Dante's House, Limbo City, Sunday

[spin_kick_snap]

Last night after finally exiting the tower, they had made their way back to Dante's place in Limbo City. Kathy had been half-tempted to get a portal back to the island, worried about Eliot, wanting to be home, but she'd been too sore and exhausted to do much more than look at her phone before letting it fall back to pocket.

At least her texts to Raven had gone through, even if she probably seemed like a madwomen in them.

Exhausted as she was, she didn't manage to sleep much past sunrise. Too many thoughts, too many memories, too many feelings crowding close to keep her asleep. She got up, limping a little unevenly downstairs, scrounging to see what kind of breakfast she could make from the remains in the kitchen.

The answer was apparently coffee, so she set that to perking and went to sit in front of the big window, staring out at the street, eyes blank and seeing very little.

[For them who are in Limbo City with her! SP for forever because BDE and also brain.]

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[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy just shrugged. It had seemed like a really weird thing to get hung up on, but it wasn't like she was exactly at her best either. Shoving everything a little further down, she offered, "Who knows, maybe the next horrible tower we get flung off of we'll find a version of you carrying magical bazookas instead."

[not_every_mage]

"Stop trying to make me feel better," Anders said, with a quirk of his mouth that tried to be a smile but wasn't one. He needed to get over this little bout of whatever-it-was; other people needed the attention more.

"No, but -- I don't even know what to say. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I figure I should try that with someone," she muttered shoving her hair back. She'd failed spectacularly at talking to Dante, not that that was a surprise. There was a reason he went to Anders for this kind of stuff, after all.

"Umm. Dante said I should ask for healing," she said, also feeling awkward. "I'm still--we didn't get a chance at the tower."

He'd asked, she'd been worried about Lady, and then she'd gotten bounced into a few more walls.

[not_every_mage]

Anders blinked at her for a moment. "You're right," he said. "I'm sorry, I lost track of that. Anything that needs special attention, or is it just everything?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"My ribs," she said, rubbing at her side. "Demons liked flinging me into shit apparently."

And at least once or twice, she'd heard a crunch.

"And not your fault," she said, resting her free hand on his thigh. "Dante was in danger, of course you were distracted."

[not_every_mage]

"Not just because of Dante," Anders said, hands spread over her ribs as the blue light of healing began to gather. "The whole thing was ... confusing. Like an awful dream. I kept wanting to wake up."

[spin_kick_snap]

"For awhile, I wasn't sure it was real," Kathy admitted softly. "I thought I was losing my mind. Like an honest-to-god mental break. "

[not_every_mage]

"I would have believed that," Anders nodded. "I would have gone with 'demons tormenting me in the fade,' but I think that's just my world's way of explaining a mental break."

His fingers glowed above Kathy's midsection, healing current passing from him to her.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy inhaled normally for the first time all day. "Oh god that's better," she said, relieved. The magic kept moving through her, easing the various aches and pains and bruises, leaving comfort behind.

"It would have been pretty accurate, too," she said with a wry smile. "There were some hardcore demons in there, fucking with all of us."

[not_every_mage]

"And tossing us around like toys," Anders added bitterly. "We're lucky we all walked out."

He was starting to look tired. The healing and the fighting: It all took its toll. He needed food and a nap, and he wasn't too fussy about the order.

[spin_kick_snap]

"A couple of times, I didn't think I would," Kathy said, thinking of that sickening fall over the side of the tower, grasping for stone and ending up with a handful of nothing. She reached for his hand. "Thank you. For the healing. And for being my touchstone through the whole thing."

[not_every_mage]

"It was about the best I could do," Anders said, and then hesitated. "... a touchstone? Really?"

He was more than flattered, and a touch scared that he wouldn't live up to something like that.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy gave a rueful chuckle. "Sometimes it surprises me how much you underestimate your impact," she said, shaking her head. "You know you're the one Dante goes to for comfort, right? That you're the only one who can get him to talk about how he's feeling? At best, he sometimes talks to me about stuff after you...loosen it up, I guess? Make it accessible."

She shook her head, idly braiding her hair. "Even when you're not there, we talk about you. Think about you. You're my tranquility and his safe space. You weren't just my touchstone yesterday, you're it every day."

[not_every_mage]

"I appreciate it, but I can only be that way because I have both of you," Anders said, blushing a bit from the praise. "Before that, I was ... floating, somehow."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You would have found your way eventually," Kathy said softly, twining her fingers with his. "You didn't need me for that."

[not_every_mage]

"Maybe," Anders nodded, eyes closing in enjoyment at her caresses. "I'm just glad I didn't have to."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Here's hoping you never do," Kathy said softly, thinking about the upcoming months, how empty everything would feel with them gone.