The Aftermath of Story Time

[wolfetracks]

WHO: Mission 2A Crew and friends?
WHAT: After being missing for a week, Sidney, Hajun and Shin finally show up again, in less than stellar condition. 
WHEN: August 18
WHERE: Fourth Floor Hallway, elsewhere??
WARNINGS: Immediate aftermath of dismemberment, animal death, blood, more to be added as needed

i. blinding light ( team 2a)

( this is not the library- and he was definitely not standing a moment ago. but sou is on the other side of a door, and haruka- where was she? was it... no, the wolf head was still there-- atsushi- he was still-- his arm...! it hurts. it burns and aches and he wants to let himself collapse but there's bloody paw prints and the feeling of fangs lingers in the back of his mind, so he can't, not yet. instead, he tenses up, reaches over to hold what's left of his arm and inhales. it takes him a moment to remember that this all started because they came to the fourth floor door and saw it open.)

What the actual fuck just happened?

ii. lost and found (dad polycule)

( eventually, the men will realize they're back at the school. at which point, sidney's sitting his ass on the stairs and sending one of the others to fetch elizabeth, because he did see that weird healing thing in june, and he's not getting any better standing around with a home-made tourniquet and whatever else. 

but while he's waiting, leaning against the wall and trying to even his breathing, stay awake, maybe someone else heard of their return- two someones, actually.  hopefully they aren't too bothered by the clearly bloody bundle beside him. as they rush up the stairs, he cracks one tired eye open- and sidney wishes he could even justify cracking a smile at the sight of them, but everything is happening so much, so much, so much. he's lucky he can force out a single sentance; )

I missed you both.

iii. wildcard 

Team 2A is back from their mission! Seeing as they were gone for the second week of the month, separate from everyone else's missions, there's probably a lot of immediate questions! Let's goooo. 

Comments

[carpevinum]

[The giant wolf head in the bundle is, frankly, the least of Lucifer's concerns right now; he's rubbing his temples and pacing now, not in the irritated way he'd normally do when someone pisses him off but in a way that says he's damn well about to lash out at the nearest person who thinks to even look at Sidney funny. He's worried, in the way that only a demon can be — with the promise of violence.

It's a strange day indeed when Lucifer falls silent save for the distressed battering of wings against the walls nearby, something he's not paying much mind to. And damn him for thinking that if they'd had a pact, if Sidney could've summoned Lucifer to his side, that he'd be alright—]

I'm no healer. Clamor, is there anything you can do in the meantime?

[What does he do? What does he do for one of the men he loves so deeply who just lost a limb to an unknown threat other than promise to kill everything he can get his hands on? Frankly, Lucifer doesn't know what to do other than that, and it's a pathetic, helpless feeling he'd rather not have. Sidney's weak and injured and infection is highly likely at this rate, assuming he doesn't already have something from being bitten by a giant multi-mouthed wolf — humans are fragile and easy to kill with something as simple as bacteria and, and—

You know who would know what to do in this situation? Literally anyone else Lucifer knows. For fuck's sake—]

The most I can do is something that removes sensation, or something that will stop damage from further progressing until Elizabeth arrives.

[Stated rather calmly for a man who is anything but.]

[sunstead]

[Oh yeah, he's going through all kinds of emotions right now. Sidney mentions that Elizabeth is on the way before he can sprint off, at least, but everything else he's saying...

It got the boy. It nearly got Sidney. He might be imagining an even larger and more horrifying wolf than it actually was... or maybe not. He's not about to check the bundle, with those implications. At some point while Sidney is talking Clamor allows himself to collapse a little, sitting next to him on the stairs and just... trying to keep it together. He's not crying, but he's getting close to it, and he's still not sure what to do with his hands, if he should try to help or if that would just make things worse...

He jolts up when Lucifer addresses him, though, giving the demon a deer-in-headlights look as he asks the same question Clamor has been asking himself. Is there anything he can do? What can he do?

He's still grappling with the shock, and that's probably why he ends up laughing, short and dry and helpless.]

Healing... hah! Wouldn't that be nice? If I'd studied something like that instead of making brooms and lamps... [he feels so useless right now, faced with the reality that the people he loves could be hurt or killed at any moment and what's he going to do about it? offer Sidney a cold box for whatever bloody thing he hacked off his assailant?

He sighs shakily, composure cracking as he drags a hand across his face. No... no, this isn't helping. He's only making this more difficult for Sidney, who's no doubt feeling worse than any of them right now.]

Sorry... I'm sorry, I— I can do a little healing. [not much, but surely better than nothing. he fumbles for his spellbook, rifling through the pages for something he really should've had the forethought to bookmark sooner.] It's going to be fine... Elizabeth will take care of you, I'm sure she'll be here soon. I can't really do much, but I can at least make it more comfortable... ah!

[If he had any further reassurances, Lucifer will just have to pick up the slack since he found the spell he was looking for. Clamor holds the book open carefully with one hand, extending his other to just barely brush the edges of the wound with his fingertips, a tiny galaxy of twinkling starlight and shadow slowly blinking into existence as he focuses.

... it's really not very effective, though. He's not kidding about being bad at healing. It'll maybe slow down the bleeding, hopefully relieve some pain. That's the absolute best Clamor can ask for.]

[wolfetracks]

( there's so little he can do to comfort them- all he can do is lean on clamor, gently sighing. even if he could say anything to make things better, it'd only last for a moment, and then everything would return. clamor is soft and solid though, it's comforting... he's so tired, but he can't sleep, not yet.

frankly, even with how tired he is, sidney doubts he'll be able to close his eyes without seeing blood and gore.

while they talk amongst themselves, he just... is. he's alive, and that's more than he expected- if it'd get the younger men back safely, he'd have accepted it. it's his duty, after all. but he's here, clamor beside him and lucifer before him. so... he might get a little sappy.

actually, no, he's gonna. )

Love you. Both of you.

( which is followed by him following clamor's hand with his gaze, watching the starlight- he's not been part of anything magic and benevolent, not that he can remember. even the trinkets of the manor were more distracting than anything. )

;_;

[carpevinum]

[There is a dead stop in Lucifer's pacing all of a sudden; those fluffed-out wings of his suddenly shift to lie flat against his back while he's... processing? Eyes wide, arms now moving to fold over his chest, Lucifer stares at the wall for a short moment before his head whips around and he focuses finally.]

...I love you both, too, [he murmurs, gaze softening,] but this is not the time to get sappy.

[He says, feeling just that, sure you big dumb softie. It's then that he decides to make himself at least somewhat useful, stepping behind the duo on the stairs and putting a hand on Clamor's as if to say that's enough, shortly before that same hand winds up on Sidney's shoulder and he incants. A small stasis spell only on the damaged area to keep things from progressing further until Elizabeth comes.

And with that, he sits behind them now, stretching his wings out and around the two like a blanket.]

Thank you. For coming back alive, I mean.

[sunstead]

[It's hard to process his own emotions when he's so focused on keeping Sidney alive. He flinches slightly at Lucifer's touch, tearing his eyes away from the bleeding arm to catch the look he's giving him, Clamor's own face etched with stress and concern. Hesitantly, he lowers his hand and lets the starlight fade, allowing Lucifer to take over...

It's fine... help is on the way. Everything is going to be fine.

Clamor attempts to relax as he leans into Sidney's weight, spellbook placed aside on the steps. Kinda wishing he'd sat on the side that still has an arm now... but he rests his head on the other man's shoulder, trying not to think about that detail, the way he's lighter than he should be. The wings that fold around them are warm and smell faintly of herbs. If it weren't for everything else, this... this would be nice. He'd like to stay like this.]

... Don't ever scare us like this again. [tired, more relieved than anything, but he still can't help but sound worried] You've been gone for days, Sidney. I was starting to think you... [you weren't coming back, but he can't even will himself to say that much, letting the words die in the air before cutting it off with a sigh.

In lieu of a hand to hold, he puts his own on Sidney's leg. Close enough... let him just sit like this for awhile, feeling Sidney's warmth and his pulse and the sound of his breathing.]

[wolfetracks]

Nearly died. Didn't. It's the perfect time to get sappy.

( still, clamor and lucifer are close- they're close, and they're okay, even if he isn't. he sighs softly, just closing his eyes slowly for a bit while he accepts the lean, the feathers around them...

he doesn't tell them he expected to die for the others' lives- that he has before, for other people. people lucifer's only seen as cold corpses against the walls and floor. instead, he just breathes. )

... Days? It... only felt like a couple of hours. But... I'll come back. I always will.

( maybe a little bruised, maybe a little broken- but he will. )

[carpevinum]

You're incorrigible, Sidney.

[This is not the time to get sappy! ...Lucifer had said, being just that literally seconds later. But Sidney's right, he's here now, and alive, though Lucifer and his need to be technical just has to add,]

You were gone for a week. When people go missing here, they normally either turn up dead or possessed somehow. [Or not at all.] Frankly, I was under the impression that you would never return to us. As morbid as it is, I'm rather glad it was just an arm.

[Both of them get very soft, lingering kisses against their cheeks now, hidden away behind a wall of black feathers like some ill-kept secret. Like everyone in the school hasn't seen the way these idiots look at each other.]

Welcome home, Sidney. Don't think to leave us again.