@Fraust
"We need her to come here so we can talk to her… um… what was her name?" Nix asked, looking up at Halm.
"We need her to come here so we can talk to her… um… what was her name?" Nix asked, looking up at Halm.
"Her name is Serna. She would most likely bring you back with her when she comes." Gloria looked up between Nix and Halm.
"But how would I be getting there in the first place? I can't exactly get anywhere when I'm this size."
"Actually, you can. Here-" Halm reached out, touching Gloria's forehead. In a moment, Gloria has curred up into a ball, like the ones they had been harvesting earlier. Unlike those, however, she was floating.
"Uh… how is that supposed to help?" Nix asked, looking at Gloria curiously as he tapped her with one finger.
Gloria gently bobbed when Nix tapped her.
"She can travel very quickly now," Halm explained. He carried Nix and Gloria out of the house, standing close to the door.
"Head in that direction," Halm instructed Gloria. "I'll be able to help you if you get lost." With that, he sent Gloria on her way. She hesitated a moment, then took off.
"Alright… we should head back to Cas now. I think he's doing something…" Nix rubbed at his arms uneasily. "He must have woken up."
Halm nodded.
"Yes, let's." He headed back inside, costing the door carefully behind him. He carried Nix back to Cas's bedroom, quietly opening the door.
Cas was awake by the time they came back in and seemed to be scratching at his forearms while he sobbed quietly. "Cas, stop!" Nix jumped out of Halm's arms to go over and try to stop Cas.
Halm hurried towards Cas, he took Cas's hands in his own, looking down at his arms to see just how badly he was hurt.
"We're right here, Cas," Halm said quietly.
Cas didn't seem to have had enough time to do a ton of damage, but he was noticeably bleeding. "Shhh… you're alright…" Nix whispered, gently running his fingers through Cas's hair. Cas's cried softly, not even trying to pull away from Halm.
Halm carefully let go of one of Cas's hands. He reached out, already going to heal Cas.
"Everything will be okay, Cas. We're here for you."
Cas whimpered weakly, but otherwise didn't reply. Nix sighed and curled up against him, holding him close up himself.
Halm wrapped his arms around Cas and Nix both. He held them gently, his hands going back to Cas's.
Nix looked up at Halm with a defeated expression. Cas's hands trembled violently in Halm's and he didn't seem to be relaxing very much.
Halm looked defeated as well. He held Cas gently.
"You're safe, Cas," he said. He just wanted Cas to be okay.
"H-How do you know? Zachary's fucked up somehow and there's nothing any of us can do about it." Cas sobbed quietly into Nix's chest.
"We can help him get better," Halm said quietly. "He's not going to be like this forever." Halm closed his eyes a moment, hating to see how broken Cas was.
"W… W-What am I supposed to do without him? I n-need him!" Cas wailed, looking over at Zachary and trying to shake him. "Wake up! You c… you c-can't… please… I need you…"
Halm reached out to stop Cas from waking Zachary up, but it was too late. Zachary slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Cas, his eyes shattered. He did his best to sit up, motion shaky. He opened his mouth to try to say something, but he couldn't.
Cas started crying harder at the sight of Zachary's eyes, clearly completely unsure what to do. "Shh, shh, it's alright…" Nix hugged Cas tighter and buried his face in his hair.
Zachary really shouldn't have been waken up, but it was too late now. Halm carefully helped Zachary up. Zachary tried to reach out for Cas, but his hand was shaking too much. Halm gently took Zachary's hand in his own, helping to guide it to rest on Cas.
Cas hesitated before shuffling over to Zachary and huddling up against him as he struggled to stifle his sobs. "I'm s-sorry…" He whispered with a broken, hopeless tone.
Zachary's motions were like that of a baby; exaggerated, hard to control. He wrapped his arms around Cas as best he could, holding him close. He shook his head. Cas had nothing to be sorry for. Zachary rested his head on Cas's, not able to kiss him any more. He just didn't have the control.
Halm held Nix still, watching with concern. He helped Zachary when he could, but kept his distance now.
Cas kissed Zachary's cheek softly and buried his face in the other's chest while he sobbed. Nix turned his ears back and looked away guiltily.
Zachary managed to at least rub Cas's back, but the motion was a bit shaky. He held Cas close, letting out just little sounds of assurance. He couldn't form words.
Halm wrapped his arms securely around Nix, holding him close. He wanted to help Nix feel better, but how could he? They were the ones who did this…
Cas clung tightly to Zachary, savoring the small amount of affection he was able to get from him at the moment. "I-I love you…" He whispered.
Nix tucked his head under Halm's chin and fell silent.
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