for isnt_the_same

[chesstotem]

The night Ariadne met Aubrey, things didn't turn out as they were supposed to. It started out just fine - they met in the bar they'd agreed on, chatted inside for a while about nonsense like the weather, then stepped outside to talk business.

It was as though the dark figure had been waiting for them - Aubrey was right in the middle of a sentence when suddenly a tall figure swooped in out of nowhere and descended on her like a rabid dog. Ariadne screamed as the person - thing - whatever it was - ripped her throat out, and the next thing she knew she was running blindly back towards the street, something warm trickling down her temple. The time that followed was fuzzy - she knew she must've ran for a while, because she was out of breath, but then she was in a cab (the cabbie was giving her a funny look, maybe to do with that warm trickle), and then she was at a hotel, getting more funny looks as she stumbled into the elevator.

Then she was pounding on Arthur's door, praying to whatever gods might be listening that he was inside.

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[isnt_the_same]

Arthur had been reading on the couch in the living room of his suite when he heard the knocking. It was then that Ariadne’s scent wafted in between the creaks. He jumped up and rushed to open the door. “Ariadne?” The first thing he saw was the blood over her right eyebrow.

“What the hell happened?” He asked as he tugged her inside before looking up and down the hall and then shutting the door.

[chesstotem]

She was shaking, adrenaline still pumping through her, and completely unsure what she saw. But the important thing was Arthur was there - he would make sense of it, make sure she was okay. "I don't - Aubrey. One minute we were talking about a job, and the next -" Tears were running down her cheeks - she'd only just met the other woman, but what she'd seen was horrifying. "Someone just - appeared and, and... oh my god, there was so much blood... her throat, he tore it out like a rabid animal..."

[isnt_the_same]

Arthur froze as she described what happened. "Take deeps breaths," he instructed as he steered her over to the couch and made her sit down. Grabbing a couple of tissues, he wiped her wound clean. "Clean the wound in the bathroom. Under the sink, there's a first aid kit." He need to make a few calls about this.

[chesstotem]

She did as he told her, starting to calm down a little, though she was still shaking like a leaf. Finally, she got up and slowly went into the bathroom. She had barely registered being hurt, and didn't remember how it happened - maybe while still in the alley behind the bar, she'd hit her head on something. Still, somehow she managed to get a cloth wet and clean most of the blood from her temple and hairline. She disinfected it clumsily, then put a bandage over the small cut.

[isnt_the_same]

Arthur clutched the bloodied tissues in his hand as he called a contact of his. He feared that the attack wasn’t a coincidence. But his contact had told him some old “friends” were trying to find him. He growled and hung up, balling the tissues more in his fist.

[chesstotem]

"Arthur?" Ariadne poked her head into the room, still rather wide-eyed with fear. "Could I stay here with you tonight? I - I'm afraid to go home..." After what she'd seen, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to sleep again, not without the memory repeating itself in gruesome detail, over and over again.

[isnt_the_same]

He looked up at her from his phone, his expression immediately softening. “Of course, Ariadne.”

[chesstotem]

"Thank you." She perched on the sofa, wrapping her arms around her legs as though trying to make herself as small as possible. Her eyes darted around fearfully at any small noise, and her hands were still shaking.

[isnt_the_same]

Pocketing the tissues, he went and sat down next to her. Arthur didn't quite know what to say. So he rested his hand on her back.

[chesstotem]

She tensed a little at his touch, but relaxed again quickly. It was Arthur, after all. She trusted Arthur. He was safe; he'd make sure nothing happened to her. "I don't understand," she whispered, the tears starting again, albeit a little calmer this time. "It was like something out of a horror movie..."

[isnt_the_same]

He gritted his teeth, trying to come up with some sort of explanation as to what she saw. “He guy ripped her throat out? That’s impossible.”

[chesstotem]

"She couldn't even scream," Ariadne insisted. "The only sound was -" A horrified expression came across her face as she remembered, then squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the mental image.

[isnt_the_same]

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm sorry," he said as he rubbed her back. "But don't you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

[chesstotem]

"Yes!" She looked at him, anger in her eyes as well as fear. "Are you calling me ridiculous? Do you think I don't know what it sounds like? A gun or a knife or even a beating, but fuck, that's not what happened."

[isnt_the_same]

“Okay, okay.” Arthur raised his palms before lowering them. “Why don’t you get some sleep, Ariadne.”

[chesstotem]

"I'm afraid to sleep," she murmured. "Please at least say you believe me. What I saw..."

[isnt_the_same]

He sighed. "I don't know. I wasn't there," he replied before getting up. "I'll make the bed for you."

[chesstotem]

She buried her face against her knees, still crying. "You don't trust me to tell you what I saw."

[isnt_the_same]

"I base my belief on what I see with my own two eyes," he explained.

[chesstotem]

She didn't respond to that, just shifted to curl up on the sofa, her face towards the back of it, her back to the rest of the room.

[isnt_the_same]

He sighed again before going into the bedroom and coming out with a pillow and blanket. "Here," he said as he walked over to her. Arthur draped the blanket over her and then held the pillow awkwardly, not sure what to do with it. If he touched her, she'd probably bite his head off.

[chesstotem]

She jerked a little in surprise at his voice, clearly still jumpy from what happened. Turning her head a little, she slowly took the pillow from his hand and turned back to her original position. "Could you... leave the light on?" she asked quietly, her voice muffled by the pillow.

[isnt_the_same]

"Want me to stay with you?" He offered. She'd feel safer and he'd be closer to the door and windows if someone tried to come in.

[chesstotem]

She paused for a moment. "Yes," she said finally. "If you can stand to be in the same room with a hysterical female who makes up ridiculous stories."

[isnt_the_same]

He rolled his eyes and went to sit in the arm chair across from her. "Sleep, Ariadne."