R U [ I ] N E D

A Monster Against Monsters

The chaos started once Callan finally woke up. The shifter didn't even get the chance to roll onto his side before Sachi pounced and Phoe unwittingly drew closer despite her intentions to keep some distance. Once Brady caught wind of the fuss, he was over there in a blink too. Soleil likely would have joined the fawning friends too had it not be for her preoccupation with magical matters. Unlike the Manabe blood, which was quick, transferring the very essence of magic from the earth into another living being was a rather arduous task. Given how sick Sol had been earlier, she needed to take it slower as a precaution, for her own safety. Her hands formed a diamond shaped, pressed to Erzia's chest, over the telepath's heart. Soleil channeled the earth's magic into her own body, up from the pad of her foot to her fingertips and onward into Erzia all while the others focused on Cal.

Sachi's arms were coiled up around the shapeshifter, Phoe at the boy's side as he clung to Callan. Brady had stopped at the edge of the cot, watching the others intently as he leaned forward and pressed his palms against the bed.

"Why didn't you stay?" Sachi whimpered into Callan's shirt. "I was protecting you."

"That's not your job," Callan argued, his arms visibly shaking where they circled around the boy's back. His voice had that same quiver. What if that fight had spelled the end for sweet Sachi? It had him overlooking toll his sacrifice would've taken— on the other Runeholders, but most importantly on Sachi himself.

Phoena wasn't going to ignore it. "You were too hurt to fight properly. He doesn't want you to die for him, Callan," she huffed, "You know that."

He doesn't want you to die for him.

Not again, Brady almost added. But given a certain warrior wasn't aware that Callan— Orin— had, in fact, nearly died for Sachi before, it hardly seemed appropriate. So, he kindly continued to be the bearer of secrets for his friends, knowing far more than anyone cared to share with each other.

"But I wasn't—" Cal trailed off, knowing well what he'd meant today was a lie. He wasn't going to sacrifice himself. No, that was exactly what he'd intended to do. They all knew that, and there was no use in trying to hide it. He flunked his head back against the blanket beneath him, not forcibly but with enough effort to make a proper thunk. "I'm sorry... I was desperate."

"We all were." Phoena was gentler this time as she gazed down at him, Sachi pulling back a bit to catch her solemn expression.  "One death scare was enough, Callan. After this, you've been cut off."

Brady chuckled at the joke, standing up straight again as he beamed at the blonde. "I'll personally make sure he takes that up with the next maniac we stumble upon."

"Are you calling me a maniac too!?" Sol shouted, having caught wind of Brady's implications from across the room.

"Only in the most loving way possible, dear," he teased. Then, to his darling Sir Prince: "She's right. Save a couple near death experiences in there for the rest of us."

It was the only thing they could do to keep themselves sane... to keep from breaking down under the immense pressure of the task that had been assigned to them. If you couldn't laugh in the face of death, of fear, it would eat you alive. They didn't stand a chance if they couldn't shake off the haunting realities that they faced. If Death took one of them, Death took them all. Their fates were intertwined from the start, even as strangers, but they'd grown to care for one another. They were friends, if not more, and this was a burden they had no choice but to share.

"Don't scare us like that again, okay?" This time, Phoena was entirely serious as she looked pointedly at Cal.

"Okay."