Blackened Feathers

Recharge

They didn’t speak about it for the rest of the day. Omega was on duty and there were several meetings and a ritual he had to attend with Papa at the Abbey. He was glad when his shift was over and Rho, the earth ghoul of their little pack, came to take over. He patted Omega on the back as he arrived.

“How are you doing, Omega?” he asked.

Omega could feel the stress and sadness coming from the smaller ghoul. They were all worried about Alpha and didn’t want to lose him despite the problems he'd caused them all. He sent some calming energy to Rho, who smiled his thanks.

“I’m okay. I’m going to go check on him now.”

Omega briefed him on the handover notes for the day and they said their goodbyes. He stopped off in the canteen to pick up some food before heading down to the basement cells to see Alpha. Water, another of Secondo’s ghouls, was on guard duty and he nodded a greeting as Omega approached. He held up the food and Water let him through the locked door into the corridor where the warded glass cells were situated. Zephyr, Primo’s quintessence ghoul, was leaving the cell.

“How is he?” asked Omega.

The old ghoul pursed his lips.

“He is very down. He hasn’t been too angry today, he’s very quiet. Not like himself at all.”

Omega sighed. Alpha’s fire was part of what made him who he was. He was always outspoken, always such a big personality. It saddened him when he thought about how different he had become in the last few years. It happened sometimes with fire ghouls. If they couldn’t control their nature, they could lose their minds to it and they had to be put down. Omega had never seen it happen himself, but he’d heard the stories. That’s why he had tried to solve it himself without involving the Clergy. He figured if he could just lend him some calm that he could muddle along and be fine. It had spiralled out of control though, and he realised he’d been stupid to think that he could handle it like this indefinitely.

“I thought I’d sit with him for a while. I brought him something to eat.”

Zephyr looked at him sadly, and he felt the old ghoul trying to soothe him.

“You did your best, Omega. He wouldn’t have lasted as long as he has if it weren’t for you. I wish that you’d come to me for some help, though, Quinn as well. I can see now that you’ve burnt yourself out. It didn’t have to be like that.” The older ghoul felt his sadness and pulled him over for a hug. Omega felt his shoulders sag. “Come and find me when you’re done. I will get Quinn and we can go for a walk, yes?”

Omega smiled as he backed away from his hold. The three quintessence ghouls often used to walk and spend time together. It was good to recharge every once in a while with others of his kind. When he was first summoned, it had been a great way for him to learn from the older quintessence ghouls and gain some valuable insight into life on Earth and how to deal with the humans here.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d sought them out and that said a lot, didn’t it? He had been too embarrassed about how bad it had gotten and he had known that they’d tell him he had to stop being a doormat.

“Thanks Zephyr, I will.”

He opened the door to Alpha’s cell and his friend looked up. He was sitting on the floor by his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. His guilt and his torment hit Omega as soon as he walked through the door. He had to take a steadying breath before it ended up consuming him. Alpha looked even worse than Omega had when he’d woken up that morning. His eyes were red and had lost their usual spark. Alpha’s dark hair was mussed from where he’d run his claws through it in stress, and his hands were shaking.