point where even watching her girlfriend shower was more concern than anything kinky. But magic had opened a door all the same, she let Reyna wrap her arms around her, not needing anything more right then.
“I meant every single word. Thing about me, I don’t say crap I don’t mean. I love you. Okay? And I am way too much of a badass to love anyone worthless, right?” she asked, relishing the soft kiss and the forehead pressed against hers.
“I lost Angel this week, to the, whatever, pod god. It made me wonder if him and B could ever have worked it out here. And if so, did they miss another stolen chance. I’m never gonna be that person. So hell yes, I love you. Now come here” she said, leading the Roman in another kiss, this one definitely with a bit more heat.
Reyna couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. "You are the most badass I know," Reyna said with a smile. "My warrior woman."
Reyna lost herself in the kiss for a moment, making up for lost time and for what she couldn't put words to. She pulled back, breathless, licking her lips as she cupped Faith's cheek, rubbing her thumb over Faith's lower lip. "You're incredible, you know that? I- I suck at this sort of thing, but you, I think I've loved you for awhile now, but… it never ends well. This place though, carpe diem, right? No more missed chances."
She brushed her lips against Faith's again, with more intensity before pulling back to catch her breath. "What I… saw… that's all in the past. It doesn't matter, so... any chance we can just forget it happened?"
Faith didn’t know if it was a good idea for Reyna to forget all she’d seen. She was clearly ashamed that Faith had seen it. She let the kiss happen but sighed when Reyna pulled back. “Do you think I won’t love you if I know the whole story. Believe me, it's not going to change anything.”
She was willing to let it go if that was really truly what Reyna wanted, but she hoped things between them had gotten to the point where they could trust each other with everything. “As for love never going well? I plan to break that habit. Love is gonna go very very well for us,” she said with a ever so slightly wicked grin.
“I mean, I could show you?”
Reyna bit her lip, heaving a heavy sigh of her own at Faith's. Nico had stood by her after he'd known, there was a good chance that Faith would do. And maybe she owed it to Faith after dragging her into this mess. "Later?" she pleaded, a hopeful tone in her voice. She just couldn't deal with this yet, but maybe with Faith.. Reyna was fairly certain she could face anything with Faith beside her.
"Well, we do have the room to ourselves at the moment.." Reyna said with a grin. "Show me what you've got, Slayer."