Coffin & Feathers [Elisop]

Chapter 8

Ah. Perhaps today wasn't the day of the embalmer. Just after his visit to the seer, he was confronted with the one he would have preferred not to meet after his excursion to the hunters' side, Norton Campbell. The dark-eyed man looked at him a bit puzzled and waited for an answer.

"N-Norton..."

"Did something happen ?" he asked.

Gee, he was really coming at a bad time. The prospector would certainly get upset if he learned that Aesop just ignored his advice to stay away from Eli Clark. What could he possibly make up as an excuse to get out of this mess ? It was then that a memory came back to him.

"Aside from that Norton, don't you have a match scheduled right away ?"

The big male's eyes widened as he remembered that he did indeed have a match coming up and that he would surely be late. He apologized to the embalmer and then hurried off to the waiting room for the matches. Aesop then sighed as he watched Norton leave.

This was all thanks to the diviner, Eli Clark. Before leaving the hunter's room, the latter muttered something about sparing the prospector a little during the match that was about to take place. This was how he learned that Norton did not have time to stay and talk with him.

He took a deep breath, relieved that he didn't have to deal with the prospector for the time being. He then turned the handle of his door and entered his room. Finally some calm he thought. This afternoon had been quite hectic and the whole thing had exhausted him.

Fortunately, he didn't have any games scheduled for the day, unlike some people, so that gave him plenty of time to rest. His sleep was quite disturbed at the moment with Norton coming back bleeding after every game and Eli surely being the culprit behind these injuries.

Couldn't they get along ? Some hunters like the Geisha got along perfectly with the survivors so there was no real reason for them to hate each other so much.True, the diviner wasn't exactly the most delicate during matches but from what he had seen so far, he seemed quite friendly outside of matches so he didn't understand why everyone hated him so much.

"Damn."

Aesop then realized that he hadn't had a chance to talk to the hunter about the situation with Campbell. The arrival of the photographer had interrupted them just as he was about to bring the subject. Well, the seer said something along the lines like he would send his owl, right ?

Eventually, they would be able to talk about it one day and work things out.

But it was a very naive thought that the embalmer had. 

As the sun set on the horizon, Aesop was still in his room as usual. He had finally calmed down and was now busy rearranging the brushes in his makeup box. He didn't really contribute much during the games so he felt that the least he could do was to properly embalm his teammates to help them.

As the last brush went to its predefined location, the young man heard a flapping sound. He turned to the source of the now familiar sound, on the other side of his window, Brooke Rose was flying.

He quickly closed his box and went to open the window to let the animal in. The bird flew over his head and landed on the edge of his bed. The embalmer then noticed that the owl was holding something in its beak and as if she too had noticed, she dropped the object on the floor. Fortunately, Aesop had a quick reflex and caught it before it hit the ground.

"A letter...?"

What the bird had just brought him was nothing but a letter with a blue seal similar to the hunter's eyes he was thinking of. The male wondered how the hunter was going to give him an appointment but this letter arrived at the right time to answer his question.

Without further ado, he opened the drawer of his desk to grab his knife and discover the contents of the letter.

'Dear Embalmer,

It seems that I have a lot of games scheduled for the next few days as Joseph has been unfortunately injured and so I have been asked to replace him. I think the only time I may have time for your questions is tonight. Brooke here will give me your answer.'

Aesop looked up at the owl who seemed to be watching him. 'An answer...' He glanced at the clock, which read eleven o'clock at night. Normally, most of the residents of the manor were early sleepers and were already in bed so he had a clear path to the other side.

He took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote a note to the hunter saying he would come. He then folded the paper in half and gave it to Brooke who flew straight back to her master. The embalmer stopped in front of his mirror to comb his hair again and look presentable, he didn't really like the idea of looking disheveled.

Once his appearance seemed impeccable, he headed for his door. However, just as the door opened, he came face to face with someone's torso. He looked up to meet the gaze of two dark eyes.

"N-Norton ?"

"Where are you planning to go at this hour ?"

"I was... going to get a glass of water..."

"Can I come with you then ?"

Obviously, he wasn't going to the kitchen for a mere glass of water. After all the matches he had today, Aesop thought the prospector would go straight to bed so why was he standing there at his door ? He had to find another excuse in order to get rid of him but the big guy looked pretty determined not to let him go.

"I can go alone..."

"What if I want to come ?"

Really, Campbell ? The embalmer frowned slightly at the male who was getting slightly clingy. It almost seemed like he was acting like an overprotective parent afraid his child would be kidnapped on the way to school. But Aesop didn't need his help. He was doing just fine on his own before he got to the manor and that wasn't something that was about to change anytime soon.

"You're going to go see that hunter again aren't you ? When I already warned you about him ?"

The embalmer put on a surprised look. He knew ? Why beat around the bush in this case. Was he testing him ? 

The flow of his thoughts began to run wild once again. He put his hand on his face as if to stop them from disturbing him. The prospector seemed to notice that something was wrong with the frail young man and tried to put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, only for it to be rudely rejected by the boy's other hand.

"Aesop ?" he asked, concerned.

This was like with Jerry, his mentor. He was being tested. His every move was watched and then judged. If he made a mistake, he was punished. His memories of spending days in that dark room in his mentor's house rushed through his mind. The old scars on his back and arms suddenly felt like they were burning him.

"Hey... You okay ?"

His breathing then became more shallow. He felt like he was suffocating and the mask he was wearing wasn't helping either. His hands came to rest on his shoulders, like a kind of mental barrier that he had just created. The prospector's words no longer reached his ears and only an incessant buzzing sound in his head.

"T-too... loud..."

If only someone could get him out of there. All he wished was that someone would save him and that the incessant noise would stop. But who ? He had no one. His mother had abandoned him, as had his father, whom he had never met, and he had finished off his mentor with his own hands. He was alone and rejected by society. No one was going to come to free him from his suffering and he was doomed to sink into the darkness...

"I figured it was taking a while for my beloved survivor to come, the other side isn't that far away ~"

"W-who..."

"Shh... I'm here now..."

The only thing Aesop could manage to remember at that moment was the feeling of two arms coming around him and a comforting warmth. He had no idea who it was but he finally felt safe and even the commotion in his head had stopped. Whoever it was, he wished this person would never leave him and stay by his side to cradle him in this loving embrace...