[sylvanSpider]

Ashi noticed Hyun's facial change and immediately regretted her question. She didn't express this regret out loud, however, opting instead to close her eyes for a moment, reveling in the miraculous lack of pain she was feeling at the moment. She opened her eyes in time to see her girlfriend inching toward the door and the princess couldn't help but understand. There was a lot on Hyun's mind and the problem of Ashi was now being taken care of. There were other issues that needed attending and dwelling on. The very fact that Hyun considered apologizing to Shaldag was a feat in and of itself. Ashi opened her mouth to wish Hyun a happy nic break but closed it again seeing that she was already gone. A small sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes once more, now content that she could see if she wanted to without being squeamish.

Analoka, as expected, said nothing when Hyun left the room – a fact that Ashi was grateful for. The conversation moved to simple procedures and Ashi opened one eye to see what Dr. Analoka was doing in reference to her words. “Do what you need to, Doctor. I'm more bound to believe you about the effect you have than my own preconceived notions,” Ashi said chuckling a bit, “I'm thankful to hear that I'm responding well.” The verdaqua was indeed working. Ashi could feel it, even if it had changed color from all of the blood. “Is he...conscious?” Ashi blurted, again immediately regretting the question. Of course he was conscious. He'd asked Hyun for the upgrades. “Did he...did he look for us? Is he sad that we're not there for him?” The questions tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, worry consuming her. She could only imagine how Hyun was feeling right now. “I'm...sorry, I- I...it's just...I feel responsible and I'm...worried about him. I heard the side effects of the procedure he asked for and I want him to know that I'm here for him no matter what...” Ashi bowed her head, biting her lip, biting off the urge to ask more questions she knew she didn't want the answer to.

The princess didn't react as tissue, tendon, and bone were moved to their proper locations. Instead she remained perfectly still, no longer closing her eyes in a vain attempt to relax. Now her eyes sought a spot on the ceiling and let them rest there. Ashi wasn't given a chance to answer whether or not she was okay with a question and when the question came her eyes widened, freezing and slowly moving down to Analoka. She'd been hoping that given the isolation of the medicinal planet that she'd managed to evade recognition. The rest of the medical staff seemed more concerned with Atrix's appearance – a fact that Ashi was eternally grateful for, even if it was at the spider-woman's expense. She gulped and chose her words carefully. There was no backpedaling now, and she knew it, but she didn't know what it meant. “Well,” she said, pausing to think over her words, “I'm not dead, no. But as far as my father is concerned, I am. I do not know how closely you've been following the News Networks, but my funeral was recently held. It was grandiose and disgusting. Kind of amazing, really. The man is capable of pretending to feel things when a camera is aimed at him.” She did not say that her father was still searching for her, or that she, Hyun, and Shaldag had tricked him into surrendering billions of qanta to the trio or that she was considering revealing her life to the general public thus creating a possibility to incite war or worse...trade cut offs. All of this was best unsaid and would remain so until Ashi new what the fuck she was planning.

>>>>

Mendez took her narrowed eyes and turned them into a cheeky grin, “C'mon mamacita, I'll be there the entire time. If they try to do anything, they have to answer to me. And trust me, I inherited my temper from mi madre, and she didn't fuck around.” His grin only wavered for a couple of grimaces every time she tightened her grip, but several nights of several hour-long sessions hardened him to the point that he didn't try to remove any of her grabbing appendages. As far as he was concerned, if his body could provide even the smallest amount of comfort, he would allow it to happen. “I understand the fear. I've got my own set of fears. Being eaten, for instance. There's no shame in being afraid,” he said, giving her the gentlest of squeezes back.

Mendez could almost taste her fear, and it didn't taste as good as one would have expected from one who was used to being on top. On the contrary, it just made Mendez want to hold Atrix all the tighter, tell her all the more that he was there, that they couldn't touch her in a way she didn't want them to while he was there. “That's fine, Atrix,” Mendez said chuckling, looking up to see her face. “Hey. Do you remember when we first met? You were dangling me by one leg and asking me to give you one reason to not eat me right then and right there. You remember what I did? I fuckin' punched you! The most beautiful woman I've ever seen! Now that we're well beyond that...Imagine how hard I'd punch someone who dared threaten that most beautiful woman. It's okay, I'm here, so it'll be okay, okay?”