broken heart-strings (seer x embalmer, +more ships apparently)

four

A small gasp escaped his lips, as he got into a crouch. I did the same, watching his movements. His hands were soft, but they moved with caution, telling me all the past they'd been through without the words actually tied in, as his hands started to scale the walls.

I wondered what exactly he was doing, but all of that turned straight to undying fear when a siren went off in our ears.

"Well, this is what we get for fucking up a match!" Naib yelled, trying to turn his uneven breathing into a laugh. He might act calm and irrational, but it's no doubt that anyone here isn't scared.

I sighed, standing up. Emma shot me an unsure look, but i just kept at what I was doing. I just started walking in the direction of the heavy footsteps. I wasn't sure what hunters they sent, but I did know for a fact that they would beat us up pretty well before sending us back. I also know that we would probably be banned from matches for awhile.

Well... Aesop is the only one who did anything. So he... had enough strength to... knock them out...?

Why was he so angry? How did he do that? How did he... knock those two hunters out?  He had to have had help from the other three, I guess.

I just shrugged and kept walking, feeling a bit bad that I left the other three behind. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, as I continued to slowly walk away. Everything was silent except the pounding in my ears.

"ELI, WAIT!"

The quiet yell from behind me, made my body freeze up. A small smile made its way onto my face, as I spun around. There stood Emma, Naib, and Tracy. They were all standing there, weapons in hand. Tracy had her robot, Naib had a piece of wood, and Aesop had a pipe. I just rolled my eyes and smiled.

"how did you get that? You're breaking the rules." I laughed gently. Naib took a step forward, a giant smile on his face. "Shut up, and let us help you, you fucktard!" he laughed. I just giggled gently. "Of course, baby doll."

He smiled widely at me, making me smile right back.

"Let's do this shit then."

-:-:- third person -:-:-

The groan escaped his lips, as he turned over. Everything in his body hurt, soft hands sitting on his torso.

The person they belonged to skipped dinner to stay with him, especially in his awful state.

They all had tried so hard, but Joseph beat the shit out of them. It would've been okay, but... Leo Beck woke up in the middle of it.

He pulled the poor boy into a corner and beat him far past repair. Surprisingly, Joseph had to rip the other hunter off and carry the boy back to the manor himself.

Leo Beck really did hate the poor soul.

"Please wake up soon. I always say I hate you, but the manor really is boring without your stupid jokes..." a female voice mumbled from the back of the room.

Aesop glances behind him, seeing that Emily was standing there. For some reason, unknown to him, there were tears running down her face.

She just... couldn't stop thinking about what she had said to him before all the happened.

"Let's get out of here, idiot. Focus on deciphering."

They weren't that bad, but the harsh tone and the sad look on his face after made her cry. She just pushed herself from the doorway, walking over to the bed.

She had to take care of him, since he was so beat up, but she also needed to eat. Well... everyone did.

"Aesop..." she started, not knowing exactly how to word what she was about to say. The boy just kept his hand on the passed out boy's stomach.

"It's been two days..."

Her hand fell on his shoulder, but he flinched, so she just took a step back and shoved them into the brown pouches on her dress.

"So?" he snapped back.

The arms of anxiety pierced through his flesh, penetrating deep between his shoulder blades and taking hold of his spine. It shook the rod of bone, making him take a short, sharp intake of breath.

Tears stung his eyes, but he just bit his lip. Blood bubbled at the surface, and started to slide down. A few tears managed to escape from their stone prison as well.

"I don't need to eat, I need hi-"

The boy cut himself off. He couldn't continue. Small, shallow gasps turned into deep sobs, as he clenched the material of fabric above his chest.

He heaved for air, not seeming to be able to get any into his shallow lungs. Everything hurt, as his vision started going blurry. Black clouded the clear vision, making it to hard to navigate.

He just fell from his chair, beside Eli's bed, straight to his knees. Everything in him hurt, and he didn't know why.

Emma's worried voice came in and out of his mind, everything sounding underwater. He was drowning.

Drowning in his worry.

Drowning in the strange feeling of happiness around the one he claimed to hate for so long.

Drowning in himself.