Room 222, Friday Morning

[wwiii]

Warren was actually doing something that looked, at a glance, somewhat like drinking tea and studying, today. He'd had a good holiday, both in Bon Temps and then in London in the days afterwards, and now he was quite content to sit back with a good book (okay, fine, it was an economics textbook) and...

Zone out, really. His focus today was just a bit lacking, especially when there were so many other things for him to think about.

Had he really been here for nearly a year? And only now was it even occurring to him that he'd managed to grow a backbone somewhere along the way, even if it only managed to show itself on special occasions. There would be new students showing up this weekend, and he had almost made up his mind that he didn't want to hide what he was, even if the bracelet that Karla had given to him would have made it easy, no straps and harnesses involved.

He flipped the page and smiled a little. No, it hadn't been a bad vacation at all. And, for the most part, the rest of the year had been pretty good, too.

[Open door, open post!]

Comments

[trigons_child]

Raven had, mercifully, passed the night without any more nightmares about her loved ones. She'd spent the evening in meditation, trying to strengthen her shields against her father's power, and after her first restful night in half a week, she was in denial relieved enough to try to get back to her normal routine. There was the party to get ready for this evening, possibly seeing if she could get Jono out on the ice (but considering she didn't know how to skate herself, that wasn't a high priority), and something she had been anxious about for quite some time: talking to Warren, both about what had happened in Kaeleer and her part in Karla's Virgin Night. Maybe that was the reason for her stress, and if she dealt with it, she'd feel so much better.

So come Friday morning she was gently tapping on his door. She wasn't nervous about this at all.

[wwiii]

The narrative would like to note that Raven tapping on a door worked so much better when it was on Chamber's door, and not Angel's.

Warren was blissfully unaware of the two-cents of the narrative, however, and so he closed his book, not bothering to mark his spot (he wasn't actually reading it, anyhow), and glanced up to see Raven in his doorway.

He only grimaced a tiny bit. He couldn't blame her for the drugs that had been in her system after the whole... Agio thing... but he couldn't quite kick that tendency toward the wary. He was working on it.

"Hey, Raven. Come in?"

[trigons_child]

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore, but Warren would probably be very sad if she was there to say "Nevermore" about Karla's Virgin Night. But fear not, she wasn't planning to say that here or at Chamber's door.

"Hello, Warren," Raven said, gathering the nerves that wanted to go running back down the hall because wow this was going to be an awkward conversation, wasn't it? "Do you have a few moments to speak with me?"


[Hello, LJ, can you put the comment in the right place, plz?]

[wwiii]

"I have nothing but spare time," Warren replied, standing up and offering her the chair that he'd been sitting in.

It was close to the window, which was his easy escape route, but he figured that if she was going to chase him down, she had that black bird soul-self thing of hers anyhow, and also, that he was seriously overthinking this. Especially considering what they were going to be doing in a few days.

He'd been meaning to find her to have this same conversation, but, well, the best-laid plans of parakeets...

"Having a good day so far?"

[trigons_child]

Raven settled in the offered chair, hands folded in her lap, trying not to appear too tense. If Warren ran, she would be sad, since Karla would be upset.

"It has been a pleasant morning thus far," she said, nodding. "I am looking forward to the party tonight. I will be wearing the dress that was a Christmas present from you and Karla. Thank you very much for your gifts."

[wwiii]

Okay, skittish as he was, he still couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Karla picked it," he confessed. "I'm really no good with dresses."

And also, he had no idea what Raven's measurements were.

[trigons_child]

He'd probably have a better estimate in a few days, wouldn't he? At least relative to Karla, though hopefully he wouldn't mind any difference between "bee stings" and comic book racks.

"She thinks Jono will like it," Raven said with a smile. "I think she is right, but we shall see tonight."

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "I also wished to apologize for my behavior in Kaeleer, when last we spoke," she said. Well, if by "speak" one meant "shamelessly throwing herself at him and almost demoning out when he refused her."

[wwiii]

Warren chewed his lip slightly, giving a slow nod as he let that apology soak in. He really wasn't the type to hold a grudge, he hated that it had taken him this long to really want to let go of it in the first place, but it was just one more piece of trauma heaped up onto the mountain of it that was Agio, and so they all had managed to bleed together, somewhat.

"If I understand correctly," he said, carefully, "that wasn't really you doing those things, anyhow. Not really."

[trigons_child]

Raven was sorry it had taken her this long to seek him out to apologize, but only the pressing need of Karla's Virgin Night had been enough to overcome her embarrassment, it seemed.

She nodded at his words, looking down at the hands in her lap. "I healed Jaenelle of the last of the safframate that was in her body," she said. "I did not expect it to affect me so strongly." That was when her healing difficulties had begun.

She looked back up at Warren. "You were the first person I encountered before I could reach the safety of my room. And I thank Azar that it was you and not someone who might have taken advantage of my state."

[wwiii]

"I'm really not the 'taking advantage' sort," Warren replied, shrugging a little. "But for what it's worth, if your running into me was the worst that happened because of the safframate, then I'm thankful, too."

And then, as if he was finally making up his mind about something, he nodded, smiled, and offered her his hand.

"Maybe we both just agree to forget about it?"

[trigons_child]

Raven took his hand with a smile. "I would like that, yes," she said. "It will make things much easier for us for Karla's Virgin Night. I have been very concerned about your comfort."

Because if he wasn't comfortable with her there, it would make the whole point of the night difficult, wouldn't it?

[wwiii]

It had the potential to make Karla's virgin night any number of things, starting at difficult and spanning right along to embarrassing. Comfortable was a pretty darn good thing, overall.

"You really don't have to worry about me," he replied, shrugging. "It's not my Virgin Night, you know?"

No, really. It wasn't.

"I'm just happy to have this out of the way before either of us end up getting weird about things in front of Karla."

[trigons_child]

"Karla's comfort is my primary concern," Raven said, relieved as well that things seemed to be going well so far in this conversation. "But yours is important to me, too. If you are not comfortable with my presence there that night, it could affect your ability to...do what is necessary."

[wwiii]

Warren needed to take this opportunity to re-claim his hand, so that he could bury his face in it and blush fiercely.

"Yeah," he mumbled, maybe just a teeny bit mortified, "that had occurred to me, too."

[trigons_child]

Raven returned her hand to her lap and worried at her lower lip, sensing his embarrassment. "I do not wish to make things harder for you," she said. Well, so to speak. "I assume Karla has explained to you the part I am to play in this?"

She didn't think Karla had just told Warren a threesome was the traditional way to spend a Virgin Night.

[wwiii]

Warren nodded, removing his hand from his face so that he could rub awkwardly at the back of his neck, instead. It was an improvement, okay?

"She and I have discussed it, yeah," he agreed. "There are some things that she needs that... Well. I can't do. I'm no healer, really."

That he knew of. But there were just some things that he couldn't bleed on anyhow, and so the point was moot. For all intents and purposes, Warren had been designated the rank of "mandatory boy-parts."

[trigons_child]

"She could return home and have someone there help her through this night out of duty rather than love," Raven said. "But she wishes it to be love, therefore it can only be you. You are the one who fills her heart with passion and joy, and perhaps if you were very slow and careful, you would not need my assistance. That is not a risk we can take, however, so I will be there to take her pain."

She paused, and clarified, just in case he didn't realize: "I will feel everything she feels. I will make certain that the pain does not reach her, but the rest will pass through me."

[wwiii]

"...Ah."

So, no pressure at all, Warren. Even if now you're completely aware that you'll kind of be pulling double-duty. Here comes another case of the awkwards, then.

"I'll try not to be, uh, really, really bad at it, or anything."

[trigons_child]

"Just focus on Karla," Raven said, with as a reassuring smile as she could muster. "She is obviously quite pleased with your time together so far, so I am certain she will continue to be happy with your love-making."

She was pleased herself that Warren hadn't reacted with any sort of juvenile elation of "Whoo hoo, two girls at once!" Not that she expected him to, but it was still a relief not to sense that from him.

"If I sense you are nervous," she offered, "I can take that from you as well."

[wwiii]

The elation thing would totally come after the fact, when he realized just how much he didn't suck!

"I... maybe?" His smile had gone a bit twitchy again, but at least Raven's attempt at reassuring was helping him relax slightly. "I think 'nervous' is kind of just the normal way of things, with stuff like that, though."

You know. For as normal as a threesome ever could be, involving a half-demon, a witchling, and a winged mutant. And it wasn't really like Warren was speaking from all that much experience.

[trigons_child]

As long as he didn't run around bragging about it -- or rubbing it in a certain mutant's face -- Raven wouldn't mind much.

"Of course," she agreed. "I do not think any of us are experienced with such things in real life. I saw a movie once, but that was with two men and one woman" -- thank you, Merlin -- "and they were all participating enthusiastically in the act, which is not exactly the same as what we will be doing."

[wwiii]

"Huh."

Sorry, Raven. You just really never managed to strike Warren as the threesome porno type, and now he would never look at you quite the same way again.

"No, that sounds like it would be... pretty different. From. Uh."

He was forgetting how to use words, here.

[trigons_child]

Please, Warren, was he forgetting where Raven worked? She'd totally read the backs of some of those DVD cases! And so had Karla, she was willing to bet.

She had the decency to blush. "I imagine so," she said. "But in this case, we would both be focused on Karla, and she will be focused on you." At least, that's how she thought it would work. She really wasn't entirely sure how much she'd be drawn in by the emotions she'd be channeling. She just knew it would be impossible to keep them from affecting her at all, and it would feel awkward to just be...sitting there and watching.

[wwiii]

"And I can live with that." Warren's smile came a little more easily, now. It was difficult to equate 'Raven the psychopathic sex fiend with the scary eyes' to the blushing girl who was sitting in front of him. "I guess, whatever goes on, we'll mostly just be figuring it out as we go, anyhow."

[trigons_child]

She preferred that no one see the psychopath with glowing red eyes, but the sex fiend? Only one person got to see that. "Yes, exactly," Raven said. "And the more at ease we are with each other, the easier it will be for us to relax and enjoy the moment. So I am pleased that we can be so with each other now."

[wwiii]

"Better now than figuring it out... Uh... At the time," Warren decided.

You know. At the time, when embarrassing things could potentially happen (or not happen), and wow, that would be a horrible reason to have to postpone Karla's Virgin Night.

'Sorry, honey. I can't. Uh.'

'Uh' was really such a flexible word.

[trigons_child]

Fortunately, Raven could easily fix that! If Warren did end up having difficulties, she could take the matter firmly in hand and help the situation along.

...not like that!

She rose to her feet, relieved that this conversation hadn't gone any of the dozens of upsetting ways she'd been dreading. "Will you be attending the party tonight?" she asked. "Perhaps I will see you there."

[wwiii]

"I think I might," Warren replied, nodding a little. "It's been a while since there's been a New Year's party that I could actually go to. And if I can find Karla before then, I think I'm pretty much obligated to drag her along."

He was so certain that Karla would take exception to that. Sure.

[trigons_child]

"I am certain she will love to go," Raven said, smiling. "So I hope to see you both there."