Circles and Wings

Chapter 17

*Scarlett*

Wrath showed after the fight was over. Typical. He came when my world was dark, my eyes might have been closed, I didn't know. All I knew was I was in pain, but I was warm. I was warm and he was holding me. Raph was holding me. I knew this because he smelled like Citrus and fresh air. And he was warm. Like I was standing in a ray of sunshine.

He kept whispering to me too. "Please be alright, my light. Please be alright..." he kept repeating it. And I heard my door open, and I heard my lock click. I wanted to open my eyes, to say I was alright, but I couldn't.

There must have been something on the blade. Greed must have poisoned me, and there was only one poison strong enough to knock me out this long. Blessed marble. Crushed and powdered, it's nearly undetectable when you're looking for it. Impossible to detect when you're not. And I wasn't looking for it. I felt him carry me round two turns, probably to my bedroom.

"I'm going to change your shirt." He said softly. I was set down on my bed, so my head was on my fluffy pillows. Then I heard the opening of a drawer. "Where do you keep those cute little tops?" He said lowly. His voice was panicked.

I wanted to tell him they were in the top drawer on the left, but I couldn't get my mouth to move. I could only barely get my eyes to open. He came back over a moment later, a black top replicating the torn one I wore, in his hand.

He looked at me, looked at my now open eyes and sat the shirt down pulling me into his chest. "You're alive."

"Just... barely..." The words were hard to say. "Where's..." I had to pause and take a breath.

"Hold on," he said placing a guiding hand on my back and lifting me so I rested against the head board. I hissed at the stinging of the slice down my back. "Sorry," he mumbled taking the shirt into his hands, "here, let me help you."

I didn't respond. I couldn't respond. I was drained. He lifted my arms one by one, slipping them into the new top and pulling it down, before pulling the ruined top away from me. The silk of the top felt good against my burning spine. "Thank... you..." The words came out barely more than a gasp. There was wood on the head board that rubbed against my back with every breath.

He gasped, "Oh my, a thank you. You must be dying."

"If I... could... I'd hurt you." I gasped out while glaring at him.

He laughed, a worried laugh, and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sure you would." There was a silence after that, as I stared into his eyes. His eyes of grey that were bright like a cloudy day. Like a sky right before rain breaks. And in them I saw feelings I wanted to ignore and actions I didn't want to take. I coughed, breaking our gaze and shifted slightly, hissing at the pain.

"Does it hurt?" Raph asked, his hands hovering around my shoulders.

"Yes." I said, words beginning to come easier, "My back is rubbing against the wood."

He nodded and in one swift motion lifted me from the bed for only a second. He had moved us so he rested with his back to the headboard and I rested between his legs, my head resting against his chest. He ran a hand down my hair and I leaned my head back to meet his gaze.

"Scarlett..." he started. "You scared me today."

"Why?" I asked. "I had it covered."

"Covered?" He laughed roughly. "You were being beaten and sliced."

"They wouldn't hurt me, Pride would unleash true Hell on them if they did."

"Why would Pride care?" Raph asked and there was a long pause. I didn't know how to answer. "Tell me something about you." He said, "About your family, what was your mother like?"