Thinking quickly, you whisper back into Jinx's ear. "I'll answer later." Pushing her back off of you, you see her look of confusion across her face. Her lips start forming a 'but', but you tensely whisper, "Later!" before she can. And just then, her spell on the door ends. "You're not helping things, Jinx. Just stop, alright?"
Raven, having only clearly heard your last couple sentences, speaks up. "Oh, she'll stop alright! She'll stop for good once she's in a containment cell!" With a flick of the wrist, she magically yanks the top sheet off of the bed and wraps it tightly around Jinx.
"Whoa, hey, go easy there, Raven!" You catch Jinx as she staggers under the binding, but fortunately Raven only wraps up her torso, leaving head and legs free. Jinx struggles briefly in the ad-hoc strait jacket, but settles down when you hold her shoulder. Looking up at you with hurt in her eyes, it's a struggle to keep your face impassive, and shake your head just a little. Her face falls, and she stands there impassively. Raven comes up alongside and you both take Jinx away, back towards the containment cells. 'I don't know how serious she really is,' you think to yourself, 'But I can't talk with her about it with Raven right there.'
The march back to containment is a quiet one, and soon enough, Jinx is back where she was not very long ago. When Raven moved to take the sheet away, you stop her. "Let her keep it. It's cold in here. Not like there's a window to toss a sheet rope out of." Raven, oddly enough, accepted that, probably taking it as a gesture of kindness. It was, pretty much. As you and Raven leave the cells, however, you pause for a moment to look back at Jinx. Dejected, looking at the floor, her eyes rise when she realizes you haven't left yet. Meeting her gaze evenly, you hold up your hands, tapping pointedly on your left wrist, then holding out one finger. You're not wearing a watch, but that's where most people wear one. You'll try to be back in an hour. Hopefully you'll be able to, and that Jinx caught your meaning. Without another word, you leave.
Raven's waiting for you out in the corridor. "Saying goodbye?" she asks, coldly.
"Hey, her feelings can hurt just as bad as yours," you reply.
Raven is silent for a moment, holding your gaze, before she speaks again. "Look, you're new around here, so I'm only going to explain this once. She's a villain. You can't trust what she says or does, 'cause in the end, she'll just do whatever the hell she wants to. Even if that's stepping on your back to save her own skin. So as far as I'm concerned, her method-acting 'feelings' can go to hell."
"Wow, you're just so cuddly right now. Is this how you try to win over boyfriends?"
Raven's expression twitches at your sarcasm. She looks away from you, and you immediately regret your choice of words. You gently set a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," you say, "I shouldn't have said that."
"No, you're right," Raven says. "It's been a weird night for all of us... Maybe we should just go to bed." |