Consolation

A/N: The contents of this chapter may not be suitable for all audiences. Please read at your own discretion. (Trauma warning)

"Yer wai'in outside ma door invisible fer some reason, what izzit?" Delilah's voice said harshly. "Who are ya and whaddya want with me?"

Panicked, Alesha raised her arms in what she hoped was a universal sign of surrender. "Delilah," she whispered, her voice coming out hoarse and choked, "It's just me, Alesha."

Delilah relaxed and sheathed her knife. "Huh, but why're ya in that form? I c'n hardly see ya but ya look diff'rent."

"Oh," Alesha said weakly, looking down at herself. How should she explain? Now that Delilah had caught her, perhaps she would be forced to do so. A part of her felt relieved at the idea. "Can we, can we go inside to talk?"

"Sure thang!" Delilah said cheerfully, though not as loudly as she usually might since it was late. She opened her door and they went inside.

[0:32 seconds of transformation remaining] A helpful visual notification announced. 

Ah, Alesha thought. Forgot about that. It only lasts 10 minutes. 

She felt awkward, realizing she'd left her clothes in Flynn's room, then remembered Rogork had told her something about a laundry basket in her inventory. 

Ignoring the fact that Delilah was right there, she took the basket out and quickly searched for something suitable. Rogork hadn't lied. Everything in there looked to be perfectly tailored to accommodate for her evolution's new physical changes. She almost cried in relief, since she'd been forced to use the dissatisfying, somewhat … improvised solutions the Academy had provided her with since then. These were not only well-tailored but extremely high quality, at that. It was almost enough to make her hesitant to wear them at all.

Almost.

[0:15 seconds of transformation remaining]

Yeah, wearing too-rich clothes was far preferable to showing up naked once her transformation wore off, she thought. She quickly donned the outfit she'd chosen.

When her transformation lifted, it revealed Alesha wearing a fitted red vest with slits for her wings and a maxi black skirt. Her hair was tousled, red marks dotted her on her neck and arms, and she was scratched in several places as well.

Delilah took all of this in immediately and her habitual smile melted away. Looking more intently, she noticed Alesha seemed incredibly nervous, almost terrified, to the point where her nails had half-transformed into claws as she continuously fiddled with them. She also noticed that Alesha seemed to be unaware that her nails had shifted.

All of this and more -- especially considering the late night and Alesha having come here invisibly -- were adding up to one very gnarly picture.

"Oh heavens, what happened?" Delilah asked softly, speaking as gently and kindly as she could.

Alesha balled her hands into fists and tears began to leak from her eyes. She wouldn't meet Delilah's gaze.

"I, I was raped," Alesha barely managed to say, starting to sob.

Seeing that the demoness was in no condition to say anything further, Delilah approached gently, opening her arms. "Shh, would you like a hug?"

Alesha shuffled away from Delilah, not wanting physical contact at the moment. Delilah backed off. 

"How about a blanket then? Or a shower? I have one here, you could clean yourself up and wash the bastard's traces off."

Alesha almost refused. Safety lectures back home had given instructions on what to do if you were raped so she knew what to do, in theory. But this was a fantasy world with no law enforcement to call to take DNA samples for evidence. Knowing this, she felt simultaneously relieved and worried at once. She didn't have to get samples taken from her body, but how would she believed in this world? She started to tremble with anxiety.

"Shhhh, shh, it's alrigh', it'll be alrigh'," Delilah cooed gently, keeping physical distance but trying to help Alesha nonetheless. "Jus' take care of yerself. I'll help ya deal with it. Yer not alone." 

As Delilah continued to speak soft and gentle reassurances in her peculiar accent, Alesha gradually calmed down, and she agreed to shower. Now that the student had mentioned it, she really wanted to clean herself off.

About half an hour later, Alesha was curled up on Delilah's couch, swaddled in an insanely fluffy pink blanket with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands.

Delilah had not pressed for details. Somehow, the student had picked up on Alesha's fragile state and was giving her the space she needed to recuperate; she was serving as a sort of silent anchor, the kind of person who made you feel safe just by being there, even though nothing was said. Alesha felt immensely grateful to her, in her fragile emotional state. It was kind of funny, she thought, for a 22-year-old "Dragonchild" to depend on an 18-year-old student, but it worked. And that it worked was what really mattered.

Eventually, Alesha opened her mouth to speak. The words came slowly at first, halting and hesitant, especially since she didn't know how to begin. How did you tell someone that a close friend of theirs had raped you? One who you both used to trust? It was such a daunting topic that Alesha had to stop and restart the story a few times before she decided on an approach she thought would work.

Delilah's gaze was somber and serious throughout. She didn't interrupt or argue what Alesha said, only asking clarifying questions here and there. 

At the end, Delilah put her hands into her face and was silent for a good while.

Then, she lifted her head, interlacing her fingers and gave Alesha a serious, deeply apologetic look. "I am so sorry, Alesha. I had no idea 'e was like that."

"What happens now?" Alesha asked, feeling afraid.

"... I'm not sure," Delilah confessed honestly. "We have a gen'ral process for this fer students or staff, but for a demon who's about to be sent home? I dunno."

Alesha nodded, feeling glum.

"Alesha, I won't let 'im go unpunish'd. If yer ok with it, I'd like to go visit the assign'd prof'ssor and adv'cate fer ya. I'll need to go now, though, since yer leaving in the mornin'. Will you be okay?"

Warmth filling her heart along with a sense of anxiety, Alesha nodded.