𝐅𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬... ❧ ᴏᴅᴜ / ɴᴄ & ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

🌾S1 CH. Ten; The Dawn Brothers

❧

"[Name]... Please drink your tea, it'll help clear your mind."
        You raise your groggy head to Sorrowful_Day– who currently sits across the table from you.
        His sad masked face stares back at you.
        Feebly, you raise your right arm to grip the handle of the teacup; raising it to your mouth, the slightly sweet, berry taste washes over your tastebuds.
       "Finally," the [PRIEST] sighs in relief, now looking to his right to gaze out the window.

It's been a whole day since the accident; after you fell to your knees, you don't remember anything that might have happened.
        You just remember waking up to see Sorrowful patiently waiting for you to do so. He informed you that Unstable brought you to the church, and that he (The Priest) then carried you to his residence which is right next to the church.
        After breakfast Sorrowful said that Unstable would collect your stuff at your residence before picking you up; you aren't sure if you like the idea of him going into your home searching through the wreckage for your duffle bag– but you're hardly in the position to tell them that.

"You're awfully quiet... You should talk, maybe it'll make you feel a bit better," the Priest suggests after a few minutes of silence goes by.
        You shrug in reply while your gaze stares into the small amount of tea that is left at the bottom of the cup.
       "This is part of life, don't blame yourself for it," he tells you, his voice growing sterner.
       "He was killed because of me... It's my fault," you answer quickly, lifting your hazy eyes to the operative. "It's only fair that I blame myself..."
       The Priest jeers as he leans back while folding his arms. Unsure of how to convince you otherwise, he retreats back into his own thoughts.

The next ten minutes are filled with a steady silence besides the clock ticking on the wall.
       You finish your tea at long last, and ignore the coldness in leaves in your throat as you bring your gaze back up to meet the gaze of Sorrowful.
      "Has he been staring at me this entire time?" You grimace at the thought; no matter how many times you've been stared at in your life, it isn't something you'll ever grow accustomed to.
        Sorrowful exhales as he unfolds his arms to rest them on the tabletop.
        "Do you have a farewell for the others you'd like for me to carry on to them?"
        A sincere gesture; but one that leaves you feeling miserable nonetheless. Especially knowing that the others probably despise you for being the only one present during Macabre's final breaths.
       "I doubt they want to see me, so why would my words mean anything?" You ask him in reply, the words coming out in a toned down sadness.
       "If they were truly angry with you, they would have hunted you down without remorse," Sorrowful remarks with a couple hard taps upon the table.
       You're not sure whether to feel less depressed when hearing that or even more so.
       "They all are feeling [SORROWFUL] over this, no one is angry with you. Please, understand that none of us views you as an enemy just because you were there," he informs you, his voice full of reassurance.
        If only he knew... That you've found friendship amongst the enemy ranks.
        Speaking of which, what happened to Powerless? After seeing his lifeless body, you automatically assumed the worst. But seeing that Emotionful even denied death once, must mean Powerless can as well?
         "What happened to both the dead [NIGHTS]?" You blurt out; on edge now because you didn't mean to let the inner thought change the subject.
          Sorrowful draws himself back into his seat as he gives you a puzzled head tilt.
          "Both? There was only one...?"
          A flicker of hope lights up within your heart; "could they really be alive?" you wonder, before you soon play the act of thinking there were two bodies.
         "Yeah, I was getting chased by two Nights and Macabre shot both of them..." You trail off in your lie, an instant regret of yours when realizing if he catches onto it, it'll be very bad. For both you and Powerless.
         "Well... [NIGHT OPERATIVES] do have certain regenerative abilities– maybe the other got up and took off," he suggests, breaking the intense eye-contact to now look out the window.
         "Oh! Here comes Unstable," he exclaims in mild surprise.
          You sigh heavily in relief– perfect timing so you didn't have to continue the risky conversation.
          Unstable is invited in, and you're in shock of his immediate attention to you.
          "[NAME]! YOU AWAKE!" he exclaims as he swiftly checks your condition up and down along with walking around you.
          He stops in front of you with a relieved expression; one that soon turns to that of stress.
          "I WORRIED ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT, HARD TO SLEEP."
          The pain in his voice breaks your heart. And yet knowing he cared so deeply about your well-being heals it again.
          "I'm okay now... Sorta," you manage to say, and he grabs you in a hug.
          You half expected to be crushed in his grasp; but this time around, he holds back for the sake of your incredibly sore body.
          Warmth radiates off their body, and you gratefully return the hug by wrapping your arms around him.
          His scent of cold air and bagels filling your nose causes you to voice a light chuckle.
          Behind the saddened mask of Sorrowful, a soft smile forms upon the operative's face; happy to see you smiling again.
         Unstable pulls away and reaches his hand up to tousle your hair like he always does and gives you a grin.
         "YOUR STUFF ALL PACKED, WE CAN DEPART NOW," he informs you whilst you retighten the bandages on your wrists.
          You give him a small nod, before you turn to Sorrowful to bid your farewells.
         "Thanks for taking care of me while I was out like a light," you tell him playfully, hoping the humor will help brighten the mood of the three of you.
          Sorrowful gives you gentle, and reassuring squeeze to your right shoulder.
         "Of course, you take care of yourself now."
         Unstable takes your hand to help support your unsteady steps to the door, and once outside you remember something.
        Your message to the others.
        Turning to the front door, you call out to Sorrowful before he closes it again.
        "Tell the others I said thanks, for their friendship..." You tell him, your voice soft as memories of the operatives ruminate in your head.
        "Sure thing, [Name]."
        And with that, you allow Unstable to lead you back to the aircraft docking area; attentive in making sure your bruised caves aren't causing you too much grief.
        All along the way, the two things that hurt the most is knowing that will be the last time you ever see Sorrowful, as well as the fact you can't say goodbye to the others.