Coffin & Feathers [Elisop]

Chapter 9

"Arf... Really that Joseph, tripping over his own camera and breaking his arm !"

The hunter returned to his room, slamming the door, irritated. His friend the photographer had called him into his room to show him a new design he had come up with for his camera, and it was necessary for him not to look where he was going and get his feet caught in the camera before crashing on the floor. It was a truly pathetic scene and the Frenchman did nothing but complain that he was in pain, forcing the diviner to take him to see Luchino who was one of the few with some medical skills among the hunters.

At first he thought the blond was just exaggerating but the reptilian suddenly told him that it would take some time to heal since he was injured outside of a match. As a result, he had to take responsibility for his matches for the time being since he was close to him. Of course, Eli tried to refuse and asked if Wu Chang couldn't do it for him but unfortunately for him, Wu Chang also had a lot of matches scheduled.

So in the end, Eli Clark the diviner was the loser.

He pulled down the hood of his cloak and rubbed the back of his head vigorously to complement his irritation. It was starting out well with the visit of Aesop Carl, whom he had not expected at all, and he was surprised that the embalmer had come to him, even though he knew deep down that the reason was probably because of his friend the prospector, Nort... Norton Capelle ? Campbell ? Well, whatever, the prospector. 

However, a hoot came to snap him out of his bad mood and he raised his arm for Brooke Rose to come and rest on it.

"Let's see what our dear embalmer has answered ~"

He took the piece of paper that was sticking out of the bird's beak and unfolded it.

'Tonight is fine with me. I'll probably be there within half an hour.

- Aesop.'

The hunter sketched a smile as he read the survivor's response and sat on his bed, looking out his window. On the other side was the embalmer's room. He could already see him reorganizing his belongings and appearance as he always did before leaving his room.

Nevertheless, the scheduled appointment time arrived and still no sign of the survivor. Was he late ? No. Eli Clark pushed the thought from his mind, he knew that Aesop was the kind of person who was very punctual and would blame himself if he wasn't at least five minutes ahead of schedule. That was suspicious. The diviner got up and sent his owl to see what was going on on the other side, perhaps something had happened to the embalmer or someone was holding him back from coming.

He closed his eyes to see through Brooke Rose's. Slowly his vision cleared and he could see the window of Aesop's room. The bird landed on the window sill, which had been open since his last visit, and looked in. A sparkle came and made his heart flicker when he saw the survivor, but that glint quickly disappeared when he noticed the other man with him.

"Tsk. Campbell."

His concentration was broken for a moment because of the appearance of this unwanted individual, cutting off his vision with Brooke. So it was him who prevented Aesop from coming. Eli pestered and closed his eyes again to focus his attention on the owl to observe again what was happening. However, the scene that was unfolding before their eyes was not what he had expected.

The embalmer was suddenly pale and seemed frightened by something. What had the prospector done to him ? Rage ran through his veins at the thought that the big man might have done something to the younger one. Before he knew it, he had jumped from his window and spread his wings to join the boy with the ashen hair.

Wings that weren't there until now. This ability he had was just another of his many secrets that he didn't want to share with others so for him to decide to use them so suddenly, it meant that the embalmer had completely turned his mind upside down and had made him a poor puppet caught in his net.

In a few flaps of wings, the hunter arrived in the room of the survivor. There he was. Looking panicked, eyes wavering and a few drops of sweat beading from his forehead. Without waiting another second, Eli rushed to the desperate boy and took him in his arms, covering his body with his coat as if to hide him. He didn't want to show him to others. He wanted to keep him only to himself and for the embalmer to show this miserable state to him and him alone.

"You..."

He whispered a few words in Aesop's ear to reassure him and was relieved to feel his breath calm down afterwards. He had arrived at the right time. It took him a few moments to realize that the prospector had just spoken to him. Eli gave him a dark look containing all the hatred he felt for the scarred survivor and how much of a failure he was for letting his little friend end up in such a state.

"Looks like the roles are reversed this time..."

"Get away from him."

"How about... No."

The prospector frowned at the hunter's behavior. Still, he wasn't stupid and had clearly noticed that Aesop was calmer since his arrival. From his point of view, it was annoying and he felt frustrated that his friend was more attached to a hunter while he was just stressing him out. It was as if a wall had been built up between the two survivors.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. Better than you ever could anyway." the hunter stated in a sarcastic tone.

"If you touch a single strand of his hair..."

"Hm, he's already glued to me so I've touched a lot more than his hair ?"

The prospector grunted and the diviner simply grinned, pleased with his victory. Norton glared at him one last time before leaving, a forfeit on his part. Eli watched him leave with a victorious look on his face before focusing this time on the embalmer. This one had become so comfortable that he had fallen asleep in his arms. The hunter let out a laugh before carrying him and putting him on his bed, making sure to close the door on the way. 

He pulled the covers up to his shoulders and removed his mask to let him sleep more comfortably. Eli was sitting on the edge of the bed with a smile on his face. The boy had such a peaceful expression on his face and he looked like he was having a sweet dream. The diviner loved watching the delicate features of the survivor. He looked like a porcelain doll, fragile and beautiful.

He was the complete opposite of him, who was always covered in feathers and his hair was always messy. It was surely this difference that made him want to get closer to him and take him in his arms at every opportunity. His body, his heart, his mind... He wanted them all for himself and nothing was going to stop him and especially not a poor human who threw magnets in all directions.

He passed his hand on the cheek of the sleeping boy and the latter shivered slightly at this contact. Even unconscious he was adorable, thought the hunter. From that moment on, he decided that he would do everything in his power to earn everything he had just mentioned about the embalmer. He withdrew his hand when he saw that the young man's eyelids had just trembled, announcing his awakening.