welovethishistory:

Constance nodded. She had guessed that Phoenix were pretty rare from the data in the camp. There had been all kinds of mythics, but as far as she could remember no Phoenix. But she didn’t want to mention that, especially not in front of Talos of all people. “It’s an … interesting experience,” she said knitting her brows. It tickles and it kind of feels like wax is spreading and solidifying on your skin?” The description wasn’t quite right, but it was the closest she could come up with. “And yes, it feels lots better.” She could feel the skin mending and reforming in the palms of her hands and the heat and pain lessen with every second. “So, how was your day?” she asked grinning.

Yes, rare; Just as Gryphons were. Jonah had been the first in nearly a century that Talos had run into aside from his father. It was reassuring to see that even the rarest of species were still producing new life, even if it were in the strange events that followed the birth of Eva's son. Unfortunately, the child's life came with the loss of his father's... "I guess the feeling all depends on the injury as well, but that should do the trick for you. By tomorrow evening it should all be back to normal, just keep it clean until then." Pulling a roll of bandage from another pocket he looped it around his own palm, tight around the gash in his skin to stop the bleeding. "My day? Just fine. I have to say it was not nearly as eventful as yours seems to have been." 

“Me too,” she said relief evident in her voice. This could have gone sideways in so many ways and if something had happened to the baby or Eva …. Not only would she have blamed herself, but she was sure that a lot of people would have suspected foul play from the human. But … everything was fine and that was something she didn’t need to worry about. “It was so … I mean, a little baby phoenix. How many people, and human at that, do you think have seen something like that?” She gladly held her hands out to Talos just flinching lightly when he cut his own palm with the knife. She could feel the blood do its work almost immediately and felt her eyes go wide in astonishment. “Wow, this feels …,” she started trying to find the words, but failed. “This is quite the day. And I didn’t even have a single drop yet.”

"I have only met a handful of Phoenix in my life," Talos admitted, "They are a species that are fairly rare, after all." He couldn't say he  had ever been around during the birth of a Phoenix. Majority of his life hadn't been spent in particularly child friendly zones, after all. As she held out her hands he allowed his blood to spill over the wounds, knitting the skin back together. "I suppose I would not really know what it feels like," he commented, raising his eyes to her's. "But better, I presume?"

Constance smile became even wider if that was possible and she was aware that all of this must seem awfully paradox. Her hands were badly burned yet here she was smiling like a loon and giddy like a high school girl. “Yes,” she said happily. “Luckily she was here when the contractions started. We couldn’t reach Jonah so I kinda filled in. I called Fiona to help since I hadn’t delivered a mythic baby before,” she started to explain things a bit more. “We had to improvise a little as you can imagine since this was everything but planned and the baby was six weeks early. But yes, mother and child are great and resting upstairs actually.” She smiled again and her eyes watered again a little as she remembered. “It was amazing Talos. This little ball of flames … and I helped. It’s …” she closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. “I’m better than I have been in months, but I really need my hands. The burns are bad and the risk of an infection with wounds this big is high for a human. I would be truly grateful if you could help.”

Talos couldn't help but wonder where Jonah could have been not to answer the calls, but it was certainly fortunate that Constance was there for Eva in her time of need. "Well I am glad everything turned out well," He said with a smile. A healthy baby Phoenix, all in all he felt the results were very positive. Eva and the baby made it out just fine and, well, Alex seemed free of all responsibilities with the child. Which was good; Alex deserved to make himself a good little family when the time was right, with the right girl, and he didn't think this Eva or the current situation was what he needed. "I am very glad to hear you are doing better as well. But yes, that I can help with." Flipping the blade of the knife out he pressed the sharpened edge to his palm, barely reacting as it cut into his skin and blood began to pool along either side of the blade. "Let me see your hands, it will feel better in just a few minutes," he told her, gently taking her hand in his and letting his blood fall over the burns, slowly mending the injury.

Constance led Talos inside and into the living room. It seemed like ages ago that she had sat down here with Eva while it had only been hours and their glasses and the cookies were still present on the table. Cleaning up those things wasn’t really high on her priority list at the moment. “Please sit, can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “And please stop worrying.” She could see that he was really worried though and that it would not change until he knew what was going on. But nonetheless she got a bottle of whiskey and two glasses before she sat down. “I think you might need a drink later,” she said in explanation and grinned at him. She carefully started to unwrap her hands to show Talos the damage while she started to explain what happened. “So, I don’t know if Alex already knows so you need to keep it to yourself for a bit, but I delivered Eva’s baby today. This wasn’t planned but we couldn’t reach Jonah and it needed to be done.” She held out her hands to him that were covered in second and third degree burns. “As you can see … it’s a Phoenix,” she said beaming at him. “And he’s beautiful Talos.”

Can I get you something to drink? Talos cocked an eyebrow, shaking his head the slightest bit to her offer. For someone who had just requested medical attention over the phone, she sure seemed awful giddy. "Alright," He murmured, holding up his hands in an almost defensive manner, "No more worrying. Just tell me what is going on." She settled down at the table with a bottle of whiskey, that grin still playing on her face, and Talos sighed, taking the seat across from her. It took him a moment to catch up with what she was saying once she'd revealed her hands, his eyebrows knitting together firmly. "Wait, what? Eva had her baby?" The pieces were beginning to fit together and her explanation only solidified it. A Phoenix, the child of the man Talos hadn't been able to save all those months back... "That is great news, and mother and child are alright then?" Returning his gaze to her injuries he pulled a pocket knife from his jacket pocket, turning it over in his hands. "I suppose this all makes more sense, then. How are you?" He questioned, pointing towards her hands. Bad enough to want to summon his assistance, after all. 

dereksinferno:

The last thing Constance wanted to do was worry Talos, but her hands were in bad shape to say the least. And while the pain was … endurable due to something Fiona had given her it WAS still painful. And there was a huge risk of infection. And she needed to take care of Eva and the baby. AND there would probably be people coming to visit as soon as the news would spread. All in all she couldn’t afford her hands to heal naturally; and how would she even explain such injury at the hospital? She had to be slightly cryptic on the phone however since she didn’t know if Alex already knew, and that was something Eva had to do herself. When there was a knock at the front door she sighed in relief and opened the door with heavily bandaged hands but a bright and honest smile on her face. “Talos,” she said, her mood better than it had been in months, and opened the door wider to let the Gryphon enter. “Thank you for coming over this quickly. This is a story that has to be told in person.”

With the way Constance had been acting over the past couple of weeks Talos had already been worrying about her. But adding on top of it whatever this situation was, it was needless to say that the Gryphon was concerned. However the woman who appeared at the door seemed a far cry from the depressed one he'd seen in the bar a few days prior; a genuine smile seemed to appear on her face, one he hadn't seen in a long stretch of time. "Hi, Constance," He greeted quickly, though his attention was quickly pulled away from the pleasantries when he noted the bandages that covered her hands. "I guess so..." he murmured as he gave her a preliminary once over to discern if there were any other visible injuries before stepping inside. "Tell me what is going on, please, or I will just continue thinking the worst." 

Constance chuckled lightly at his admission and nodded. “Yes, dealing with other people’s troubles is a lot easier. It’s one of the reasons I would love to go back to work.” She spun the glass slowly in her hands wondering what to tell Talos, but she wasn’t really ready to talk about what really happened in the camp after everyone else had left. She thought she had only told Eva and Jonah and that was in the first shock after waking up again, but she was not sure. She couldn’t really remember much of those first days. “Yeah, maybe I should call her or something,” she said calmly. They had a weird relationship to be honest, she was certain that Lily didn’t really trust her because she was human, but they had gotten along good enough after New Year’s Eve. And she was close to Talos after all and a fellow scientist; maybe some nerding off would help.

That made some sense, Constance wanted to go back to work in order to get away from her own problems. She simply wanted to let her worries dissolve into thin air while she went on to assist others with their issues. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing but neither was sitting back and relaxing for a little while. "Having a little company can never hurt," he offered, taking a sip of his beer. "At least, I used to think so." A hint of a smile turned the corner of his lips, sitting back in his seat a little. "Well, Constance. I think I might head home and get the kids together for a movie night. You are welcome to join us if you like." 

"Ah well, you should be safe then" she smiled as he started to make her drink order. She moved to the side and took in her surroundings, letting other people order, while she waited. She liked this little business, it was nice and so far the people seemed friendly. It was only a moment until her coffee was ready. She stepped back up to the counter to take it "Thanks, I will" she responded "It’s just the pick me up I need." 

"Hopefully," He explained simply, popping a cover into place on her drink and sliding the beverage to her. Talos hadn't ever really considered spending time working in a coffee shop when he had agreed with Phoebe to come to Atlanta, but he didn't mind. It was almost relaxing compared to what he may have been busy with otherwise. "Well, let me know if I can get you anything else." 

Constance sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t load all of this off on you of all people. You have enough shit to deal with yourself.” She knew Talos was right, intellectually at least. But she didn’t have this much free time since High school, she needed to work, needed something to occupy her mind. And those of her friends who were still alive had enough shit to deal with; or were angry with her. “But I honestly had enough free time. I could use some distraction.” She shook her head lightly to banish the dark thoughts that were mounting up again. “I’m glad Lily is okay. I haven’t seen her in a while. And I hope you two can spend some time together soon.” After all she knew that Talos was really important to the medical examiner or the woman wouldn’t have risked sending a message to the gryphon.

"I do not have that much shit to deal with," Talos smirked, resting his elbow against the bar and propping his chin up in his hand, "Or at least I prefer to pretend I do not. It is easier for me to help you with your problems than do anything about mine." He wasn't too sure how else to offer Constance assistance though; it wasn't like they were the closest of friends and he doubted he would be much of a useful distraction for the woman; if anything he was probably more of a reminder of the bad. "Yes, Lily is doing fairly well to my knowledge. Maybe you should speak with Lily, the two of you could go out for coffee or something before the end of the week." 

She hesitated for only the briefest of seconds. “Yes,” Lily said, a slow smile splaying across her face. “Yes, I suppose I am. Asking that is.” Glancing down at the brochure, she began to play with the edge of it. The nerves were finally setting in. “If he’s willing, of course…” The words were added quickly, and she went from fraying the edge of the brochure to picking at her fingernail as she waited for him to speak. “It’s a big cabin. Three bedrooms, sleeps six I think. There’s a pool table, if you like that sort of thing.  A hot tub. It’s way off the main road, so it would be private…”  Lily was rambling again, so she caught her bottom lip in her teeth and just shrugged sheepishly. “You know… if you’re interested.” 

As she admitted her offer to him he nodded, letting a smile play across his features as well, "Well in that case..." he murmured, watching as her hands fiddled with the pamphlet in an almost nervous like fashion. It wasn't so difficult to feel like a middle school kid trying to ask someone on a date, even when one was hundreds of years old. "I am sure Alex would be able to handle the kids and Logos on his own for a couple of days," he explained, catching her nervous hands in his, "So yes, I am very interested. I would love you accompany you." 

There is was. That genuine smile she so loved to see. “You have,” Lily smiled, ducking her head before the blush spread. She was getting better at these social interactions, well at least with him, but he could still catch her off guard from time to time. Walking over to the counter, the Sphinx took a seat across from Talos. “I imagine you haven’t been short visitors lately,” she said matter-of-factly. It wasn’t to discount what he said; she really did imagine that people had been lined up to see him. “I am off work today. The next three days actually. I figured it was time to cash in some of those vacation hours they gave me as a sign-on bonus. I was thinking of going to the mountains.”  She pulled a pamphlet out of her pocket which listed several rental cabins about an hour and a half away. “Know anyone that might want a mini-vacation? I’d hate to go by myself.” 

If catching her off guard meant that he could see that gentle blush spread across her cheeks, even for the briefest of moments, then it was worth it. As she sat down across from where he stood he leaned against the counter, resting his forearms against the surface and folding his hands together before him. "Yes, Logos has had plenty of visitors, but I personally have not had many. Not any who came here expressly for me anyway." It was awful sweet of her to take time out of her busy schedule just to come visit him, especially when it was her first day off in who knew how long now. As she went on to explain that she had the next three days off he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "A mini-vacation?" He questioned, glancing at the pamphlet as she pulled it from her pocket. "Well, are you offering? I think I know a guy who could definitely use a vacation..."