Water and Wind

Nimue

He'd gone from her to Arian, and now he was back again, leaning close to her frozen face and hissing the same way he'd hissed to Arian. Arian. She feels a punch in her gut. She still hasn't gotten a chance to thank him.

"So what's this about you and Arian?" He asks, spittle flying in her face that she can't swipe off, despite her disgust. She stiffens, refusing to answer, wondering how she could have ever liked someone like this, much less been their friend for most of her life. And close friend too.

He smiles wickedly. "Can't answer?" He asks. "Can you still..." His voice trails off.

Do this? He asks in her mind, and she tries to shut off her brain. She doesn't need his voice in her head now. That is her and Arian's thing, something that doesn't belong to Lucifer and never will. She refuses to answer and hopes he will think it hadn't worked. But he is persistent.

I know you can hear me Nimue. Answer... He says in a singsong way. Nimue. Nimue. Nimue.

She hates the sound of his voice right now, and still refuses to answer. The judge saves her, something that should not have happened, given his role, but does anyway as he walks over to Lucifer.

"Are you quite done playing with your little girlfriend?" He asks in a bored tone and Nimue shoots him her best glare. That'd been years ago. Almost. She is not making that mistake again.

"Let's just go." The old lady is getting impatient. "My feet sure ain't gonna hold me much longer."

The man who Arian had nearly sent off the stage - ugh, she still hasn't thanked him for doing that yet - is now back on the platform and turning her, Jinx and Sirena around to face her family. The tears of the younger children are hurting her heart, and the silent stares of the adults sting her painfully. Tears well up in her eyes, but she refuses to let them slide down purely out of stubbornness.

Then she hears a click. "Don't try any funny business." is her warning from Lucifer. She glances at him in surprise, feeling the trembling feeling all over again as her bindings release.

"What are you doing?!" The man shouts, but Lucifer ignores him. The old lady just grumbles something about her knees and old joints but the man resigns when Lucifer points the restraints at him. "Three minutes." He warns Nimue.

So down the line she goes, making sure to whisper a few comfort words to each child. She would like to stay longer with each one, but that is not an option. She has to get through everybody, even if it's brief for each person. Most children cry into her shoulder as she tries to put on a brave face for them. They can't move to hug her, but she holds them tightly.

She reaches Arian and freezes, feeling a sudden double in her heart rate. She reaches out lightly to touch his cheek and pulls away. "I'll be back." She'll go down the adult line first, and then back to Arian. That's the person she wants to remember the most anyway, before she leaves.

On the adult line, they can neither speak nor move nor cry, but they insert advice in her head. She can see their struggle to break the bindings just enough, but they offer her advice and comfort in jumbled sentences that she tries to listen to and memorize while hugging them.

"Stay safe."

"Watch out for the little ones."

"Don't trust them."

"Don't make a break for it, please Nimue."

"We love you."

"Thank you."

And then she is at the end, turning back towards Arian, as the heat she's been holding back rises to the surface. A tear slides down her cheek silently.