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Triggers || Ch. 3

Deviation Actions

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Seven AM was a reasonable time for most people. Cliff was used to getting up early, but he had never grown to be a morning person. 

The alarm went off by his head at the usual time. Cliff's eyelids fluttered, followed by a small moan that came from deep in his throat. He rolled onto his side to smack the snooze button. Promptly, he laid limp again and his breathing became rhythmic. 

Tai’s eyes shot open at the strange sound and the moan that followed. …Morning, huh? For a moment, she had to think about her surroundings, but was soon interrupted and dropped onto the bed with a gasp.

She quickly collected herself and looked next to her, eyes widening when she saw the wall that Cliff’s body created. Startled, Tai shuffled backwards, meeting the edge unexpectedly but not falling off. Looking again, she calmed down, realizing he was just moving in his sleep…

“Ugh… Scared the crap outta me…” With a sigh, she stood up, walking back towards the expanse that made up the Human’s chest. “You dang log.” she huffed, giving him a kick which she knew wouldn’t have any real effect. “Get up, will you? Or I just might find somewhere to hide.”

Then again… “Nah, I think I will.” Having delivered her ‘threat’ to the sleeping Human, Tai made her way to the bed’s edge once more. Looking down, she was already trying to figure out how she was supposed to get to the floor smoothly…

The alarm went off again five minutes later, and this time Cliff got up. He flung off the covers and sat up, peering out of bleary eyes. His hand grazed his abdomen, and suddenly, something occurred to him: Tai was missing. 

For a split second, he was worried he had crushed her in his sleep. But when a slightly frenzied search of the bed sheets, pillows, and comforter yielded no blood, he was certain she was alive at least. 
"Probably trying to run..." He shook his head wearily, pulling a hand down his face before getting out of bed. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and pulled back the bedskirt.

Tai could hear Cliff actually waking up, and she smirked. Took him long enough. She had chosen a relatively good place to hide, she was sure. After all, she wasn’t really hiding, and it simply wouldn’t do to hide somewhere that might prove more useful in a true game of hide-and-seek with the Humans.

It was a good thing she didn’t need to go far, because those five minutes wouldn’t have been enough. So she stuck close, deciding this would be more of a tease game than anything else. And, of course, that meant under the bed was a perfect option~

But she had to admit it startled her a bit when he just dropped right to the floor and checked her very spot first. “Darn.” she teased with a grin. “And I was so sure you’d check the table first.” No she didn’t, but she still didn’t think he’d check the bed as quick as he did.

Tai backed up, moving just out of reach. If she was going to make this game worthwhile, he’d have to work for her. So with a playful grin, she stated her motive. “Consider this payback for last night, and for rolling over and dropping me this morning.”

His brow furrowed. She wasn't running for her life; she was sitting there with an expectant smile... "It's where I'd go if I were five inches tall." He shrugged, swiping a hand across her spot. His fingers grasped empty air- she was quick. And still smiling, unbelievably. Figures he'd land a fairy who's chipper in the morning. 

She's not trying to escape... She wants me to chase her.

Cliff rested his head on the floor, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "It's too early for games." He complained loudly. But in a moment, he was on his feet, walking around to the other side.

“You’d make for a horrible hider, then.” She chuckled. Tai was glad she managed to get him moving, giggling excitedly as she watched him rise and heard him walk around the bed. She darted again so she was just out of reach, much closer to the side he was just on.

She could feel the adrenaline kicking in her system, and she couldn’t hold back the amused snickers. “I hope you have a better plan than that, Cliff.” she teased. “Or else we could be at this all day~” The playfulness of her tone was practically dripping from her lips and she honestly intended to enjoy this for all it was worth. Not many things could make her smile like this, and even fewer could make her laugh as much.

Cliff put his head to the floor again, groping underneath the bed. Dust collected under his fingertips and he heard Tai giggling from the other side. "You've got to be kidding me..." He grumbled, wrestling a smile off his face.

Jon woke up to see Cliff pushing the bed a few inches over and immediately shoving his entire arm underneath. 

"Is there a reason you're on the floor?" He mumbled. 
"Shhh!" 

Jon frowned, sitting up. "Did you just-" 
"Shut up, I've almost got her!" 
"You lost her?"
"No, she's-- gotcha!" 

Cliff snagged her ankle and tugged her towards him so he could wrap his entire hand around her. 
He pulled her out and sat up, breathing heavily but victoriously. "That was a little uncalled for."

Tai was desperately fighting the giggles that spawned from seeing him try to reach her. She simply stepped back out of reach with a broad grin. But it disappeared when the bed began to move. He was clever, despite his morning fog.

She had little chance to react as his arm shot back under the bed for her, one of his fingers brushing her leg. Tai jumped back in surprise, but he caught her ankle and reversed her progress. “Ack! Shoot.” she hissed when he managed to completely wrap his hand around her.

Tai pouted when she met with the light again, but it quickly changed to a wry grin at seeing how heavy his breathing was. Well, at least she was able to make him work a bit.

“Uncalled for? If my revenge was uncalled for, then so was your ‘stunt’ last night with the sleeping arrangements and you rudely dropping me, this morning.” she said simply. “Besides. I achieved my goal~”

"I was just making sure you didn't try to run off in the middle of the night." Cliff protested half-heartedly. He was getting a kick out of this, too, though he tried to conceal that fact. 

"Oh yeah?" He opened his hand before him, stifling the bizarre sensation of miniature limbs shifting on his palm. "What goal was that- making me freak that I squished you?"

“Was that all?” she challenged. “You were being pretty ‘friendly’ for just ‘making sure I didn’t run off’.” She could feel the half-truth of his statement. “But, if you insist…”

“No. You freaking out was just an added bonus~” Tai laughed to herself, hoping the statement would incite further fun of the conversation. “I got you to work for it, didn’t I? Ha ha.” She stood slanted, head tilted and hand on her hip; an unspoken challenge. “You just don’t strike me as a morning person.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. She was pointing fingers at him? Trying to get a reaction out of him. That was surprisingly bold... It struck him that she was probably clinging to him as her savior still after last night. He wasnt sure yet how he felt about that. 

"Well, I'm definitely awake now." 

He pushed himself to his feet. He felt Tai lose her balance from the movement, falling backwards in his hand. "Careful." He scolded, smirking quietly to himself.

The sudden movement of Cliff standing up caused Tai to fall in his hand. “Ah! Hey! Little warning would’ve been nice!” she snapped, repositioning herself to crouch. She glowered at him for the ‘careful’ comment, but let it go.

“If not for my wing, you’d have a lot more trouble with me.” she said plainly. “But since I’m apparently still stuck with you…” She laughed nervously to herself for a moment, thinking again how she really was stuck. Sure, she had ways of taking care of herself, but as long as she was injured, her chances for escape were slim. Unless she fought dirty, of course.

Tai glued her eyes to Cliff’s hand, focusing on the grooves in the skin. Fun was over, most likely, but she really didn’t want it to be… She traced one of the lines on his palm with a finger, seeming to study it. The few times she had actually been caught were never so peaceful, so this moment was rather strange to her. Tai had spent most of her life learning about Humans, but it was different being so close to one in the ways she had been in the last 24 hours. Curiosity was becoming too much to handle…

“What do you do for your job?” she asked suddenly. Her eyes continued to follow the lines of his palm as she traced them with her fingers. “Besides shooting fairies, I mean.” A smirk curved her lips and she stopped focusing on his hand, looking up to show she wouldn’t let him forget that. “Did you even think we were real before then? ‘Cause your initial reaction said you didn’t. Not that I really care, of course. As far as I’m concerned, the fewer Humans who know we exist, the better. Otherwise, I’m certain we’d all end up in jars on shelves. That’s my experience, at least.”

Cliff was so distracted by the sensation of doll-sized hands and fingers exploring his palm, he nearly collided with Jonathan. He quickly shielded Tai with a second hand and swerved into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. 

"We're hunters." He finally answered. Cliff deposited her on the countertop. He turned on the hot water faucet and stood back, waiting for it to heat up. "Job's just like it sounds; we track, hunt, and kill things. Monsters, mostly." Though his casual tone was well-rehearsed, it was clear this job was far from easy. Cliff's muscular torso ducked out of sight for a moment when he went to grab a couple bottle out from the cabinet under the sink. 
"They're not nearly cute as you." Their eyes met when he straightened up and set the stuff down on the edge of the counter. 
Leaning against the wall, he stared at the floor. "In my time, I've learned that nearly everything has a ugly side. And things who say they don't are probably the reason you should be afraid of the dark."
He ran his hand under the water. Finally, it was nice and hot.. "Not unhappy I was wrong about you existing and stuff."

Tai made herself comfortable on the counter, watching curiously as Cliff went about doing whatever he was doing. “Monsters? Like what?” she asked, interested. His comment about her being ‘cute’ made Tai look away just as her eyes met his. “You just think that because I’m so much smaller…” she grumbled.

She turned back when he mentioned the dark side of things and she nodded. “That’s true… Even Fae have a dark side…” Tai’s eyes fell to her lap and she fidgeted with her hands. She didn’t want to talk more about that, if she didn’t have to…

She perked up again shortly after his last statement. “Is that so?” she asked teasingly, standing up and walking closer to him. “And why is that?” Tai neared to the edge of the sink, climbing atop the faucet and sitting on the edge. She let her legs dangle close to the water, swinging them just slightly. “Could it be you like me more than you let on?” There was a certain tone to her voice which hinted at playfulness and perhaps something a bit darker. It was almost like the concept of a purr, but not quite; something wild and untamed…

"Depends how much I'm letting on." 
Cliff watched her movements, transfixed by her interaction with his mundane objects. A lopsided smile tugged at the left corner of his mouth, watching her tiny calves dangle back and forth near the stream of water. She had really nice legs, he admitted that openly to himself. Nice everything, really. 

"Actually, I was just going to say how nice it was to encounter something that doesn't eat human flesh or kill people for kicks." Cliff replied smoothly. He dipped his hand under the water and splashed a handful on his face. He patted himself down with a hand-towel and reached over her head for his toothbrush. 

"Are all fairies this flirty, or am I just lucky?" He smiled widely, even as he tore his gaze from her and back to the dull task of brushing his teeth.

Tai gave a wry grin and watched his hands as he reached over her. At first, she tensed when he did, but relaxed again after a moment. “Lucky for you.” she said mischievously, her grin holding. “But many consider the Fae bad luck, though we technically aren’t. Anything that happens to a Human around us is due to their own obliviousness.”

She turned a bit pink and looked off to the side, embarrassed. “I’m… I’m not flirty… If anything, I’d question if /you/ were trying to be flirty.” Tai nervously ran fingers through her boy-cut-short red hair, pulling the bangs out of her face. “And, yes. Fae can be flirty if they like a Human enough. It doesn’t even have to be a romantic interest. Fae have mischievous spirits and playful natures; anything that looks fun will generally get their attention…” She was feeling a bit self-conscious now and started tugging on her corset and capris to make sure they were fitting right. After a moment, she determined that her corset was too loose and started about untying and retying the back strings.

“I’ll give you a warning, though; simply because I don’t hate you… Be careful around Fae folk. Don’t let them lure you anywhere you don’t know with flattery and promises. You mentioned before that everything has a dark side, right? Well, you don’t want to find out what that is for the Fae… We may be small, but we’re not helpless. And personalities and preferences can vary from Fae to Fae… Dark traits, included.”

Cliff raised his eyebrows at her, listening as he brushed his teeth. He noticed her little mannerisms, his wyes crinkling at the corners. He ducked down and spat, wiped his mouth and straightened up again. 

"You're cute when you're nervous." He adeptly avoided the persistent question of whether he was flirting or not. He liked to keep a little mystery about him. 

"What kind of dark traits are we talking about here?" He folded his arms on the counter and leaned down close to her level, a darker tone than before.

Again, he was trying to get a reaction out of her… Unfortunately, it was working. She blushed lightly, pouting as she did. Why did he keep doing that?

“I’d rather not say.” she answered, feeling as though it was best to keep the secrets of her race to herself. “I was simply giving you a warning. Nothing more, nothing less… Just so you might be aware that I’m not completely defenseless.”

Tai scooted back a bit on the faucet, not wanting to be so close while they were on the subject. “I’ve seen that your kind has darker shades, as well.” She said, trying to change focus. “I’ve encountered that many times…” Tai looked Cliff in the eyes for a moment as she asked him her next question. “What about you, Cliff? You have your own dark traits, don’t you?”

He raised his eyebrows, watching her with a silent scrutiny. He was a human lie-detector after all. Why she would bring that up, then go back to being secretive? He had a hunch he could coerce it out of her with the right type of flirting... But he didn't want to toy with her like that. Not intentionally. She seemed like a nice girl..

He straightened up, mindful of her space. His posture was serious, taking on a completely different air. "I think you encounter my 'dark side' first-hand." He said quietly, nodding at the reflection of her bandaged wing. 

"What do you mean you've encountered that before? Did someone hurt you?"

Tai could feel that he was talking about the hole he put in her wing, though she didn’t have to look at him to see it. “When you put it that way…” she mumbled, her wings folding a bit closer over her back. She honestly didn’t blame him for it anymore, since she considered it to be instinctive reaction from his line of work. But it still left its mark on both of them…

“‘Hurt’ is a pretty vague word… Physically, no. I’ve been squeezed just a bit too tight; I’ve been stuffed in jars; I’ve been beaten by animals while already weak. But ‘hurt’, no… Wounds heal. Trauma doesn’t… I think it’s part of why I am the way I am. The reason for my screwed up memory. People who just don’t get it, or those that do and just don’t care. I’m a toy, an object of interest to them… When have you ever seen a child take caution in handling a stuffed animal…?” Tai hugged slouched, pulling her leg up and to her chest. She buried the lower half of her face in her knees and stared forward with glossed-over eyes. It was obviously a painful subject…

“Humans killed my parents. Humans try to cage me. Humans are dangerous to my people… That’s why we have abilities. To fight back… But I can’t. I tried, once… I ruined that man’s life…” She turned her head to rest it sideways on her knees, looking away from Cliff. “I could make you delusional; crazy. I could do damage… But I don’t want to risk anyone’s life, even to save my own… I’ve lived long enough. I’ve seen much more than any Fae. I’ve learned your language, even… But what good is it if I can’t even save myself…?”

For a moment, Tai was silent, letting her depression sink in. Then she hissed and stood up, climbing down from the faucet and walking to the edge of the counter right in front of Cliff. With a hand on her hip and her head titled, she looked up at him. “You honestly shouldn’t ask me so many personal questions; especially about my past. Maybe in the future, I’ll be able to tell you, but not right now…” Her tone was scolding, like a mother reprimanding her child. But her scowl exchanged for a small smile.
“Well are you gonna just stare at me, or are you gonna pick me up? You know you want to, and I’m sure there are other places we could talk.” Tai’s grin was back where it belonged, conveying the playfulness of her sudden change in mood. Even the way she carried herself made it apparent that she wanted to have some fun.

The more she said, the more questions arose than answers. The mental image of Tai in any of the mentioned positioned made his stomach churn. Stuffed into a jar...?
Cliff felt a pang of guilt, recalling the many times already he had picked her up without giving a second thought as to how it felt on her end. 

Taken aback by her mood swing, he blinked and gave her a bewildered look.
"I'll keep that in mind..." He mumbled. Despite his compassion, her grin was contagious,and he found himself smiling appreciatively at her sassy stance. He checked her out for a brief moment.
"You're right." He wrapped his hand around her slowly this time, feeling the softer portions of her body give in slightly under the pressure. He was reminded how fragile she was. Not helpless, but easily broken all the same. "You're not so bad for a chick five inches high." He smirked.

Tai simply allowed his fingers to wrap around her; allowed him to pick her up without a fight. She noted the difference in the way he did it, too. “Really?” she asked rhetorically. “Well, I suppose you’re not so bad for a Human man, either.” A smirk in response to his smirk, Tai was enjoying the contact. He was warm, as always…

She shifted in his hand until she was comfortable, looking up at Cliff with mischievous interest and confidence. “So, do you plan to let me starve, or have I convinced you I’m worth feeding a bit of breakfast?” She laughed a bit, showing that the statement wasn’t at all serious, but the point stayed the same; Fae require food, and Tai is hungry.

Cliff marveled at how she could be so calm with him. Even if she'd been human-sized, any chick in their right mind would distance themselves immediately from the man who shot them- accident or not. But here she was, forgiving him with a sassy smile and a playful attitude. Something about it hit true in his damaged soul.
Cliff chuckled, walking from the bathroom into the closet-sized kitchen. "I think you've earned a slice or two."
Jon finished buttoning up his shirt with his back to them while Cliff pulled out a bag of bagels. "Hey I need both hands. You mind chilling on my shoulder for a minute?"

Tai snuck a glance at Jon as they passed, wondering about his words and actions from the night before. It gave her slight chills… Who knew he was that way? It still came as a bit of a shock for Tai, and she hoped the issue would stay in the past…

Returning her attention to Cliff, she chuckled at his reply “Good to know, I guess.” But her laughter stopped, replaced by a raised brow and mild annoyance towards his question. “What do I look like, a parrot? Just set me on the table. I’ll be fine.”

"I'm just going to haveta pick up you up again." He gave a slight eye-roll but did as she asked. Jon came over and sat at the table whole Cliff loaded a bagel into the toaster. "You make any coffee?"
"Do I look like your maid?" Cliff snorted. "I have no idea how to work that fancy espresso machine of yours."
Jon smiled in agreement and opened up a newspaper flat over the table top. He gave Tai a smiled that acknowledged the tension between them.

She sat on the table, crossing her arms and smirking to herself as Cliff went about making breakfast. She still found it amusing that she could get her way around him, if she tried… Well. At times.

However, when she noticed Jon taking a seat, Tai got up quickly and moved away a bit. If not simply for the reasons she initially had to be afraid, last night made her wary of the Human in new ways… She didn’t return his smile. Instead, she watched him cautiously, noting every movement. Her eyes focused particularly on his hands… She didn’t trust him…

Jon circled a small article about an unusual death in Arizona, then rested his hand to the side. He tapped the pen absently on the tabletop as he scanned through the page. After a couple minutes, he sighed and raised his eyes to Tai. "Would you stop looking at me like that?" He asked, sounding more weary of it than angry. "I'm not going to hurt you."

“And why should I trust your words?” she snarled, meeting his eyes for a moment. “You said before that you weren’t a monster… Last night told me otherwise…” She took a defensive stance, as if ready for a fight or to run. Her eyes flitted between his gaze and his hand…

“Cliff?” Tai called over her shoulder, still watching Jon. “I’m getting hungry, here…” Her voice wavered at the last second, giving away that she was pretty scared. She took another step back from Jon, mentally cursing the slip of emotion. 

"Well, I'm sorry, but it takes thirty seconds to nuke the bacon." Cliff was smiling with a playful daring about him, but it faded when he turned around. His eyes flickered between Jon and Tai. The microwave timer went off, and he brought over the plate of bacon. Jon sighed and went back to the paper. Cliff held up a finger to Tai to say 'one second' and ducked into the fridge. He returned with a handful of green grapes. "In case you're not much of a carnivore." He explained, releasing them in a small arrangement beside her. A few started to roll off, but he caught them. He popped them into his mouth as he sat down across from Jon.

Tai didn’t relax, even though Cliff was back in her sight. Simply knowing Jon was so close… She suppressed a shiver and took one of the grapes offered. “Thanks,” she said quietly, making her way to the bacon, as well. “I do eat meat, but the fruit is also appreciated.” Tai gave Cliff a soft smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes, as she worked at tearing off some of the bacon. Once she had her meal together, she sat on the edge of the plate, pushing a small hole into the grape with her thumb and starting biting from there.

Despite the otherwise calm of the room, she watched Jon from the corner of her eye as she ate. Tai managed to chew her way through half of the grape, then started on the bacon. It didn’t take long for her to finish the small chunk of meat and stand up, setting the remaining half grape on Cliff’s plate and moving closer to his hand.

“Something tells me you wouldn’t mind eating the rest of my breakfast.” she said playfully, grazing his knuckles with a finger. Tai leaned against his hand, breathing deep at the return of warmth to her otherwise colder body. For the moment, she didn’t care if she appeared to be getting ‘friendly’; it was in her nature, after all, to be drawn to warmth and boldly approach what she wanted…

Cliff smiled, raising an eyebrow at her when she leaned against him. He never would have guessed she was so...cuddly.
"I think I'll manage." He replied, eating the grape as he mulled over her agitation. Jon was tense, engrossed in work. He allowed his knuckles to brush back against Tai. She was soft...
"Working hard this early?" He asked Jon.

She smirked at the return brush of contact from the Human. Tai had his attention, it seemed, and that’s exactly how she wanted it… She slipped around his hand and ran her palm along his skin. Things were getting interesting, and Tai couldn’t help herself.

She hopped atop his wrist and seated herself with legs kicking over the edge. Twenty-four hours ago, Tai wouldn’t have come within a yard of the Human, but now she as willingly—boldly, even—perching herself atop his arm… A silent laugh lit her features with a thoughtful grin as she thought how silly it was that opinions could change in such short times… And her gaze travelled back to Jon for a moment.

He wasn’t how she originally thought, either. What else was she wrong about, considering his character? Tai stood on Cliff’s wrist, walking effortlessly along his arm to his elbow. There, she turned and leaned against him once more, facing away, but looking up to see his reaction. As she stated before, ‘Fae can be flirty if they like a Human enough. It doesn’t even have to be a romantic interest.’ Of course, it might have worried her—in a different situation—that she had to keep reminding herself of that… Despite her ice-princess attitude towards previous men…

"Yeah. Burning the eight am oil... Looking for cases that might be up our alley..."

Cliff tuned him out five seconds in. He was distracted by Tai, his lips parting as she ran her hand over his. There was a flicker of sensuality in her motions that captured his undivided attention.  He didn't even know what to say or do in reply to a fairy sitting on his arm. He moved his other hand, ready to catch her if she fell off his arm (which felt weirder than molasses dropping down your back). Cliff's handsome features took on a look of quiet fascination as she leaned against his bicep, looked down at her with an amused smile. She was something else...  

"...Were you even listening to me?" Jon's voice snapped him out of his daze.
"Um...no. Sorry."

"Ridiculous..." Jon looked between them, feeling ganged up on. Lips a thin line, he folded up the paper and left the table.

She stifled a silent laugh at Cliff’s response, finding the ease with which she could gather his attention to be more than amusing. Her wings were slightly splayed, showing off the shimmering pattern of swirls and rugged lines that made them so sturdy and beautiful. They caught light like a crystal prism, but instead of shining a rainbow, they trapped the light and seemed to glow a gentle gold and…

Tai watched as Jon left the table then closed her eyes, stretching arms over her head as though finally waking up. She stood on her tiptoes and lightly padded the length of Cliff’s arm, turning slowly and settling down again just next to his bicep. She smiled up at him, eyes half closed with her remaining tiredness, and leaned back on his arm.

“It sounds like Jon would rather be working.” Tai said off-handedly. “He said he was looking for cases…” She glanced towards the spot the other Human had just been occupying, smirking. Tai waited a moment before standing again, as if debating whether or not she really wanted to move. She walked to his wrist, then slid off his arm and back onto the table, stepping to the edge of his plate and ripping off another piece of bacon.

“What do you intend to do today?” she asked Cliff. “I mean, as much as I wouldn’t mind you staying here and keeping me entertained, I’m sure you must have something on your to-do list.” She stifled a snicker before continuing. “And I’m sure I could use the free time to find my way out of here, or at least discover some good hiding spots.”

Cliff felt something warm in his chest swell as he continued to watch her. His brain felt cloudy, his priorities confused for a moment; the missing persons felt like further away, and having Tai closer to him than ever seemed strangely important.

"Word to the wise, if you're trying to escape, you shouldn't warn me beforehand." A slow grin lit up his face, but it faded when he saw Jon searching on his laptop fervently. "Actually... I need to talk to you." He leaned forward. "About last night."

“Maybe I want to be caught, then.” she mused, but her body tensed when he said ‘last night’. “Oh… Well… What about it?” Tai said slowly, turning around to face away from him. She didn’t want to talk about it.

"Tai, we weren't lying when we said we were working on a missing persons case." Cliff spoke in a lower decibel, trying to keep the conversation private. He leaned over her a little, pushing the plate out of the way so there was nothing between them. "I'm not going to hurt you, and neither is Jon. But I need to know about what you saw in that house. Lives are at stake here."

He watched her posture stiffen at his proximity, the minute movements of her wings. She was the key to everything.

Tai flinched as she heard the plate move, having closed her eyes. The sound of fabric shifting and the feeling of slight air movement when he talked… She may have lingered close to him before, but this was not a time she wanted to be near anyone…

“There’s nothing to talk about, Cliff. I can’t tell you anything… At least, not like this…” She shuddered at the thought of what could have been so frightening it had to be locked away from her in those ‘other memories’. “The only way to learn what I know is to convince that other side of my memory… And that would take some effort… And a decision.”

“You could try to coax my memory glitch now, or you could wait until something else does. Either way, you have to earn the trust and convince me you’re, heh, ‘harmless’.” A numb smile shaped her lips at her comment. THAT should go over /real/ well… “You would need some way of proving to me that I agreed to this. Like a picture or writing or video. Just something to show you’re not lying.”

Tai turned to face him again, arms wrapped around herself and wings folded close over her back. She couldn’t look him in the eye… “I know… I know that this is really important, but… I’m scared of being scared. I don’t know if you understand that or not, but it’s true… I’m afraid of having my memories locked away from me, even if they’re bad ones. To not know what happened between the time something scared you and the time you’re safely far from it… It’s a fear all its own…”

For a moment, she just stood there, not moving or speaking. Her eyes stayed on the table beneath her… “I want to help, but…” she muttered. “But I’m just so scared.”

Cliff's eyes danced over her as he processed her words.
"So... We don't have a choice." His words sounded more ominous than he intended.

He frowned, considering the notion of how he could even go about frightening her. Considering how tiny she was, there was a wide range, he supposed. It made him vaguely nauseous.
He had hunted and killed hundreds of weird creatures, but this... This was different. He found it difficult to even entertain the notion of hurting her. He leaned down a little further, his neck beginning to hurt, but he ignored it.

"I don't want to hurt you." His voice close to a murmur. His hand silently slid to her back, wrapping around her loosely, fingertips straying down her side in a motion of comfort.  "I don't think I could if I tried."

She nearly choked on a stifled sob at his words. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want any of this! Why couldn’t she have just stayed away from that house? Why did she have to see that thing? Why did she have to have this glitch in her memory?! Tai was barely holding herself together in his silence. She could only imagine what sort of things he might be thinking of doing to her, and it was almost enough to cause the switch by itself… Almost.

Tai flinched at his voice, having not really known what to expect. Of course she knew he didn’t want to hurt her, but this was his job. Protecting the better interest for Humans was what he did, and here he had the perfect opportunity to carry out that job… At her expense…

She gasped, jumping a bit at the sudden touch of his hand on her back. What was he doing? Was this how he wanted to go about it? She stiffened as his fingers closed around her, loosely, though still trapping. She clamped her eyes shut and bit her lip until he spoke again…

“… You mean…?” Tai asked, the stiffness of her body leaving and she looked up at him. “You mean you’re not going to…? You’re putting me before the information I can offer?” She stared at him, shocked and relieved all at once. … That’s right… How could she have doubted him, so quickly? Cliff had been gentle with her, aside from his temper; but even then, he had done no real harm. Tai’s eyes started to water, but she wiped them before tears could come out. “Thank you, Cliff…” she muttered. “You don’t know what that means to me…”

She leaned into his palm, placing her own hands on his fingertips and pulling them closer. She buried her face in them, a bittersweet smile warming her features. “I was so scared…”

Cliff opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn't know how to tell her he was still considering it as a last resort... He didn't want her to be afraid of him again. Instead, he gripped her gently, rubbing her back with his thumb.

"It's okay..." He said, his deep voice as soothing as waves crashing on the shore. "We'll find a way." He was assuring for her, but he himself had his doubts, remembering how hard it had been to snap her back to normal...

He stood, cradling the healing fairy, her arms draped amongst his fingers. "Maybe going back will jog your memory."

He looked at Jon, who had been watching them both from the bedroom.
"I'll drive." He said simply.

Tai simply let him move her, feeling safe enough in his hands. She wasn’t bothered at all when he stood. It was what he said that stirred her. “Going back?” she echoed helplessly. “But… What if I still can’t remember…?” She clung tightly to his thumb, her legs just barely hanging off the edge of his cupped hand. For the moment, she was acting more like a scared child with their parent or guardian than someone her age around a dangerous Human several times her size.

“Cliff… What if I can’t remember?”

His green eyes flickered down to her. His expression was unreadable, but the conflict was evident in his eyes.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Cliff/Tai shipper and proud of it! XD
Egged on by my lovely co-writer, :iconamenarae: 

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Cliff/Jon-:iconobsess-confess:
Tai :iconamenarae:
© 2013 - 2024 Obsess-Confess
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Amenarae's avatar
Pfft~ Tai~ Even re-reading it makes me smile~
I think Tai is my most alluring character. She's beautiful and curvy, has an air of independence and strength, but also has that distinct childish quality that allows her to be lighthearted in some of the most difficult situations.
And she's impeccable at distracting that Human man known as Cliff~
Goodness, she's such a strong character.
I feel so proud of her~

I love this story~ Maybe even a little too much~