Everything I See Returns To You Somehow Closed

@Eyre Reeves

Ana was actually going to get herself killed one of these times. It was a certainty at this point. What had she even been doing standing up on her broom? Even Ana was willing to admit that was a terrible idea. Sure, she had been flying since she could walk, and had stood on her broom before, but she still wasn't fully adjusted to this broom and she had been absurdly high. The standing wasn't even what had gone wrong. That had worked, and she should have just let it be. Except, she couldn't, she never could. She had decided to prove a point and stand on one foot while doing a decent arabesque. As one might imagine, she lost her balance and plummeted to the ground. For once, she hadn't passed out on the way down, and hitting the ground had hurt.

With a cough, her eyes fluttered open. Her mouth was full of the distinctive metallic taste of blood and she swallowed with a bit of difficulty. Absently lifting a hand to wipe her mouth of any blood, she tried to figure out what her situation was. She was still in her flying robes, and for the most part, things hurt less than they had when she had hit the ground. Her head was still ringing, but everything else felt more sore than painful. They really ought to name the Hospital Wing after her given the amount of time she spent here. Was there a record? If so, she was sure she had broken it. She made a mental note to see if her aunt would let her make a donation to the hospital wing. Massive donations usually resulted in things being named after people in her experience.

As she fully regained consciousness, she glanced around for her broom. It was, second to her necklace from her mother, her prized possession, and she was going to die if anything had happened to it. Well, maybe not die, seeing as she could harass her aunt into getting a new one, but given the begging and wheedling that had gone into getting this one, she wasn't sure it would be successful. Her panic disappeared when she spotted her trusty Silver Arrow propped up next to her. She would have to give it a good check before riding it again, but from the outside, it looked alright. As she twisted painfully to get a better look at it, she caught sight of something that made her freeze suddenly.

Eyre. Good Lord. What was it with her getting caught in situations with the last people she wanted to be around with no way out? Right about now, being tied up in a filthy shack sounded incredibly appealing. Could she ask the universe to fling her back to that?

Could she ignore him? Things between them were fraught at best, and her vehemently insulting his girlfriend to her face hadn't exactly helped matters. God, she couldn't ignore him after what had happened the last time they had been alone together. She had to say something. She bit her lip awkwardly and glanced away. "You okay?" she said. Her voice sounded like she had been gargling nails and the words came out a bit harsher than she intended.

Interacting with @Anastasia Beckett
Mentioning @Rose Moon

All of his energy went towards being as still as possible once he heard Ana shuffling around in the bed next to him. He tried his best to be as still as possible. He held his breath and tried to be lifeless, but tension was still gnawing through his bones. It was when she spoke that it became harder to keep up the charade. He was always a lousy hider.

"You okay?"

Her tone left much to be desired, but Eyre didn't think that she was going to say anything to him, much less try to initiate a conversation, so it made him flinch. The brunette sighed out, trying to fight back the urge to acknowledge her until he gave up and opened his eyes.

"Practice duel with Rose." He spoke, pressing his lips against his teeth in a thin line. While Ana's voice was gruff and semi-confrontational, his words were weak. Sterile, even, like he didn't want to bother speaking in complete sentences to her. It was out of character, to say the least. There was a silence until he spoke again, almost a faint glimmer of amusement in his voice as he recounted the memory in his head. "...She flipendoed me."

Eyre huffed out a breath from his nose, knowing that he'd disclosed too much. As much as he wished that he said it was none of her business and to stop prying into a life that she was no longer a part of, he still felt a magnetic pull towards her. It was always that way. Regardless of how much they fought, he'd never be able to deny it. And it was infuriating.

After another long pause, he finally turned his head to look at her. She looked terrible. There was an inkling of worry that ran over his features until he stamped it out in favor of being cold. He put his tongue in his cheek, raising his eyebrows at her as his eyes scanned over her sheet-covered body.

"...What did you do this time?" Eyre breathed.

@Eyre Reeves

She honestly didn't think he was going to say anything. They had both made mistakes, but hers were definitely more numerous and less forgivable. Hers had been designed to hurt. She had said and done things she knew would cut the deepest. That had been her goal. Eyre couldn't have known what he said would hurt as badly as it did, mostly because she had refused to tell him anything about it. She had thought she was protecting herself and him. That the least painful thing for both of them would be for her to cut herself off. At this point, she wasn't sure that speaking to him would have been any less painful for either of them.

His voice stung slightly, not that she didn't deserve it. She had more than earned his hatred. Hell, she had managed to earn her own hatred. That didn't mean it hurt any less. From the time they had met, she didn't think she had ever heard him sound that stiff when talking to her. It wasn't as painful as the hatred and anger from him in the Owlery, but it was close.

Upon hearing more about what had sent him to the hospital, she coughed slightly. She was using every ounce of self-control in her five foot and four inches not to make any of the comments that sprung to her mind. There were the obvious ones that were less than flattering towards Rose, but somehow, after the ball, Ana doubted he would agree with her sentiment, even if she had some particularly witty thoughts. There were also some crude comments that she could hilarious, but again, considering the ball, she didn't think Eyre would think they were as funny as she did. There were also a number of puns and plays on words that she could think of involving the Knockback Jinx but now was probably not the time. Still, some of them were particularly amusing, and she coughed to avoid laughing. Delicate as whatever this conversation was, laughing in response to him saying his girlfriend had flipendoed him was not the route she wanted to go. Her face reddened slightly as she did her best to contain her laughter and sea of hilarious commentary.

It was a good sign that he was willing to tell her that much, right? Then again, she had asked, and Eyre was a painfully decent person, so who knew?

His look of concern also gave her a faint flicker of hope. It vanished quickly, but it was there. The way it vanished hurt too. She knew that, if their positions were reversed, she wouldn't forgive him. This wasn't like any of the big fights she had forgiven anyone for. Except the entire reason that their friendship worked was because he wasn't Ana. He would never have done what she did, so maybe he would be more forgiving than she would be.

"Oh, I-um" she said, blushing. It sounded stupid when she said it. She had stood on her broom before, and trying to do an arabesque on a broom sounded moronic no matter how she tried to spin it. She laughed awkwardly before continuing. "There's a slight chance that I was trying to see if I could stand on a broom on one foot. And there's a slightly larger chance that I cannot do that and may have fallen off."

God, that sounded pathetic. Swallowing and pressing her lips together, she waited for a reply. After a moment, she decided she couldn't do this. She was going to have to get over her pride and do something she had done a handful of times in her short life. She was going to have to apologize. "I'm-um," she began, her normal wit and eloquence seeming to have abandoned her. "I'm really sorry. About everything." The words felt foreign on her tongue, and she hated how vulnerable she felt.