Battlescars

Miriam was slumped against the door on the floor, clutching her side in pain. As always once she reached the rectory and the adrenalin escaped her, the pain intensified. However, she was not about to let that overpower her happiness to be back, or her pride of victory.
She quickly got up and slauntered towards the kitchen, eager to clean herself up. She closed the door, knowing not too many people came in here that often, and that this was her only choice she removed her bloody top and let it drain in the sink, hoping to at least get some of the worst of it out. The top would turn stiff if she just let it be.
Whilst topless she examined her wound. It was worse than she had thought, but thanks to Rin far from lethal, it simply would take longer to heal. She also fished out her waterbottle and put it under the running water, washing her wound with it gently. Once she was satisfied she let the rest of the water out in the sink on her top, as she filled the bottle from the bucket of holy water instead.

Proteus stepped into the kitchen, focused on his own thoughts: he had entered to drink some water, but that idea slipped immediatly away as soon as he noticed Miriam, topless and hurted. He removed fastly his glance from her, asking simply "Do you need any help?" He was honestly worried for her, but he also knew that she was stubborn and indipendent and she didn't like useless attentions. He wasn't looking at her: actually, he wasn't embarassed for himself, he just didn't want to embarass Miriam... thought, he couldn't help but think, it had to be a really hard job

She sighed, not even bothering to cover up her breasts as Proteus entered. She was sure by now every man in the cathedral had seen her naked, but she couldn't help it. It was utterly necessary for her to wash her top, and it wasn't her fault it kept getting ripped. Silently she cursed Rin, though she knew she could not be mad at him for such trivial matters. Besides, she had not complained in the spire, so why now?
"I'm fine," she said as she rubbed away the last blood from her top, stopping the water and leaving it over the edge of the counter to dry.
She turned to him, looking him up and down. Nothing seemed to have changed about him, and somehow it angered her.
"Have you still not been out of the rectory?" she asked, finding him to be more and more pathetically useless each passing day.

When she said that she was fine he actually didn't trust her, but if she wanted to let him think so he didn't see any good reason to contradict her: he had pointed out in the past that he was there if she needed him, she had just to ask.
At her question he shook his head, looking at her in the eyes and avoiding her naked breast "Why should i go out, alone and without a purpose?"

"Fighting demons?" she muttered. Someone had to do it, though no one seemed to be willing to even try.
"Tell me, what's your exorcism count at?" she asked mockingly, knowing he had probably never even looked in the eyes of a demon.
She only had one successful exorcism under her belt, but she was proud of just that. It was more than any other human had accomplished, and simply the fact she had now encountered more demons than she could count on one hand, and lived to tell the tale, was a great victory for her. She sure had caused a havoc with them, even if regretfully failing a couple of exorcism along the way. She was happy with her effort.

He didn't like Miriam's attitude in that moment: he could bear with her character, but he wouldn't have allowed her to disrespect him. He could have replied to her in a really bad way, pointing out that without even have a plan or something was just stupid leave the rectory, that the fact that she was alive was just luck, and with only luck is impossible to win a war, that he had already met a demon and, looking at what had happened, was probably better if he kept staying away from those creatures... but, instead, he said nothing of all this.
"I see you're busy, i'll leave." then he turned, already starting to approach the door to leave the kitchen

"Coward," she muttered under her breath as she watched him walk away from her.
"Do you know why I wanted you as an ally? Because you're strong. You know how to fight. You know how to survive, and you would have no problem exorcising one bastard at the time," she said, scowling at him. "Because everyone is afraid of fighting, so they sit around here instead, where they think it's safe, but it's only a matter of time before they infiltrate us," she said, knowing her last words would get to him, as it had already happened, and it had been his fault. Crossing her arms over her chest, she continued to speak to him like a child.
"We can sit around like pigs waiting for slaughter, or we can try to make a difference. I thought you would, but I guess I was wrong. Even Thomas was better than you." The boy was weak, but she couldn't deny he had will and bravery. Perhaps foolish bravery, but if he had made it past the demon, she would never again look at him as such a weakling.
"You should go to Cinderella," she muttered spitefully, feeling oddly betrayed at his reluctancy to do anything.
"Someone ought to tell her we are all gonna die. Might as well be you."
With that she turned around and fished her top from the edge, though it was still wet, and she decided to leave it a a little longer.

Proteus let her talk, still giving her his back, his hand already on the handle of the door. When she finished he tightened it, undecided for a moment whether to go or stay. After a few seconds he left it and turned toward her, approaching her again.
"What do you want from me, Miriam? You really think i would be able to be helpful leaving the rectory? Wanna know what would happen? I would meet the demons, and i would be dead before to be able to actually try to exorcise them. You know, it wouldn't be really helpful in that way." He was staring at her in the eyes and, probably for the first time since she had met him, he seemed really angry. "I've accepted to be your ally because i wanna be helpful, and because i thought you would have involved me in some plan. I want to do something, but just go out to die doesn't sound like a good idea. And i have no idea of what to do. You think i'm scared? Of course I am, everyone is and if you're not you're just a fool. But i won't stand back. I will fight. But when it will have a meaning. You keep fighting, i see it, but looking at you doesn't make me want to follow your example: you're still alive by chance, and in all honest you look like you won't stay alive for long. You now complain that i didn't leave this place, but, you know what? Even if we are ally you never asked me to come with you when you go out, you simply disappear. I don't even get why you asked me, if you feel like you don't even need me. I will come if you ask, and you should know it, but I won't leave this place alone and without a plan like in a kamikaze mission. So now it's your choise, you can call me the next time you want to go out, and we can actually organize something, or you can just keep doing everything on your own, but then don't complain if i'm less masochist than you." he finally stopped to talk, still looking at her with an angry glance "You know, i don't complain about your rude actitude, but you could at least keep yourself from spitting on my life in that way."

"Then make a plan, don't expect me to do it all for you!" she kept going, but winced as a sudden movement caused pain to her wound.
"And I'll let you know I didn't disappear by choice! The fucking spire caved in! I was trapped up there for days without food or water, with nothing but a smug bastard of a demon to keep me company!" she yelled at him. Just because she went the hard way did not meant she enjoyed it one bit, and calling her a masochist was going too far. She was only doing this because everyone else was too afraid to.
"And I don't care one bit if you're scared, you're a coward because you act on that fear! You think I'm not as scared as you are?!"
She stopped yelling as she pulled the top over her head once again, covering her breasts. Though it was still slightly wet it was dry enough not to cause her any discomfort. She stepped around him, ready to leave the kitchen again, but stopped by the door to look over her shoulder.
"Are you coming?" she asked. He was right, she might as well ask him to follow her once in a while.

When she mentioned her 'adventure' in the spire he wondered how she managed to survive with a demon: she looked at her better, almost wondering if she could be possessed as well now... but, no, she wouldn't been so hurted, if she was...
He could keep fighting with her, and scream as well, but he prefered don't do it: he could even have many excuses, but in the end it didn't change the fact that he was totally useless in that moment. And he knew the situation wasn't going to change without a little help. When she left he just let her go, but when she turned, asking him to follow her, he nodded and reached her: only in that moment he realized that her top was still soaked. Without a word he slipped off the jacket and put it in Miriam's hands, careful to not hurt her but without caring to be a bit rude. He still had on his shirt, it was light but it was good enough.

She hadn't asked for his help, but she was not going to argue anymore, and quickly put it on, already feeling it helping a lot to warm her. By now she had gotten so used to the cold she had stopped noticing it, but once she had put his jacket on a shiver went down her spine.
"Thank you," she muttered, not used to showing gratitude, or even knowing how to react to his sudden spurt of kindness.
Instead she left it at that, simply zipping up the jacket a little to keep her new-found warmth and stepped out into the hallway.

"No matter" he simply replied nodding, glad that she had accepted it. He followed her in the hallway, while the anger was slipping away, replaced by anxiety: what were they going to do? He didn't know, but he wasn't going to step back...