Return to Tenebrae: Descend [Job; Vincent and Elvira]

I'll be here...

Elvira Arcade

Elvira felt her body floating on gentle waves, each one causing her to slowly lift and descend as warmth enveloped her body. Each time a wave crested and fell her fingers wiggled and grasped at the smooth cloth floating below her. Each time she drifted closer; each time her fingers held the blankets for longer. Blankets...that's what they were. Was she in a bed?

"Mother will be angry if I oversleep again..." She thought. This time, when she felt the sheets, she clutched at them so as not to be pulled away --her body glistened with sweat as she writhed, slowly clawing her way to the ugly reality of consciousness.

She was laying in a bed, she knew that, but anything else seemed to only come in bits and pieces. Her stomach turned and her body struggled to move, as though it hadn't done so in months. Through sheer force of will she finally managed to open her eyes and glance around to realize she was in some kind of well-crafted stone room on a cozy bed. Suddenly her body convulsed and white foam bubbled from her lips and rolled down her chin. Small objects in the room began to rock and levitate as the wizard spasmed and drifted upwards, causing the covers to slide off her.

"How long has it been? Oh god...the basin, where's Vincent, where am I? How long has it been?" Her thoughts raced as her body twisted grotesquely in the air --glowing white lines streaked up her face, giving her the appearance of a cracked porcelain doll as tears rolled down her cheeks. The air in the room shimmered and suddenly Pavo the peacock appeared, stretching its majestic plumage and, for once, looking quite somber as it reached out a wing and placed it on her forehead. The pain lessened as some of her ethernano circuits were redirected to sustain the spirit. After a moment the pink haired maiden, Virgo, appeared opposite Pavo and reached out to gently take her hand, again, the pain lessened. Soon they were joined by Nikora, Horologium, and Pictor; all the spirits she had contracts with were silently easing the burden of her bursting magical pathways as they comforted her. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone.

Elvira was once again laying in bed, the objects around her seemed stilled. For a moment she thought it had all been a dream until she felt a warm, wet, cloth run across her forehead. She looked over to see Virgo sitting beside her on top of the covers cradling a bowl of water, which she was using to carefully clean the dried spit and blood from her body.

"H-how long?" She asked in a whisper as she reached out to rest her hand on Virgo's leg, relaxing as she felt the warmth of her friend's body on her skin.

"Two weeks Baroness." Virgo replied as she carefully uncovered the wizard and continued scrubbing.

"Did Vincent..." Elvira said, suddenly looking terrified.

"Sir Gauss is fine, he is in the other room, you are in his home." The stellar maid responded calmly as she finished Elvira’s bath and laid out a set of the Celestial Spirit clothing they all seemed to be able to produce at a moment’s notice.

Elvira flashed a frail smile and reached up, locking her fingers behind Virgo's neck as the inhumanly strong spirit easily sat up and pulled her upright. Their eyes met and Elvira leaned in to gently press their lips together for a moment. Distracted, Virgo didn't notice Elvira's slender fingers slide down her arm to her wrist. The wizard enjoyed the spirit's embrace for another moment before snapping the rubber band on the pink haired maiden's arm.

"Ah T-thank you Baroness!" She swooned, momentarily losing her stone-faced composure, as Elvira giggled and struggled to her feet, slowly dressing herself.

"Thank you Virgo, thank the others for me as well. I'll take things from here." She said while moving to look in the small mirror on the wall. She sighed and traced the still-glowing lines on her face with her finger tips.

"As you wish Baroness, call us if you need anything." The maiden replied with a nod before fading away.

Despite the thorough cleaning her friend had just given her Elvira was a mess: Her seven step skincare regimen and makeup had gone neglected for half a month and worse still; the magic of the basin seemed to have worn off all at once, and if not for the fast reaction of her spirits she likely would have died. Unfortunately, the witchfire had still started to burn, if only for a moment. One of her golden eyes was framed with crimson from a ruptured blood vessel, while her body was covered in several dark bruises. Most prominent, of course, were the remnants of the excited magical particles in her body which presented themselves as the white streaks dancing across her like spidery veins.

"Well." She sighed. "I can't imagine this is much worse than how I looked at the end of our last battle. I never wanted him to see me like this...though it can't be helped now." Elvira glanced around and located her keys and cards neatly arranged on a nearby table --it was difficult to tell if Vincent had just been very respectful of her things or if he'd studied them during her coma, she suspected the latter, though the idea was more amusing than invasive. She collected her belonginhs and stood as upright as possible, focusing on the straight, invisible, line through her body that her ballet teacher had drilled into her in childhood. She slowly made her way out of the room and down the hall to the main area, lured by the smell of freshly scrambled eggs.

Vincent sat with his back to her, but she easily recognized his beautiful silver hair, he seemed to be lost in thought before an empty plate when she quietly she slid her hand down his chest, embracing him loosely from behind. Her breasts pressed against his upper back as she lay her cheek on top of his head and stared off into space.

"I'm hungry..." She whispered.