Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 72: Untethered

The pains of loss are as immortal as the Tribrid, herself.

However buried or suppressed they may be, they're always destined to be reborn, rising from their graves like a phoenix from the ashes...

And when they do, it can literally take your breath away.

"Wait, what's happening to him?" Josie watches as smoke appears to be coming off of his skin, which begins to glow from the inside, looking almost like fire burning brightly beneath.

"What the hell?" Hope takes a slow step, slightly in front of Josie, shielding her with caution.

And then his skin erupts into flames, very similar to an Original Vampire when they die by the white oak stake.

Josie holds onto Hope's forearm, for both her girlfriend's comfort and to ease her own sudden fear, having no indications as to what's happening and why.

His body quickly becomes casted with solidifying ashes.

Hope can't even comprehend all that's happened enough to be upset over losing her friend.

She's perplexed, so much so that she doesn't show any sort of emotion kin to grief.

Hope turns to Alaric, internally pleading for him to have some inkling, any guesses to appease her confusion.

But he's as lost as she is.

If there's one thing about Hope, she absolutely despises the unknown, the lack of control associated with it.

She hears MG shuffle on the ground, a very faint sound of discomfort coming from him.

She turns to see that there's a small branch lodged into his back from being thrown against the tree.

She takes a breath, pushing aside any anger she feels towards him as she steps closer to him, only to feel Josie's grip around her wrist, "Hope please..."

She knows Josie expects her to rip him to shreds, and she's trying to protect MG.

So Hope offers Josie a reassuring look, providing enough trust for the girl to release her.

She kneels down next to MG.

He flinches, being afraid of the inevitable wrath of the almighty Tribrid.

But the inevitable never comes.

Instead, she helps dislodge the branch from his back, before biting into her wrist and offering him her blood to speed up his healing.

It's a mercy that none of them expected, even Hope herself.

She's clearly frustrated with him, upset...but more than anything, she's defeated.

She just seems tired. And none of them can blame her.

She sees the confusion in his eyes though, wondering why she isn't killing him for killing Landon.
But she doesn't want him to fear her, "You're my friend MG..."

And she doesn't have many of those left to spare.

There are still tears slipping from his eyes as he guiltily croaks out, "I'm so sorry..."