A squeal of laughter brought her attention away from the wide expanse of desert she'd been staring out at from her seated spot on the balcony. Just a moment later, Devilz Child felt her arms occupied by an overly-energetic child that shared her genes.
"Morning, Mommy!" he shouted excitedly, throwing his arms tightly around her neck.
Softly, she returned his massive grin with a smile of her own, holding him close despite the aches of her bones. "Good morning, my prince. How did you sleep?"
It took nothing more than that to get Dominic babbling about the dreams he swore he had of robots and dinosaurs. It quickly evolved to all the various things he wanted to do that day, including a trip to the 'fishy place full of sea water' which she took to mean the aquarium by the zoo.
Around the point where Dom was detailing how he'd eat his burger from the restaurant (with lotsa ketchup and pickles and fries), the head druid Michael burst into the master bedroom, calling out, "Dominic!"
"Here I am!" the boy called back, bringing the druid to the balcony. The brunette felt relieved that she had already put her blankets and pillows away the moment Michael stepped out through the doors. The look on his face screamed of pity and contrition as it was; she'd hate to know what he'd look like if he saw she had been sleeping out there.
"My apologies, Sakkara," he said immediately. "I thought he was still occupied by his Transformers cartoon, and I left for just a moment-"
"Perfectly fine, Michael," the demoness interrupted, squeezing her son minutely. "We were going over the plans Dom had for the day."
The druid nodded, stepping toward them. "Come now, Dominic. Let's leave your mother alone for-"
Both mother and son shrunk back against the granite railing when he came toward them, though for different reasons. She hadn't yet found herself comfortable around grown men, and so far, the only guy she could tolerate within her personal space was the boy clutching onto her so tightly.
The brunette demoness stopped Michael's progress toward them when she spoke up. "Perhaps, Michael, you could do me a favor? Put a pot of coffee on. I believe Hurricane Dominic will do the impossible and rouse the sleeping giant from his deep slumber."
He nodded in acceptance, heading on back the way he came. She glanced down at her toddler, who was grinning at her. "Nice work, Mommy."
She chuckled softly. "I meant it." She shifted her son off her lap and onto his own two feet. "Go on, love. Get your father out of bed. We cannot get our busy day started without him, right?"
Dominic thought it over a moment, then said, "Okay!" He was racing out the bedroom door within a nanosecond.
Devilz Child heavily sighed, leaning against the railing again. A week. She had only been back a week. It felt like in just that short a time, the gulf between her and everyone else was expanding. Probably of her own doing.
Recovery was draining. Her body always felt on fire, and she was having difficulty keeping up with Dominic. Thankfully, when the boy was starting to become too rambuncious, Kade or Michael would find a way to distract him. She absolutely hated it. She couldn't stand not being able to do all he wanted to do, having to take so many breaks to simply rest her sore muscles and gear up for the next ten minutes of living.
It was times like this she desperately missed her healing ability.
Inhaling deeply, the woman pushed herself up to her knees, then her feet. Perhaps a scalding shower would loosen up the aches.
Flipping the switch doused her in light as she stepped into the bathroom, stripping off her pajamas. It also displayed to her the reflection floating in the mirror. Everything was highlighted by the harsh, artificial light, throwing the scars and cuts into sharp relief on her beaten body.
Tears bubbled into her dark eyes, and she quickly ducked into the shower to escape the image she saw. But it was impossible to run from. It was burned into her mind, bringing back to her every moment she'd been imprisoned.
Her body began to shake. Her legs felt weak, unable to support her. Her arms grew heavier, becoming cumbersome weights she couldn't hold up.
Sinking down onto the floor of the shower, the brunette dragged her knees against her chest, securing them with her arms, letting the hot water rain down on her as she waited for the tremors to recede.
