Covens and Proxies

33

Reader's POV

It's warm. It's soft. And it's sort of heavy. You take a deep breath in, the smell of fabric softener, blood and soft mint pulls you the rest of the way to consciousness. Your wrist hurts, your eye and lips hurt, most of your body aches, but your perfectly at peace.

"You came." You mutter, cuddling closer to Toby.

He laughs breathily, holding you tighter. "Of cours-ourse I did."

You savor to feeling of peace and protection and love a moment longer before everything crashes into you. "Zemra!" You cry, pushing away from the killer and to your feet, only to fall to your hands and knees with a wince. Looking down, you see your leg is wrapped in casting.

Toby gets up, lifting you up and setting you back on your bed, kneeling in front of you. "She's alright. Your friend, Callisto, took awa-way her memory of the whole incident. She's stil-ill unconscious and hooked to a few mac-chines. I think she's in a com-a, but we can't bring her out of it." He explains slowly, his thumb rubbing comfortingly on your knee.

You swallow and nod, looking down at yourself. You don't have much on, aside from your bra and underwear, but that's not what you're worried about. You can see your own ribs well enough to count them, your hip bones sticking out too. Not to mention the sickly blue and green bruises everywhere, the occasional gnarly scratch. You look like shit.

"Do you wan-ant some food?" He asks, running a hand through your hair.

"Can you help me get clean first?" You ask, not sure whether he'd be comfortable with that.

He smiles, "Sure." He picks you up with so little effort then before, you realise you must have been starved the entire time you were out. "I hope you don't min-nd, but I had to bathe you whe-when we got you back. You were pretty bad with s-some serious injuries."

You frown. "None of it should've happened." You mutter, holding tighter to his neck as he opens the door. "I shouldn't have left my book at home."

He sets you down on the edge of the tub, nodding. "That's true. That was ser-seriously stupid, but it might-might not have made a difference." After some slight issues with getting underwear around your cast, he leaves the undergarments on the counter and lowers you into the tub. "It was my-my fault. I should be keeping bett-er tabs on you. It took us almost two days to tra-ack you down. We were right beh-hind them the whole time. I know we were. But..." He sighs, letting the water run. "I'm sorry I didn't get ther-ere in time."

You take his hand, getting him to look at you. "You saved me. Just like I knew you would." You tell him, watching his dark eyes.

He smiles, pulling a rag over and scrubbing you down. He's good at it, being gentle around your wounds and working over tight muscles--those that are left anyways. When that's done, it's harder to dry off, but he manages, and carries you back to your room. He can only work a dress over you without screwing up your leg and brings you with him to the kitchen.

It's night, the house is dark, and everything is so quiet. It's too much of a reminder of Zemra's state. It also accents Toby's wish to say something, but he's obviously scared to. As eggs and bacon sizzle, he works up his nerve.

"Can you stil-still cast?" He spits out. There's so much fear in his eyes, his stance, you almost start crying.

What you don't understand is why you wouldn't be able to. You nod, twirling your fingers in a small burst of color. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

He swallows, flipping your food. "Something Callisto said about your capt-captors. They weren't Witch Tri-iers, more like a knock-off that wanted your magic. I thought... I though-ught they might have sapped it out-out of you somehow. You wouldn't be ab-able to cast anymore." He gets a little choked up, blinking tears out of his eyes.

You watch him plate your food, taking it to set it behind you and hug him. "Would you leave if I couldn't?" You ask into his hair, massaging the nape of his neck.

His arms wrap around your waist, holding you faste. "No. I could-couldn't."

You kiss the top of his head, guiding him to look at you. "Toby. We're okay." You tell him, resting your forehead on his. "There were close calls, but we're okay. We're going to be okay. It's over."

He smiles, his scarred cheeks twitching, and kisses the corner of your mouth, handing you your food again. "Yeah. I'll check on Zemra."

He leaves you to eat and drink. When your done, you look at your leg for a long time. The spell warns not to try to heal yourself, but... You wonder if... Before you can try, there's a knock on the door.

You push off the counter and hop over, surprised to see it's Callisto and another witch. Opening the door, you draw shock of their own before big smiles break out between you and your old friend.

"You're up." She notes, walking in when you make way.

Toby walks in, jumping over the couch when he sees you on your feet. "God dam-damn it. Don't get up without-out help again." He growls, picking you up.

You roll your eyes. "I'm not completely helpless." You mutter, to which he grumbles something inaudible and kicks the door shut.

"This is Eira. I brought her to help heal everyone up." Callisto introduces the newcomer. You shake her hand from your new perch on your couch, Toby's arms keeping you from getting up.

"Broken bone?" She asks, pointing to your leg.

You nod. "But my roommate needs more attention then I do."

She nods, disappearing down the hall.

Callisto sits on the other side of the couch, the room full of slightly awkward silence. "Thank you." You break first. "I didn't know if my signal had actually gotten to anyone."

She smiles. "I'm glad it did."

Eira comes back in. "She's fine. She'll wake up in an hour." She states, coming to look straight at your eyes and lip. "Anything else that's serious?" Toby holds up your bandaged wrist, which the witch acknowledges. She runs her thumb along your jaw, spreading a flash flood of warmth through you. When it subsides, you don't ache and your bruises and scrapes are gone. You can see better and the cast crumbles to nothing. "Is that everything?" she looks at Toby, as if debating to heal his cheek, before Callisto interjects.

"Yes, Eira, that was it. Thank you."

The new witch nods and disappears with a pop, making Toby and you jump. Callisto follows after a small wave and a smile, leaving you alone with your boyfriend.

A question you hadn't considered comes to your mind. "How long has it been since I was caught?"

Toby considers the question. "Three days."

You nod, leaning back into him for peaceful quiet. "You have to go, don't you?" You ask after a few minutes.

He nods. "I've bee-en gone too long. I'm sorry."

You smile, "It's alright. Thanks for what you've done already."

He grins, kissing your cheek. "Just don't freak me out-out like that again."

You help him pack up the monitor and take it to the front door. He hugs you tight, burying his face in your neck. "I'm going to miss you."

You smile. "I'll get a new phone by the next time you visit."

He leaves just before Zemra walks in, complaining about a splitting headache. You set to work on food for her, letting the past week disappear.