War of Prey

26) Nowhere but Somewhere

"One after one, she watched them drop."

***

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The door opens to Flame punching and kicking one of the boxing bags with all her strength. Knives, Daggers, and swords embedded in the walls so deep, their hilt the only thing visible. She was in the same outfit as earlier, her black leggings and crop top tight against her golden skin glowing with sweat, her red lace heels still in perfect condition. As he is sure others do, Gemini wonders how she can fight in such tall heels without them breaking or Flame breaking herself. Her long white hair is pulled into a high ponytail that swings down to her butt as she moves, the wavy locks bouncing around her back.

"Flame?"

Her head whips around at the sound of Gemini's voice, her black-taped hand is shaking at her side, the other supporting her on the bag. "Are you okay?" She ignores him and walks away, but he can see the way her ankles wobble and her hands shake, the way her towel is swung over her shoulder instead of in her hand. "Hey! Flame, look at me."

She turns to look at him and the color of her eyes is startling, a baby blue, sweet, and gentle compared to her rugged stance and personality. He takes in her body, no, not in that way, but in the way of observation. How her scowl seems to always be present, aside from a few smirks, the way she is hiding her shaking very well, only someone who was watching her unknown would notice. But Gemini doesn't notice the bags under her eyes, so carefully hidden by makeup, he just can't see. "Your hands..."

As if noticing she has hands for the first time, she gazes at them with wonder, looking at the red swollen flesh. "That needs attention. Come on I'll fix it," Gemini says and takes her wrist, but she pulls back with a scowl. "Flame, don't be stubborn; let me help."

He pulls her along by her wrist and up to his bedroom, no, not in that way. He sits her on the bed and gets a washcloth, a basin of water, and the first aid kit. Kneeling between her legs, he takes her hand and unwraps the bandage, gasping at her flesh. "What did you do, Flame? Is this all from punching that bag?"

She nods subtly. Her knuckles are broken, swelling, and turning purple, but more concerning are the cuts and lacerations from her knuckles to her wrist, angry and puffy red lines crisscrossing. There is no way this is from the bag. "Flame, there is no way this is from the bag. What happened?"

She takes her Daggers from her thigh sheaths and places them on the bed before looking back at him. "Your Daggers did this?" She nods. What the hell was she doing with her Daggers that made this much of a mess? "Stay still so I can get it cleaned up."

Gemini washes the blood from her hands, the water turning red very quickly, and puts the antiseptic on before carefully wrapping her hand. Amazingly, she didn't break a nail. He clamped down harder on her hand when he poured the alcohol over her cuts, but she did not flinch, nor did her breathing hitch. This girl has an incredible pain tolerance. It's weird seeing her delicate hands wrapped in a bandage. Looking at her, you wouldn't expect her to be some badass fighter, maybe a prostitute or a housewife. That is what makes her perfect for her job, you'd never expect her, and by the time you did, you'd already be dead. Something brushes against his chin, he looks up to see Flame gazing down at him, her index finger under his chin. She always seems to be cocking her head to the side and studying Gemini as if he is some science experiment, but he finds himself doing the same.

She nods her head once. Thank you. "You're welcome," he whispers and starts to clean up. Blood has always made Gemini squeamish, as have all other bodily fluids; that's why Demi is the medic and not him, but he doubts Demi wants to be woken up at four in the morning. Zero, Gemini, and the other Asheri left at six p.m. for the recovery mission and ended up getting back at three a.m., and that is when Gemini found Flame. "Had you been in the training room the whole time we were gone?"