Slowly but eventually

"John..." Etna said, her voice a mere whisper as she looked over her knees to me, a vulnerability in her gaze that I never thought I would ever see from the overly confident and prideful Beauty Queen. "What is it Etna," I said with as tender a voice as I could, scooting closer to her both of my own free will as well as the prompting pull of her tail on my wrist. Instead of responding Etna simply leaned against me, her arms slowly sliding around my waist as she buried her face into my body, holding me closely as her body shivered.

In response I quietly held her close, my own arms sliding around her body and encircling her with as much of my body as I could manage. Some time into the embrace I heard a muffled voice, Etna attempting to speak but my body blocking her from making a coherent and complete sentence. Pulling away slightly I asked, "What is it Etna?" Etna sniffled a bit, attempting to regain control of the tears in her eyes and the dribble of snot from her nose, "I...I'm sorry."

This threw me for a loop, my mind going slightly on the fritz as she continued, "I-I didn't do anything...I'm sorry." I sighed, shaking my head and pulling her into a strong hug, "It's not your fault...I'm sorry that I didn't see what was going on either...then none of this would happened." I leaned down, softly kissing the top of Etna's head, reassuring her that everything was alright, earning a light flutter of her wings and a tightening of her tail around my wrist.

Slowly Etna cuddled further into my body, turning her head to the side so she could talk and breath without muffling, "Are...are you alright?" I nodded, running my hands up and down Etna's back, brushing along the base of her wings in comfort as I spoke, "Yeah, I'm alright...are you?" Etna refused to comment, instead curling deeper into my arms with a soft sniffle and a sigh. In turn I only held her close, brushing one hand along her back while the other combed through her hair. Slowly, Etna began to speak, a quiet whisper at ends with her normal personality, "What...what are we going to do with that...Prinny?"

I shrugged my shoulders, unable to answer that question in full but giving my best shot, "As I said, I think she got the message the first time around. Abby and Bea are probably chewing her out until she's nothing more than bone right about now." This earned a slight chuckle from Etna, the image of Bea and Abby laying into Cammie something that brought a bit of humor into her eyes. I smiled softly, resting my face into her hair, "For one thing she will not be rewarded any time soon...she's going to be earning trust back for a long time." At this Etna nodded, leaning into me slightly with another sniffle, "I'm still going to throttle her when I get my hands on her you know." I nodded, smirking a bit and wondering how that would play out, "I understand, just don't kill her."

Etna chuckled a bit leaning into me, letting her eyes flutter closed, a slow yawn echoing from her as she whispered, "Though I have to admit...the bed is very...soft..." With those words spoken Etna slowly let sleep claim her, her soft snores indicating her place far off into dream land, a peaceful expression on her face as she tucked herself further into me. On the other hand, I was wide awake, worry shaking in my heart as I wondered, what the hell had just happened? How was Cammie allowed to go so rogue like that? I was definitely calling tech support in the morning...