high-rise *beginnings* tag;ginnyyyy

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver gave a small smile and led her through the office cubicles, down the wide elevator, and out of the expansive foyer to the muggy city. The clouds had lifted slightly but the atmosphere was moist and chilly; most huddled close as they made their way along crowded sidewalks. Xaver turned them left, down a few suit-choked and upscale blocks then around the corner to where a supermarket with a pharmacy was nestled between a flower shop and vacant windows.

It was a quick stop. Xaver passed Ginny some bills and let her take the lead, mute and uncomfortable with the thoughts that they were shopping for his sister - his baby sister. All but fleeing the building none too many minutes later, he drew in a breath and let it out slowly, fingers twitching with the urge to rake themselves through his hair.

He looked to the small redhead at his side.

"To fly or to cab?"

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny gave him half a smile, "My arm, remember?"

She awkwardly moved her arm that was held in a sling. But she knew how muc he wanted to spread his wings.

"Give me an address and I will meet you there."
This time, a full smile.

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver grimaced as she wiggled her bandaged arm. He had, in his rush, let all other predicaments slip his mind - Ginny's arm included. He felt bad about that, forgetting so easily.
Not deterred, though.

"Pfffff."

He swept her up with absolute ease, careful of her slung arm, an arm around her back and the other beneath her knees. Hugging her close he let a chuckle rumble through his chest, gaze keeping at hers even as he walked from the busy street toward a less dense alleyway. Determinedly ignoring the bag of stuffs across Ginny's belly.

"In this traffic? I wouldn't see you for a week."

[Ginny Sulai]

Before she knew it, she was in his arms, held tightly and comfortably against his body. She allowed herself to appreciate his strength, and his body. Then she gave into Tue very human fear of flying.

"If you drop me I will fucking kill you."

Her voice was uneven with fear. She was not exactly comfortable with the idea if being high in the air.

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver's uncensored laughter carried them into the alleyway, away from the prowling eyes of direct onlookers and into the quiet. He kicked off his shoes and toed off his socks, discarding them with little care, huddling her close. He grinned down at her as his wings broke free, shredding his shirt and opening to all their dark and gothic glory. They enveloped the alley around them, all feathers and muscle, the shadows pulling close as he let his true form into existence.

He held her close and nuzzled his face into her bright hair, smiling as he drew his wings and thrust them downward in one elegant, powerful motion, sending them soaring into the darkening skies. Pure, undiluted joy radiated through him, all goosebumps and happy murmurs.
He spread his wings as wide as they would go; they were thick, enormous things that were as wide as he was tall and all but engulfed the skies around them. Each thrust, in tune with the heart that danced wildly in his chest, hurtled them across the wet skies and closer toward Xaver's apartment.

Xaver barely saw the dark city that jutted up from the earth so very far below them, the bleak cityscape all a distant blur as his thoughts remained on the small woman in his arms and the primal freedom of being in true form.
It all ended too quickly. In no time at all he was drawing up wing and landing with all the grace a Fallen lord should carry on the glass railed wide balcony that jutted from the topmost floor of a black skyscraper. His apartment encompassed the entire floor, huge sliding glass doors behind the balcony glimpsing into the sunken living room of it. The TV was on in the living room, all that could be seen of the watcher facing the other direction on the couch being tall, folded black wings. At least, one was black - the other was bandaged and colored so variously that it was hard to tell from their angle.

[Ginny Sulai]

The ground fell away from them, and Ginny couldn't help but give a small swirl. She buried her face into his chest so as to avoid looking down. She could feel each time he moved his wings. He smelled nice.

After several agonizing moments, they touched down. Immediatly she scrambled out of his arms, struggling to fix her skirt with her good arm while still clutching the bag of goodies. She was slightly pale.

She had to admit though, it hadn't been all that bad.

[Xaver Xian]

Xaver chuckled softly as Ginny scrambled a out of his arms and away from the edge of the balcony, adjusting her skirt and her wits to being back on solid ground. He shrugged out of his shredded shirt, balling up the remains to throw away later. Walking past her small form sans shirtless, he tugged the chrome handle of the large sliding glass door and put his weight into it, drawing it back and opening it wide. The smells of home reached his nose instantly, leathers and pine with the feint hints of last night's steak meal. Kylie's scent was mingled in, sugar and youth and strawberries. He found her on the couch, awkwardly sprawled sideways so that her wings could fold behind her, her left bandaged and slung heavily. It had been days since the accident but blood still tattered the whites, soaking through and matting the mess of feathers at and around the wound sites. She was dressed in a large black tee that had to have been Xaver's, and polka-dot pajama pants covered the small feet that poked out the bottom of the pink comforter that all but concealed the majority of the small girl.

He leaned an elbow on the back of the modern styled, black leather couch, reaching the other out to mess her long raven hair. Kylie's bright blue gaze flickered open and looked up at him sharply, the fright in her sleepy eyes quickly fading as she found her brother.

"Hey, kiddo. I brought someone home who might be able to help better than I would," Xaver said quietly. The house was still quite sleepy, lazy midday drama shows providing a haze of white noise; city noises didn't reach this high or past the walls of the well-made building.
"Anyone would be better than you, old man," was the quiet retort. The teasing gentility of her tones softened the words. Kylie propped herself up on an elbow, slowly lifting her head so that she could see over the couch and catch a glimpse of Ginny. "Did you guys bring that girl stuff I asked for?"
"Yup." He nodded toward Ginny, and the bag she held. "I let her take the reins. Ky this is Ginny. Ginny, this is my sister, Kylie. She's not as scary as she currently looks."
A loud snort came from the couch, followed by a groan.
"Ugh, Xaver, quit making me laugh... Thanks for coming, Ginny. Sorry it has to be for this awkward stuff..."

Xaver shook his head and rounded the couch, turning on the end-table lamp to drown out the muggy darkness of the day. He could feel Kylie's curious gaze on him and the lot of unasked questions that he only knew were festering in her pretty head. She stayed quiet, though, shifting beneath the neon comforter to plant her feet on the ground. Pushing off the arm of the couch, she stood up to all of her tiny glory.

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny had followed Xaver closely. The girl on the couch was so obviously his sister. They looked so much alike, but Kylie was much smaller, more dainty. A bird in human form, and if Ginny had to pick a specific bird she would puck a small canary, sift, bright, and comforting to have in the room.

She gave Kylie a smile, "It's no problem. I have a little sister. She was terrified when it happened to her, and mom wasn't home."

Ginny nodded her head, "How are you feeling? Besides the obvious, I mean?" She gave Kylie's injured wing a quick glance.
"Those bandages need changed," she added bluntly.

[Xaver Xian]

A huge grin split Kylie's lips, rows of even white teeth revealed as she beamed at the redheaded woman. It was hard to keep the youngest Xian down. She made up her mind about people in mere moments and one could say she'd never met a stranger, her bright smile lighting its way into more hearts and memories than a young Fallen was often apt to. Instantly taking a liking to Ginny and her straight-foreword attitude, Kylie nodded her head.

"Like shit, thanks," she returned almost happily. Light blue eyes looked Ginny up and down, determinedly ignoring her brother's disapproving glance. "And I know.. Dealing with other things though, you know, I'll admit I forgot about it."
She shrugged her good shoulder and slipped her feet into a mismatched pair of animal slippers, giraffe and monkey heads flopping as she waltzed as gracefully as she could manage toward Ginny and the bag of stuffs she carried. She tilted her head at it, a bird-like motion if there ever was one, swallowing. She put on a good show, limping very little and only going the slightest shade white at all the movements.. and the prospect of sticking some huge thing where nothing else had ever gone before.

"Umm.. will you please help me..? Best friend?"

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny gave a small laugh and nodded.
"Sure, lead the way."

She allowed Kylie to lead her to the bathroom, explaining in a low vouce what each item in the bag was and how to use it. She handed the bag to kylie just outside the bathroom door.
"When you are dine with that, let me change the dressing on that." She nodded towards the wing and gently pushed Kylie into the bathroom, giving her privacy to do the necessary deeds.

[Xaver Xian]

Kylie led Ginny from the living room to the east wing that her bedroom and bathroom inhabited, rounding the corner to the hallway to the singular beat of wings as Xaver all but jumped with ease to the second floor of the apartment. The hallway of the upstairs was open and lofty, accessed by a glass and stained black chrome spiral staircase that was rarely used by the winged inhabitants.
She didn't blush or act uncomfortably as Ginny explained the female toiletries, accepting the bag with a silent nod and glancing at her mangled wing. She paused, glancing at it, then nodded again. Her bright eyes found Ginny's for a moment, visibly curious, but she said nothing and simply entered the bathroom without a sound.

Kylie followed Ginny's directions (and those ugly pictures printed on the folded paper within the box), then once she had cleaned herself up and stowed the toiletries beneath the sink, opened the door back up. Her raven hair was tied into a loose knot at the back of her head, ever sharpening the angles of her slender feature, and she was completely topless. She smiled at Ginny without a hint she even gave a thought to her nakedness, turning and walking toward the back of the large bathroom and sitting on the edge of the bathtub, slowly swinging her feet into the middle of it. Fading scratches and dark bruises littered the entirety of her revealed body, all echoes of the fall through the swamp brush that still haunted her dreams. Most had gone completely, along with most of the bone fractures she had come home with. A few towels were sprawled on the floor behind where she sat, and her fuzzy slippers were sitting on the closed toilet, away from getting possibly messy.

Fallen did not hold the same values that humans did when it came to sex or sight of the body. Kylie had been raised not on Earth but in Lenity - and her actions directly spoke of it. She was neither a shade self-conscious or aware that she possibly should be. In her born culture, figures were taught to be accepted, sex learned to be something to be celebrated. Their morals were well-aligned with werewolves, which was proven again and again by famous and common courtships and friendships throughout time.

Kylie glanced over her shoulder at Ginny, the first hint of conscious worry narrowing her light eyes. It was not in her nature to distrust, but Kylie's last run-in with humans had been less than friendly - Ginny was the first human she had interacted with since then. One of the few she had ever spoken to, in all actuality.

"The last humans who approached me shot me," she said in the lowest tones she could manage, trying not to succumb to the shake in her voice. "Are you going to harm me or my brother?"
She couldn't not ask.

[Ginny Sulai]

"Hurt you?"

Ginny followed Kylie into the bathroom, trying to avoid the slightly uncomfortable feeling she had. She had grown up human, and while had seen plenty naked bodies, bith if the male and female form, she still found it a little discomforting.

She looked at Kylie's wing, a faraway look entering her eyes. She remembered a dark room, deep coughing. A crying figure in the corner...
"I have no intentions of harming you."

[Xaver Xian]

Blue eyes that saw all too much stared at Ginny, unblinking. She took in the redheaded woman's expressions, her slight discomfort, and the person found eyes that seemed suddenly detached when they fell on Kylie's own maimed wing. She nodded suddenly, and turned away so that her wings and back faced Ginny again - a sign of acquiescence, submission even, in Fallen culture.

"I believe you," was all she said.

She reached up awkwardly and found the end of the bandage, tugging gently to begin to unravel it.

"Xaver likes you, 'nyway, so I think that counts for somethin'."

[Ginny Sulai]

Ginny gently stopped Kylie's hand and took the bandages from her, unwrapping the wounded wing gently. She winced when she saw the actual damage, sympathy filling her heart. It was very painful looking. She gently began to clean.

"I suppose he does, doesn't he?"

A long pause while she finished cleaning and began to wrap the wound in clean gauze.

"I like him too."

[Kylie Xian]

Ginny took over the unwrapping and Kylie let her pale, delicate hands fall to her lap. She wrung them together as the bandage fell away, knowing the sight was ugly and gory. The over-sized hunting bullet had ripped through the delicate section of wing where the largest bend was, thankfully missing the largest of joints but still pulverizing bone and flesh in it's path. It was still puckered and an angry red, featherless where the doctors had ripped her feathers out to get to her wound with a semblance of cleanliness. The blood that still made it's way to the surface from time to time through the healing crusties was a dark, deep red.

Kylie was blessed to be a nonhuman, the same magics that ran through her blood that could hide her wings being that which would heal and regrow much of the damage. There was still worry that she would never fly again, and certainty that the limb would never be the same.

"I figured as much. You wouldn't be helping me if you didn't, now would you?"
Kylie passed a wide grin over her shoulder.
"Maybe you would."
She hissed slightly as Ginny pressed gauze into the wound, wrinkling her nose and sticking her tongue out.
"That's pretty cool, actually. Xaver's never brought a girl to meet me, before. All that safety stuff."
She huffed and turned back around, blowing a flyaway lock of hair from her forehead.