Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Lexi Quinzell]

"Excuse me?" There was a sharp in take of breath from several of the men nearby as they stepped back. The Forgotten who had begun to walk away half turned, a momentary look of dread crossed their faces as they realised Lexi was walking straight over to them, past Cassian. The one who had spat didn't get more than a strangled cry out before she had him by the throat and off the ground. He struggled in her grip as her fingers gripped his throat.

"Do you know what happens when you turn to stone?" the whole area had gone quiet. "You don't die. You're alive in there, screaming and nobody can hear you," her voice was as deadly as a sharp blade. His face was turning red from the lack of oxygen but it warred with the whiteness of sheer fright as she spoke. "Nobody but me."

She tossed him to the ground with force enough that his body cracked the Earth.

"You are all here because I allow it. If I find you have so much as touched a hair on one of my people without their say so and I will make you wish for a death by the blade. Tell your Commander there is one more strike before you will all be shown the door," and with that she turned on her heel. Two men had been helping Cassian up and seeing if he was injured but when Lexi began walking towards them they stiffened and tried hard to merge into the background. She basically grabbed Cassian by the scruff and hurled him along with her.

"You're going to bed before you start a war."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian tried to roll onto his side but grimaced at the pain from where the man had been punching and he groaned. He needed another drink.

The blurry image of Lexi’s feet passing him, and the tone of her voice made him wince, but he kept quiet, deciding it best not to involve himself any more.

Helped to his feet, his brows furrowed and he staggered. He was a bloody mess.. perhaps he had taken it a bit far, but she was here, that was a bonus, right?

Wrong. Her grip on the back of his neck was iron, and the whisky and beating had him so light on his feet there was little way he could stand his ground and he staggered along side her. He had to force himself not to make a quip about being sent to bed. He doubted she’d take it well.

“Fuck, lass. Take it easy!” was all he slurred at her.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi was so angry she couldn't form a sentence to respond to him. She made her way back up the slopes of the city to the barracks in stony silence. Less and less people crossed their path as they walked but she didn't lessen her grip. There was only one sure way to make sure he was in bed and that was to put him in it.

"Lexi," The Commander paused in her step and glanced over her shoulder but seeing who the voice belonged to only served to tighten her group.

"Leave me alone Rose," she could see the barracks now looming in the distance. There was the sound of someone running and then the blonde appeared on the other side of Cassian panting a little.

"Lexi, stop, look you can't drag the poor guy all the way home," Lexi frowned and debated telling her that she could in fact do as she pleased but held her tongue. After a moment she felt the other woman put Cass's arm around her shoulder and take some of the weight. Lexi gave a frustrated sigh but she slowed to match her steps.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian was trying hard to stay on his feet and he growled as her grip tightened. “Lexi..stop.” he reached to grip her wrist, but it wasn’t much use.

Rose’s voice made him tense. Lexi had been pissed that they’d been in her company and Cassian knew it, but he wasn’t sure he had anything to be guilty of... Still he was glad she slowed up a little.

He winced as his arm was lifted but he gladly accepted the help. “Yer kind, lass..” he mumbled at her, his voice strained with pain. He tried to put his other arm around Lexi’s shoulders..

“Well... this is awkward..” he snorted and tried to laugh but it ended in another bloody cough.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi released her iron grip on the back of Cassian's shirt when Rose took some of the weight and muttered something darkly under her breath in a language with a slight lilt to it but said nothing more. Rose sighed softly and the three continued on in silence until Cassian broke it with his comment on the awkwardness. There were two starkly different reactions to it; Lexi rolled her eyes and snorted and Rose dug around in her pocket for a handkerchief and pressed it to his mouth to clear up the blood.

"It's awkward because Lexi doesn't just speak about her feelings," Rose's words sounded sweet but Lexi stiffened.

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"Lexi-"

"No, Rose. I don't. I'm angry because one of my men nearly started a war I am going to have to try and diffuse tomorrow morning," her words were iron as they arrived at the barracks. "Now, which one is your room?"

 

[Cassian]

He smiled a boozy smile at Rose as she tended to him, the look of a smitten teen on his face. “Shhh..Lass.. I think Lexi’s angry with me...” he grinned at her and tried to wink but blinked instead.

His lips pursed as he listened to them argue, his head swinging to look at each of them as they spoke, and his brow furrowed at Lexi “One of your men?! Fuck me lass, how many men ‘ave you got?!” He demanded with a look of disgust “An’ what makes you think I started it? Hm?..” his head shook and it fell forward.

“Fuck knows....” he muttered, having absolutely no idea which room was his.. “Red!!! Open the fuckin’ door!!”

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Rose gave Cassian a bemused smile like he were a naughty child and shook her head with a laugh.

"I think that is an understatement," Lexi shot her a dark look over the top of his head before directing her withering glare to the man in question as he attempted to make a joke. She was about to retort when he fell forward but instead of stopping him she stepped out of the way leaving Rose with no choice but to either drop him or take his weight entirely on her own. She chose the former - Cass was a big lad. Not that he seemed to notice hitting the floor face first before trying to shout the place down.

"Oh for Godssake you're going to wake everyone up," Lexi looked up at the building as if she might be able to figure out where exactly he stayed but all the windows were dark and the key in his pocket had no indicator.

"Your place is closest," Rose pipped up as a suggestion.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Lexi muttered before she picked Cassian up and threw him over her shoulder. Rose stepped in beside her as she began back the way they came to continue up the hill a bit more to her own apartment.

"I'm sure Jer won't be as upset as you think," the blonde woman said softly though a small frown marred her brow. Lexi simply snorted. Rose was right about one thing however; Lexi's apartments were close. As Commander she had been given a generous suite of rooms to do with as she wished. The door opened into a large living area and Lexi strode over and dropped him on one of the sofas unceremoniously. "I'll get him some water," Rose slipped off to the kitchen and Lexi ran her hands through her hair. How on earth had she ended up in this situation?

 

[Cassian]

Cassian grunted as he fell to the ground, everything hurt. But, the ground was surprisingly comfortable and his eyes started to drift heavily.. "I'm fine...jus leamehere." he mumbled, a hand waving dismissively at the women.

He was rudely awoken by Lexi however, as ever surprised to be lifted so easily by the woman and he groaned as he was thrown over her shoulder like a child. He held a hand out to Rose as he lay slumped without much more choice in the matter .. "Rose..lass.. You know.." he huffed a breath of whisky "This is very imm.. imm.. emascula... mean." he frowned and gave up.

He'd been drifting again before he was thrown onto a sofa and he growled, clutching at his sides "Fuck ME lass am I not broken enough!?" he frowned and moaned in pain, sprawling himself out as he stared at her with an angry, drunken face.

"That girl." he lifted a bloody hand to point at Rose as she left the room. "Is a fucking SAINT!"

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi thought about just knocking him out herself; it would make her evening a whole lot more pleasant she was sure of it. Instead however she kicked off her boots and padded over to the fireplace to stoke it back up into flames. She was crouched down tending to it when Rose came back with water, ice and a first aid kit. She perched on the edge of the sofa and helped Cassian sit up a little to sip at the water. Once she seemed content he could do that on his own she pressed the ice to his exposed side where a beautiful bruise was blossoming.

"So what actually happened?" Rose queried as she began to fish through the kit for some thread for her needle to stitch up some of the deeper cuts. Meanwhile Lexi moved to a small table beside the fire and poured herself a large whisky, knocked it back, then poured another.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian didn't drink water very often and frankly looked a little surprised at it as he drank, but he did anyway. He winced a little, more at the coldness of the ice than the pain of the bruise, but he smiled and winked at the woman as she insisted on helping him. He could get used to the special treatment he seemed to get whenever he got himself beaten.

Her question was a tricky one, he hadn't been entirely sure and his mind was too foggy to compose much of an answer. He lifted his gaze to Lexi and he grumbled quietly to himself. He'd been trying to get to her, but he couldn't say that. "Mh..fuck knows lass. Men bein' men I suppose." he huffed, but he knew it was him being him.

"Sorry. Lexi." he added after a moment's pause.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi put the glass down and took the bottle instead. Rose gave her a disapproving look and Lexi lowered it, growled a little, then poured more into the glass to drink it instead. She didn't look particularly happy still but she did at least turn her attention back to Cassian which Lexi was thankful for. She began to stitch up the particularly bad gash across his cheek.

"Cassian's right, it's just men being men in the Mess. The only thing different was your reaction to it," Rose reprimanded Lexi. The Commanders hand tightened slightly on the glass she was holding and then she refilled it again.

"An attack on one of the White Ravens even in the mess is against etiquette. If it had been in the pit I wouldn't have done a thing."

Rose met Cassian's eyes with a look that clearly said she didn't believe her. She finished stitching him up and then sat back with a bright smile. "There. Are you hungry sweetie?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian was feeling increasingly more tense, he’d dig himself a hole he didn’t know his way out of, and the amount of alcohol he’d drank only made the path less clear. He squinted, though allowed Rose to stitch his wounds, his eyes remaining in a sideways glance on Lexi as she spoke.

“Then drop me, lass. And it’s nothin’ more than a street brawl.” he suggested, and returned Rose’s look.

“Starving.” he responded with a grin, and turned to Lexi as she left the room to make further fuss over him.

“You picked me up after a bar fight, lass. I ent sure what you expected of me, but I can see i’m already causin’ you trouble.” He lifted a brow at her.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi closed her eye and took a breath though her nose and out through her mouth when Rose left the room. At least she could think a little clearer when she wasn't around. She half sat half leaned on the small table and continued to sip at her whisky now whilst rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"If it wasn't you Cassian it would have been someone else. It's just who they are and that is why I don't want them here," but she couldn't not have them here without causing a string of problems. There was no point explaining it to him when he was this drunk though. The problem with it being Cassian was that Rose was using him to get into her personal space and talk to her when talking was not something she wanted to do.

They had said all there was to say.

Rose came back soon after with a plate of cheeses, meats and bread and passed the board to him.

"It might help sober you up a little."

 

[Cassian]

He watched her, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked her over as she drank.. "You're sexy when you're pissed off, did you know that?.." he laughed under his breath.

"Fuck sake Lexi let it go lass. I started the fight, they pulled the blade because I kicked the shit out of them on my own and they fuckin' knew it. Nothin' but a few bruises and wounded pride." he rubbed at his face gingerly and let out a huff. "Can we just move on from this shit?"

Cassian's attention returned to the blonde woman as she returned with the food, he set it down and reached to take her hand with both of his and pulled it toward him to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Yer an angel, lass." he smiled at her.. "Worth every fuckin' bruise."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi narrowed her eye at his comment but made no quip about it. The man was a glutton for punishment, she had discovered already he much preferred her with a thread of anger. She threw harder. Instead she focused on nursing her drink whilst Rose focused on nursing him. As he kissed her hand he might have noticed the ring there and she laughed at his gesture, cupping his cheek for a moment before retracting both her hands to push the food gently but firmly back into his lap.

"You are very sweet Cassian but please, eat. I assure you this is all for the selfish reason of not wanting you with such a bad headache you cancel our lessons tomorrow."

"You're teaching him?" Lexi choked on her drink. Rose cast her a bemused look.

"Of course. It's not every day you pick up a stray, he needs to be taught if he's going to be trying to keep up with you," her eyes returned to Cass. "Kain also said you were stubborn and I have a speciality in dealing with such cases."

 

[Cassian]

He grumbled irritably as the woman continued to ignore him, and so with another woozy smile at Rose he busied himself eating the food she'd brought him. He did look past her to Lexi however, mouthing the word 'sweet' with a smug look on his face.. His eyes lifted between the two as they spoke of his lessons however, he thought it had been pre-agreed since Rose had obviously spoken with Kain earlier, but he swallowed a mouthful of bread and narrowed his eyes in a squint of apprehension.

Cassian quickly dropped his attention back to his food, clearing his throat and offering no answer to Rose as she commented on his stubbornness. The rising tension was sobering him up more than the food and water. He decided it best to keep quiet, nobody was fucking listening to him anyway.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi shot Cassian another look when he mouthed the word sweet at her then mulled over this information quietly herself. For a while the only sound in the room was of the crackling fire and Rose putting the first aid kit back together. The Commander let it drag on for a bit longer before she stood up and set her glass down.

"I need to be up early, I think it is time you leave Rose," she tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible but it came out flat. The other woman sighed but she nodded after a fashion and stood up with a stretch.

"Goodnight Cassian - Lexi or the boys will point you in the right direction to my office tomorrow - 2pm sharp ok?" she waited a moment for the agreement before nodding and walking towards the day. Lexi already had it open for her. A look passed between the two. "Lex-"

"Pass my greetings on to Matias," Rose pressed her lips into a thin line but nodded, offered a final wave to Cass before disappearing out the door. Lexi leaned against it after she shut and locked it with a heavy sigh, her head tilting back as she shut her eyes. Gods give her strength. After a moment she opened her eye then went back to the bottle of whisky, picked it off the table and walked through the archway behind him to another room.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian continued to eat as the two exchanged cold conversation, though he offered an awkward nod and a half smile at Rose's instruction "Aye..Thanks for yer help lass." he agreed quietly, lifting his eyes to watch as the woman left. He chewed in silence as Lexi came went back to her whisky and left him and he huffed, wiping his hands and getting himself to his feet, which he found were slightly steadier than they had been before he'd been picked up.

He stretched and rubbed at his side before following her and leaning against the archway to watch her for a moment. "You can be right cold. You know that?.." he asked with a frown, folding his arms across his chest.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Through the archway was a smaller room. Books lined nearly every inch of wall and a large desk was set against the side closest to the window. Papers were stacked high into one pile and there was a smaller pile on the other side. Beyond the small office through another archway was the bedroom which was faintly illuminated by a fire that was already burning in there to warm the room up.

Lexi was behind the desk sorting through the large stack of papers with the whisky in one hand which she swigged from occasionally. She looked up when Cassian spoke with a quirked brow before looking back down at the letter in her hand.

"It's not my job to be warm and fuzzy, Cassian."

 

[Cassian]

He rubbed at his chin as he watched her. She was different here, at home when she was under stress. He looked back at the front door and sighed, trying to fight through the whisky to make a conscious decision. Stay, or go. On one hand, he felt compelled to go to her, risk her bite, bite back if he had to. On the other he probably wouldn't do himself any favours by staying, if she needed distance he should probably have allowed her that in the first place.

"Mh." he wandered over, and made the attempt at snaking an arm around her waist and pressing his head down on her shoulder.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi didn't take her eyes off of her letter but it was hard not to hear him move from his position against the doorway over to her. Her brows furrowed as she tried to ignore it, tried to ignore him, but her head was a mess in reality. Since she had been back she had been in this meeting then that meeting then this quiet discussion and that informal chat. She preferred the field to the politics and it was only worse with another Chapter residing in the city.

She felt his arm around her waist as he stood behind her and the warmth of his breath on the crook of her neck.

"Cassian," Lexi's voice was firm but there was a mix of emotions warring for possession of his name. Anger, exhaustion, need, despair.

 

[Cassian]

He let out a deep sigh at the sound of her voice saying his name and his lips grazed the side of her neck.. "What?.." he whispered against her skin, and his hand wandered as the other came to grip possessively at her her hair, pulling gently to give his lips a little more room on her neck. By her tone, this was going to go one of two ways. Very well, or very badly, though he'd managed to convince her before, he didn't want to push his luck too far.

"Tell me to go and I'll go." he rumbled quietly and smirked.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi's eye closed with a deep sigh as his lips grazed her flesh causing her to shudder. The pull in her hair earned him a small growl but the reward for not punching him for his move was enough to stay her hand a little while longer. She leaned back after a while in her chair and let herself relax a tiny little bit, though she still had a hold of the whisky which she took a long drag from now.

"I don't know what I want you to do," it was brutally honest of her. She was tired and raw. Part of her wanted to drink until she fell asleep at her desk the other half desperately wanted a distraction from her mind and the piles of work before her.

 

[Cassian]

"Yes you do." he mumbled against her neck as he kissed a trail that led to the corner of her lips, but he stopped and let go of her with a huff.

“But if you don’t want me here, as I said. I’ll go, lass..” he pushed back and turned to move toward the door, his head falling back as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He was starting to feel the pain more and more as the whisky started to wear off.

“I’ll go back to Rose, see if she’ll make me feel better..” he brows lifted, another few steps “Mh maybe that gypsy beauty, Ember was it? She has soft thighs..” he whistled and shook his head..

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi set the letter down and leaned back into the kiss along her neck, allowing herself to enjoy the beginnings of this little game between them. After his rough grip in her hair she had expected things to do a decidedly different way, or for this to at least be a battle of wits and chase. As he left to move over to the door she opened her eye to watch with a bemused smile and she had been about to push herself to her feet when he mentioned Rose and then Ember.

The smile curdled like sour milk.

She looked at him blankly for a moment then returned to the piles of work on her desk.

"Rose is married but I wish you all the luck with Ember and her sisters, I'm sure they will be more than happy to have you."