Out of My Element [Castle]

[Castle]

The yelp and the sight of her hitting the floor were immensely satisfying. What started out as a smirk became a feral grin. Castle planted his stance and did a quick analysis for his next move. She was still on the ground, scrambling for her weapon. He could kick her some more. Or maybe he could stomp her. That should do it.

However, just as he raised his foot to do so, she told him to stop. Only then did he truly see the situation. It was just like what had happened back in the forest, except this time, he wasn't under anyone's spell, and he was attacking Emi.

The fierce rush of rage faltered and tripped over itself somewhere in his bloodstream. He froze for a moment, and then put his foot back down, his hands shaking slightly. She was standing now, but she was no longer attacking him. She was holding out a hand to keep him back. He took a few slow breaths through his teeth and glared at her.

"Whatever!" he spat, taking an angry step back and planting his hands on his hips, his head turned away from her, "I'm done with this."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I need a drink.
--

Emi made a snorting sound. She was still seething but at least there was some coherence now. "Don't be such a priss about this. I told you before you even came with me in Radiant Garden not to irritate me or I would beat the hell out of you and I wasn't kidding. You got yourself into this mess.[/color]"

True words, but she was ready for an apology now. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Just let it drop. Otherwise, you can just stay at whatever world we end up next and find your own way home.[/color]"

She had to force it out but there it was. An apology. A sincere one. She sighed. "Screw this,[/color]" she muttered, crossing to the computer. She leaned over and tapped in a few coordinates. "By the time we reach this place, it will be my birthday and I just want to get completely wasted.[/color]"

Now that was interesting. After all that effort she'd put into putting her bad habits behind her, she wanted to put herself in that kind of situation? She snorted and turned her back to the computer. Whatever. She told herself it was because she wanted to celebrate and have fun on her birthday but she knew what she was actually doing was trying to deal with things in a very unhealthy way. Use alcohol to block out all the fights and fear and rage.

[Castle]

At first, her words just made him angrier. He turned his head back toward her and dropped his hands to his sides, his fingers forming fists. It took a surprising amount of resistance to keep him from tackling her as she had done to him at the start of the fight. He hated the way she spoke to him just now. Absolutely hated it. And what made her think she was actually going to "beat the hell out of" him? The way he saw it, he was the one about to do that to her before she chickened out.

The apology was unexpected. Even though she laced it with a threat at the end, it still managed to defuse his lingering rage. Now, all that hatred and anger was just making him feel ill. He crossed his arms to hide the shaking in his hands. What the hell had come over him? Not at the beginning of the fight; that was normal, but the enjoyment he got out of causing her pain was something else. Had he ever felt that way back home in Traverse Town, in the fights he or someone else started for whatever reason?

Yes. Yes he had.

He turned partially away from her, his arms still crossed. He wasn't about to start rethinking his life here, but...

"Maybe this is why neither of us have any friends," he muttered.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

We're even now.
--

"Ha,[/color]" Emi said, but it didn't sound like the laughing it was supposed to represent. She clipped Duskywing back onto her belt and touched her finger tips to her aching mouth. "I've known that's the truth since I was a little kid. Tell me something I don't know.[/color]"

She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, exhaled and turned to walk to the small sleeping area. "Hold on, maybe I can make this up to you. Did I hurt you really bad?[/color]"

She didn't think she had, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. She ducked into the room just long enough to find the hi-potion she'd brought with her and opened it. She held it out to Castle. "You can have half, but save some for me. Don't worry about it, we can buy another one later. I'm just tired of my mouth and stomach hurting, not to mention my shoulder...plus, I don't want to be seen in public with you, you look pathetic. Your ponytail came loose.[/color]"

[Castle]

Castle finally noticed that some longer locks of hair had fallen over his shoulders, behind the shorter layers that he usually kept loose in front. He smirked, the action reminding him that his face was still sore, and took the hi-potion from Emi.

"You saying I'm a wreck without my hair tied back?" he joked.

Judging from how sore he felt, his face probably wasn't helping how he looked, either. He utilized the hi-potion, careful to only take half, and offered it back to Emi. The ache vanished instantly.
He studied her for a moment, recalling what she said about the pain she felt, and his smirk faded a few notches.

"Hey, I'm sorry, too. I went kind of overboard. I don't know what got into me," he said.

He wasn't normally one to apologize, not sincerely, anyway, and it was strange to do so. However, it still felt better than that windstorm of negativity that was burning him up a minute ago.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

And now for the emotional backlash.
--

Emi put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Yeah, man, that's what I'm saying,[/color]" she said as he took the potion. After he used his half, she added "Go clean up.[/color]"

She took the hi-potion when it was offered to her and used it, breathing a sigh of relief when the pain that had begun to radiate throughout her whole body from all of her various injuries disappeared. Even the healing gash in her shoulder. She didn't say anything to his apology, at least not a first. But then, she nodded. It was just as hard for her to accept apologies as it was to give them so that nod was about as good as it was going to get. Hopefully, he would understand and realize his apology was accepted.

With the hi-potion used up, Emi looked down at the ground. Awkward silence. Then: "I'm gonna go lie down now.[/color]"

She turned on a heel and squeezed herself back into the cupboard of a sleeping area. She sat down on the bed and leaned over, putting her face in her hands. Everything hit her at once: guilt, regret, anger at herself for having exploded like that. She started crying and couldn't remember the last time she had cried like that. There had been tears telling Zexion all about her past but this was different. She slammed a fist against the wall. "What's wrong with me?[/color]" she said out loud, as if asking the question would somehow bring the answer to the surface.

This wasn't normal. She never cried like this and usually had a tiny bit more self-control. She calmed for a moment when her mind came up with the explanation that it must be because she was still tense over the whole ocean thing. "Yeah, that's gotta be it,[/color]" she said, settling down into the pillow. A thought came to her, something she hadn't thought of in years. She remembered, when she was a kid, after she'd beaten Ienzo up they locked her in a room by herself. She remembered throwing herself at the walls and later, Kagabu taking her to a 'special doctor' who then told the old woman that Emi was sick in her head and that's why she got into so many fights.

Should she tell Castle about that? About her not being quite right up there? He was travelling with her, he had a right to know if his travelling companion was mentally ill. Emi didn't want to tell him though. She didn't want to admit that maybe now, she was going insane.

She decided to sleep it off. Maybe she would feel better when she woke up. And when she slept, she dreamed. She dreamed of falling in a starless black sky, a bottomless atmosphere. In her dream, she never stopped falling.