The Estate, Sidra, Balmia, Tuesday Evening (Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

Karla paced back and forth, trying to absorb some of the calm from her garden, trying not to curse her ungainly figure. Even the land in full bloom, laden with fragrant flowers and early fruits wasn't enough to bleed off her fury. Warren's 'birthday' present had been delivered this morning, a bouquet of witchblood tucked in a grinning skull. Karla

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[trigons_child]

The familiar burst of black smoke brought more dread than relief these days. Raven teleported into the gardens, her own birthday gift to Karla in one bloody hand: a freshly torn out heart.

"Happy birthday, Karla!" she said cheerfully, but there was a darkness in her gaze when her eyes strayed to Karla's belly.

[glacial_queen]

With a disdainful sniff, Helene stood up and walked away, heading into the estate proper. As much as she hated it, Karla was right; having other people interfere with these 'little chats' only ended in further violence and mayhem.

Julian and Morton's graves were stark reminders of that.

"You shouldn't have," Karla said dryly as she looked at the red and pulpy mass in Raven's hand, her hand sliding protectively in front of her stomach. Thank the Darkness for small favors, she'd gotten past the point where everything on the planet had made her ill. "Believe me. You really shouldn't have."

[trigons_child]

"I had wished to bring you something else, but since I am still unable to teleport beyond Sidra since he moved the city, my options are somewhat limited," Raven sighed.

She frowned, picking up on Karla's discomfort. "Allow me to take care of that," she said, tossing the heart aside and gliding toward Karla, moving behind her. She pressed one hand to her lower back and drew in the pain she found there.

"I could take such good care of you," she crooned, bringing her lips to Karla's ear.

[glacial_queen]

Karla couldn't bite back the sigh of relief. The relief from her nagging soreness just felt good, no matter how it came about. Even so, a moment later she was shuddering at Raven's promise. She could imagine what this twisted version of her friend meant by 'taking such good care,' but she most certainly didn't want to.

"Raven..." she warned, trying to ease away.

[not_a_parakeet]

A dark shadow across the sky and then the sound of metal scraping metal heralded Archangel's appearance at the estate. He smiled lazily as he approached Karla, in fact.

"Nothing like visiting home on one's birthday," he noted mildly. "I trust you got your gift, my love?"

[glacial_queen]

"I'm pretty sure I threw you out," Karla said with a pleasantly poisonous smile. "This stopped being your home the same time you stopped being Warren."

[not_a_parakeet]

Archangel's answering smile was sharp as he folded his wings across his shoulders, a nightmarish cloak of blades and poison.

"So quick to bite today," he admonished. "I have a deep fondness for this estate, after all. The memories you and I made here."

The other things they made here. He even gave a pointed look at Karla's belly, his smile twisting into something a little more smug.

"Your Warren is in here somewhere, you know. Screaming and clawing and trying to get free. He's a fun little toy, but so easily broken, so placid for me now, so resigned to nothingness, until I see you."

[glacial_queen]

"I'm older now," Karla said, showing off her teeth. If he was going to mention biting... "Much more crotchety now. You're welcome to the memories, but that's all you'll be getting."

She schooled her expression, pretending that his barb about Warren didn't hurt. He was adamant about keeping her--keeping their child, their combination of Blood and mutation--physically unharmed, but he took every opportunity to hurt her in other ways.