do i not bleed too;
Past-set, right after the Ravenous Hunt, continuing from the events of The Worst is Yet to Come. Basileios, in disguise, helps the wounded Lasair to the place he's been staying at, and they reflect on their respective downward paths.
Bas: 39 gold total
Lasair: 36 gold total
Basileios
The whole village seemed to be deserted because of the monster- good, he didn't need people seeing him running through the streets like this, dying woman in his arms- that would require him to die a second time and he really didn’t want that.
Thankfully, the inn he had been staying at was not too far (though, he knew he had been saying that far too many times that he was sure she didn’t believe him now- not too far, not too far). The door was left wide open, hinges creaking as the breeze gently bounced it back and forth. It could have been peaceful, if there wasn’t a monster raging somewhere in the distance.
The small room was a mess, and he cursed himself for it as he brushed aside empty bottles of gods-knew-what off the couch (he’d gotten to the point that it didn't really matter what it was, he’d admit). He muttered strained apologies as he helped lower her to the couch. He breathed a "can I-?" before ripping open the buttons of her shirt, uncaring for the black sludge that now covered his fingers.
He'd been drugged.
He'd gained magic.
He'd gotten shot.
He'd gone to prison.
He'd been sentenced to death.
He'd hardly been able to get his own head straight before she'd abandoned him.
And yet, here he was, struggling to keep the shake back in his breath and the burn in the back of his eyes that he had to blink back quickly before it became anything more. Because he knew the answer to his question before he even asked it.
And godsdamnit, it was all his fault.
"Is this from fighting the monster?" His voice was quiet, a bit of a shake to his fingers as he slowly wiped the sludge off of his fingers and onto his pantleg. He wanted to pull his gaze away from the corruption that stretched across her abdomen holding him hostage.
Gnawing teeth, etched deep into flesh, black dripping onto the floor, he flinched when jaws moved to snap at a piece of her shirt. Sebastien didn’t need to feign the panic that he knew non mages needed to show in the presence of magic- the shock on his features was very genuine when he finally tore his gaze away to meet her own.
What in the hell-?