【 III 】 » v i d e o.

[desertio]

Van...

[ For a few moments, it doesn't look like Charles even intended to turn on the video feed -- he's stumbling unsteadily down one of Ceriu's hallways, bleeding from countless wounds and leaning heavily on one of the nearby walls as he attempts to drag himself to his destination. But then he stops, breathing in harsh gasps, and peers down at the

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1/????

[giveslife]

[ As much as Sophie told herself that he would be fine on his own, and monsters probably needed some time alone to themselves, she still fretted silently when Charles was still missing-- ]

[giveslife]

[ She keeps the NEXUS close to her at all times, just to catch him when he does come back, and when she hears his voice-- ]

[giveslife]

Char-

[giveslife]

[ His name dies on her throat, and she drops the NEXUS with a loud clatter, hands clasped over her mouth as she stares in horror at the scene before her eyes, just as horrid as what she saw when they first met. ]

[giveslife]

[ It's only a moment during which she holds her breath and tries to calm herself, before breaking into a run, tripping over her own two feet. Her heart feels as if it's going to burst in worry, scared of what happened to him and scared that he might die.

Monster or not, Charles is almost like a sibling, a child of Sophie's own now. ]

done scre

[giveslife]

[ And when she reaches him, Sophie isn't aware of her own tears breaking out anymore. ]

Charles!

[ She falls to the ground next to him, hands reaching out but almost afraid to touch him. He's so hurt, so weak, so bloody, and just looking at him makes her feel sick to the stomach. But she has to help him somehow.

Shaking, she places a hand on his arm and the other on his neck, trying as hard as she can to pull him up and gather the small frame onto her lap. She doesn't even care that blood is smearing on her dress now. ]

Charles, Charles, can you hear me?

1 / SPAMS FOREVER

[desertio]

[ For the first time in decades, Charles wants to sleep.

The edge of a deep, blissful darkness is lapping at his mind, and some part of him is already surrendering thankfully to it -- it's an escape from the pain, from this waking hell of a world where he's lost all sense of direction. There's no Saya, no Van, no Diva... and where does that leave him? Bruised, bloody, weak, and there's no one -- ]

[desertio]

[ And, suddenly, someone is gripping at him -- for a second, he thinks that hunter has found him, and he struggles fitfully to get free. No, no, no. He won't die like this; he can't rest until after he's... until after...

Charles.

... and he's being tugged up into warm, gentle arms that gather him close ( like something precious, loved ), and his delirious mind can only recall the echoes an embrace that took place long, long ago. Arms wrapping tenderly around him, a soft voice crooning lullabies in his ear, fingers playing with the fine black mop of his hair -- ]

Diva. [ The chiropteran presses up against her, shuddering weakly with relief. ] ... Diva.

[desertio]

[ ... but the skin against his cheek is warm, and he can hear the echoes of a heartbeat underneath the fabric of the dress that he's ruining with blood, sweat, and tears. He sucks in a startled gasp that quickly erupts into coughs, eyes opening wide with terror surprise -- ]

[desertio]

[ But he recognizes that spill of bright hair, the sound of the voice saying his name --

Charles, Charles

-- over and over, the warm and human smell of her skin. ... and, of course, it's just like her, to come running out here when every bit of common sense in the world says that she shouldn't; to drag an injured, bloodied monster into her arms and try to save him. ] ... Sophie...

DONE.

[desertio]

[ When he was alone, Sophie came to find him. When he was in need, Sophie was there.

-- not like a human at all.

Weakly, he buries his face into her throat, shuddering with relief at having someone there to shelter him; a childish gesture of nestling that he hasn't been coaxed into doing for years. His shoulders are hitching with an assault of hiccoughing sobs, and it's impossible to hide the fact that he's sobbing into the shoulder of her dress -- he's hungry, sick, hurt, afraid that even his impossible strength can't protect him from this. ] Sophie.

1/

[giveslife]

[ The wet stickiness of his blood is frightening on her hands, but the cold, limp body of Charles she's holding is even more so. She doesn't quite know how to handle this, her mind frazzled and she's just trying her best to keep from trembling. And in doing so, she doesn't realize that she's gripping his arm too hard until he utters that name.

Diva.

She doesn't pay it any mind. Whoever Diva is, she must be someone very close to him at home, someone he probably trusts, with the way he's calling her name like that. ]

[giveslife]

[ But she needs to get him to the infirmary, quick. She can't handle him too roughly, either. Have to hold him like a mere babe, he's losing so much blood, he's not breathing well, and she can't think. What's first? Try to stop his blood? She doesn't even know where exactly he's hurt, it seems like his body is tattered everywhere with nothing intact at all. His clothes are soaked in blood and it's difficult to tell where skin ends and wound begins.

She takes a shaking breath, before cradling him closer and begins to stand up when- ]

[giveslife]

[ ... oh, that's... that's her name. He's coherent enough to recognize her, after all?

Somehow that makes her feel so much better about this whole thing. ]

Shh.

[ Her hand slides into his hair, digging into clumps of hair and taking a gentle hold of his scalp, pressing his head against her shoulder. It's almost depressingly ironic, how he would never do this had he been his normal bratty self.

She wishes he was. ]

4/4

[giveslife]

[ She lifts him easily, one arm holding his shoulder and the other lifting his legs. He feels so much smaller like this, so much more fragile, and she can feel trickles of blood dripping down her skin, down her skirt, her legs, and they're making a mess of the hallway but she doesn't care about that right now. She can always scrub it later. ]

Drink-- if you need to.

[ A quiet, urgent whisper that she hopes he hears. It's all logical in her head: if he's losing blood, she can give it back, even if it's just a little. It will probably help sustain him until someone can treat him and bandage him up.

And she begins to walk, as briskly as she can while trying not to jolt him, to the infirmary. ]

1/?

[desertio]

[ The chiropteran lets out a low groan as Sophie lifts him up into her arms, eyes squeezing tightly shut with pain. It's like his entire body is one massive wound -- it's been awhile since he's been in pain this severe, and the fever isn't helping things. Still, there's something... almost comforting in the way Sophie nestles his body against hers; he only barely remembers his own mother, but he imagines that she might have taken care of him like this. If he was more conscious, he'd be angry with himself for this weakness -- for pressing himself against her body like a broken child instead of the noble-blooded monster that he is -- but he's too far gone to worry about the future.

... It's okay to stay like this for now. To be human, just for a few minutes. ]