February Twenty-Second
Dockside
The scene was calamity made reality. The rich, cloying coppery scent of blood mixed with an aroma that reeked of the horrifying mixture of burning sulfur and frying animal fat, creating something new that was that was nauseating and terribly appetizing at the same time. Rorschach sprays of blood decorated the walls and street of this grisly tableau, mixed with scattered bits that resembled the remains of those that were once human. In the midst of this terrible setting was the Cambion himself, fallen upon his knees and bent over them like one praying to some ancient deity, silent and unmoving save for the occasional wracking sob of guilt.
"You are killing my buzz, Sven. And I w-" sniff sniff. On salty air she smelled it. Sulfur and burning flesh. She could almost taste the copper on the salty air. Her buzz and her state were both killed in one go. "What the fhhkkk?" Heels pressed into the ground and she quickly ran to follow the scent and the closer she got the stronger it became. The carnage wasn't hard to miss and in the middle of it a sight she wasn't expecting. "Kaleb?"
Oh lord. If there was anything worse than knowing he was the cause of this mess, it was hearing that voice in the middle of it. He knew that she was no innocent in the ways of death, but that didn't really make him feel any better, either. He had lost control of the beast, yet again. His own voice was a harsh and sorrowful thing in the midst of the abattoir he kneeled in the middle of, echoing out from him as though from the depths of a cavern. (s)"Run. Before this happens again."
It was him. In the mist of all that carnage was Kaleb. Holy crap on a cracker. She nearly dropped her phone. She heard his voice but barely so. Couldn't make out the words but she heard his voice. Clenching her phone she started to move closer, her nose wrinkling at the charcoal flesh smell. "Kaleb what happened?"
Her phone going off gave her a start and she looked to the screen. She had sent texts without realizing it. Quickly she thumbed the screen before shoving it into her pocket.
He didn't move from where he knelt, his head bowed over his knees. There was the slightest movement, left, then right, as he shook it in a negative gesture. "Ah don' know what dye wanted...prob'ly just some'ne t'beat up on. Ah tried t'tell 'em t'get 'way while dey could...dey jus wouldn'..." The Cambion let out a sound that sounded like a strangled sob. (s)"...Ah didn' wanna hurt 'em, Ah swear...dey jus' wouldn' lissen..."
Thugs. Thugs looking to pick a fight. Biting her bottom lip she inched closer but wouldn't exactly crawl her way over the bodies. Instead she watched him from her spot, a hand stretched out. "Kaleb. Look at me." her voice was soft and full of concern but with that boa around her neck? She probably looked silly. Hey Mardi Gras. Blame that! Plus the whole bumps and bruises she sported. "It is okay. They were probably looking for a fight and just bit off more than they could chew." she paused,
"Come here." was finally worded as a way to coax him from his mess.
He didn't move, but he did lift his head, first to look at the extended hand, then into her eyes. Somehow, oddly, though he was kneeling in the midst of this nightmarish scene, the Cambion himself was pretty much spotless. (s)"How is dis okay? S'not like Ah had t'kill 'em, is it?"
"Self preservation." she offered simply. "You likely feared for your life and acted accordingly. I mean there is a lot of them against one person. They could of killed you, Kaleb. It isn't okay to take life but you did it to protect yourself. It wasn't done out of cruelty or just because." Her fingers stretched out more towards him, beckoning him. Mismatched eyes met his gaze. There was no pity or fear. Concern and worry is what there was.
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. She was, after all, right, in a way, he supposed. He hadn't done it to be cruel, though he had no doubt those dead around him had suffered a great deal in the brief spans of time they'd had to worry about such things. What bothered him was there was a part of him - his human self - that enjoyed it. One hand twitched towards hers, almost seemingly of its own accord, before he started moving to his feet. How could he tell her that about himself? He had a hard enough time admitting it to his own reflection, let alone anyone else.
She inched closer and tried to catch his fingers but she missed, barely. She wanted him out of that rubble. She wanted to take him away from it. Seeing his hand twitch had her eyes looking from his hand to his face. "Self defense, Kaleb. Things will be okay." she said lightly but her eyes seemed to go down. Why did she half expect a hand of the fallen to grab at her ankle or something. It was like those bad guys in the movies. You run them over but they aren't ever really dead.
He'd barely had eyes for anything but the blood and gore around himself, even when he'd taken his gaze from the remaining giblets of those scattered around him. She'd missed her grip, but instinct took over as her hand went past, and he reached out and snagged her by the fingertips. His gaze fell back to the ground, focusing on a bit of what was probably someone else before Kaleb got hold of them. "Ah...Ah don' evev know where t'go..."
Her eyes quickly rose up to him when he snagged her fingers and she tried to turn her hand to grasp his own. If she got a good grip she'd try to pull him toward her. A step back, tug, pulling him from the gore that littered the area. "You can come with me. My loft is small but you can rest there. Don't bother saying no because I won't allow it." She smiled to him reassuringly before she looked him over. Clean. Not a scratch on him. Well at least she won't have to break out the first aid kit. She barely got him close before she noticed his eyes rolling back. "Kaleb? Kaleb?!" His body collapsed against her own and both of her arms wrapped around the man's waist to stop him, and herself, from falling on the gore filled street.
"Crap, crap, cra- ODIN!" she cried out as the man's weight made her knees wobble and not in that good way! She sighed out in relief when Kaleb's weight was suddenly lifted from her by the large horse-riding Eidolon. She felt so drained by tapping into the pact but she had no choice. "Take him to my place and make sure he ends up in the bed."
"Serah-"
She was quick to cut him off, "I'm fine Odin. Just do as I asked. I'll be along shortly."
The Eidolon was not pleased and it didn't take a genius to know it but listen he did. The clomping of the steeds hooves soon echoed out of the night and she turned to the gory mess that was the street. The bodies would be rid of and hopefully the snow would hide the stains until they were nothing but more background on an already seedy part of town. She knew she was covering up deaths but this wasn't murder. This was self-defense and she didn't feel bad at all.
By the time she made it back to her loft she was a bloody mess and the sun was threatening to peek. Opening the door she made her way down the hall, bypassing the small section area that was the kitchen. It was curious to see TGoW sitting on the bottom of the steps and staring up at the loft bed where Kaleb had been placed. The guy was larger than her bed so didn't fit very well. His feet dangled off the end and while that amused her she continued on to take herself a shower. Between the shower and texting, it was another half hour before she was able to actually go check on Kaleb.
Sitting on the floor she watched Kaleb sleep. Maybe she was a little worried he would wake up freaking out. It didn't help that TGoW was zipping around behind her. The weasel apparently didn't like the fact there was an absolute stranger sleeping on his playground. Chuckling she pulled it into her lap and started petting until the weasel calmed and fell asleep. She wasn't far behind. Cheek resting against the bed she managed to fire off a few more texts before passing out.
Dockside
The scene was calamity made reality. The rich, cloying coppery scent of blood mixed with an aroma that reeked of the horrifying mixture of burning sulfur and frying animal fat, creating something new that was that was nauseating and terribly appetizing at the same time. Rorschach sprays of blood decorated the walls and street of this grisly tableau, mixed with scattered bits that resembled the remains of those that were once human. In the midst of this terrible setting was the Cambion himself, fallen upon his knees and bent over them like one praying to some ancient deity, silent and unmoving save for the occasional wracking sob of guilt.
"You are killing my buzz, Sven. And I w-" sniff sniff. On salty air she smelled it. Sulfur and burning flesh. She could almost taste the copper on the salty air. Her buzz and her state were both killed in one go. "What the fhhkkk?" Heels pressed into the ground and she quickly ran to follow the scent and the closer she got the stronger it became. The carnage wasn't hard to miss and in the middle of it a sight she wasn't expecting. "Kaleb?"
Oh lord. If there was anything worse than knowing he was the cause of this mess, it was hearing that voice in the middle of it. He knew that she was no innocent in the ways of death, but that didn't really make him feel any better, either. He had lost control of the beast, yet again. His own voice was a harsh and sorrowful thing in the midst of the abattoir he kneeled in the middle of, echoing out from him as though from the depths of a cavern. (s)"Run. Before this happens again."
It was him. In the mist of all that carnage was Kaleb. Holy crap on a cracker. She nearly dropped her phone. She heard his voice but barely so. Couldn't make out the words but she heard his voice. Clenching her phone she started to move closer, her nose wrinkling at the charcoal flesh smell. "Kaleb what happened?"
Her phone going off gave her a start and she looked to the screen. She had sent texts without realizing it. Quickly she thumbed the screen before shoving it into her pocket.
He didn't move from where he knelt, his head bowed over his knees. There was the slightest movement, left, then right, as he shook it in a negative gesture. "Ah don' know what dye wanted...prob'ly just some'ne t'beat up on. Ah tried t'tell 'em t'get 'way while dey could...dey jus wouldn'..." The Cambion let out a sound that sounded like a strangled sob. (s)"...Ah didn' wanna hurt 'em, Ah swear...dey jus' wouldn' lissen..."
Thugs. Thugs looking to pick a fight. Biting her bottom lip she inched closer but wouldn't exactly crawl her way over the bodies. Instead she watched him from her spot, a hand stretched out. "Kaleb. Look at me." her voice was soft and full of concern but with that boa around her neck? She probably looked silly. Hey Mardi Gras. Blame that! Plus the whole bumps and bruises she sported. "It is okay. They were probably looking for a fight and just bit off more than they could chew." she paused,
"Come here." was finally worded as a way to coax him from his mess.
He didn't move, but he did lift his head, first to look at the extended hand, then into her eyes. Somehow, oddly, though he was kneeling in the midst of this nightmarish scene, the Cambion himself was pretty much spotless. (s)"How is dis okay? S'not like Ah had t'kill 'em, is it?"
"Self preservation." she offered simply. "You likely feared for your life and acted accordingly. I mean there is a lot of them against one person. They could of killed you, Kaleb. It isn't okay to take life but you did it to protect yourself. It wasn't done out of cruelty or just because." Her fingers stretched out more towards him, beckoning him. Mismatched eyes met his gaze. There was no pity or fear. Concern and worry is what there was.
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. She was, after all, right, in a way, he supposed. He hadn't done it to be cruel, though he had no doubt those dead around him had suffered a great deal in the brief spans of time they'd had to worry about such things. What bothered him was there was a part of him - his human self - that enjoyed it. One hand twitched towards hers, almost seemingly of its own accord, before he started moving to his feet. How could he tell her that about himself? He had a hard enough time admitting it to his own reflection, let alone anyone else.
She inched closer and tried to catch his fingers but she missed, barely. She wanted him out of that rubble. She wanted to take him away from it. Seeing his hand twitch had her eyes looking from his hand to his face. "Self defense, Kaleb. Things will be okay." she said lightly but her eyes seemed to go down. Why did she half expect a hand of the fallen to grab at her ankle or something. It was like those bad guys in the movies. You run them over but they aren't ever really dead.
He'd barely had eyes for anything but the blood and gore around himself, even when he'd taken his gaze from the remaining giblets of those scattered around him. She'd missed her grip, but instinct took over as her hand went past, and he reached out and snagged her by the fingertips. His gaze fell back to the ground, focusing on a bit of what was probably someone else before Kaleb got hold of them. "Ah...Ah don' evev know where t'go..."
Her eyes quickly rose up to him when he snagged her fingers and she tried to turn her hand to grasp his own. If she got a good grip she'd try to pull him toward her. A step back, tug, pulling him from the gore that littered the area. "You can come with me. My loft is small but you can rest there. Don't bother saying no because I won't allow it." She smiled to him reassuringly before she looked him over. Clean. Not a scratch on him. Well at least she won't have to break out the first aid kit. She barely got him close before she noticed his eyes rolling back. "Kaleb? Kaleb?!" His body collapsed against her own and both of her arms wrapped around the man's waist to stop him, and herself, from falling on the gore filled street.
"Crap, crap, cra- ODIN!" she cried out as the man's weight made her knees wobble and not in that good way! She sighed out in relief when Kaleb's weight was suddenly lifted from her by the large horse-riding Eidolon. She felt so drained by tapping into the pact but she had no choice. "Take him to my place and make sure he ends up in the bed."
"Serah-"
She was quick to cut him off, "I'm fine Odin. Just do as I asked. I'll be along shortly."
The Eidolon was not pleased and it didn't take a genius to know it but listen he did. The clomping of the steeds hooves soon echoed out of the night and she turned to the gory mess that was the street. The bodies would be rid of and hopefully the snow would hide the stains until they were nothing but more background on an already seedy part of town. She knew she was covering up deaths but this wasn't murder. This was self-defense and she didn't feel bad at all.
By the time she made it back to her loft she was a bloody mess and the sun was threatening to peek. Opening the door she made her way down the hall, bypassing the small section area that was the kitchen. It was curious to see TGoW sitting on the bottom of the steps and staring up at the loft bed where Kaleb had been placed. The guy was larger than her bed so didn't fit very well. His feet dangled off the end and while that amused her she continued on to take herself a shower. Between the shower and texting, it was another half hour before she was able to actually go check on Kaleb.
Sitting on the floor she watched Kaleb sleep. Maybe she was a little worried he would wake up freaking out. It didn't help that TGoW was zipping around behind her. The weasel apparently didn't like the fact there was an absolute stranger sleeping on his playground. Chuckling she pulled it into her lap and started petting until the weasel calmed and fell asleep. She wasn't far behind. Cheek resting against the bed she managed to fire off a few more texts before passing out.