"Hey! Let go of me!" Cas struggled to get free, but was nowhere near strong enough to pull away from the goddess. "We don't live with Halm anymore, obviously… he did some stupid shit that fucked all of us up."
Nix whimpered quietly, the fur on his tail puffing up in fear. He kept quiet just in case, but he was clearly still scared.
"I don't get way. Gods do stuff like that all the time to humans." Ethal some calmly, still pulling Cas towards the bathroom. Zachary was frozen still. He- he needed to help Cas, but he… He couldn't get himself to move.
"And I'm not going to until you've been washed up."
"It's okay, Nix, we're almost done, you're doing so good sweetie." Serna spoke gently, keeping her eye on the control screen of the machine.
"That's not your place! Just leave me alone!" Cas tried to pull away from Ethal again, growing increasingly distressed. "I'm scared of water, okay?! Let go!"
Nix whined shakily and flattened his ears back against his head, starting to tremble more violently.
Ethal got Cas into the bathroom, closing and locking the door.
"Oh calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. Why the hell would you be afraid of water? Humans are made of it for crying out loud!" Ethal turned Cas's towards herself, starting the water and beginning to strip Cas down.
The wind continued, crescendoing before eventually dying down. Serna turned to Nix, scooping him up in her arms and out of the machine.
"You did so good," she praised gently, holding Nix close. "See? All better."
"H-Hey! Stop it!" Cas tried to push Ethal away again, clearly beginning to panic as the goddess took his clothes from him. "I can't swim! And I already did here, okay?! That didn't help with the water thing! Leave me alone!"
"Y-Yeah…" Nix huddled close to Serna, still very tense and stressed, but feeling considerably better.
Ethal turned the water off, picking Cas up once he was fully unclothed before pushing him down into the water part way.
"Oh, shush! This be good for you!" She pinned Cas in place with one arm, grabbing a shampoo bottle.
Serna rubbed Nix's back gently, cradling him in his arms.
"Your were so, so good with that…" She gently rested her head on his.
Cas screamed in terror and tried to escape, but Ethal was forcing him to stay in. "W-What the hell is wrong with you?! Let go of me! HELP!!"
"Mm…" Nix buried his face in Serna's shoulder, curling his tail around her arm again. "T-Thank you, miss Serna…"
"Stop whining and we'll get this over quicker, if you're so scared!" Ethal poured some shampoo on her hand. She pinned Cas in place with that arm, grabbing a cup with the other to pour water over Cas's head so she could wash it. She hummed faintly, starting to scrub the shampoo into Cas's hair.
Serna nodded a bit. She gently rubbed Nix's back, unable to hear Cas's cries for help.
"You're welcome, sugar…"
Cas choked and sputtered when Ethal pushed him down, his head falling beneath the surface of the water for a second. "S-Stop! Please!" He started breathing more quickly, his face paling as he sobbed.
"Should… should we head back now? Or is there something else we should do so I don't get sick again?"
"Hey, we're almost done," Ethal chided. She rinsed the soap out of Cas's hair, careful not to get it in his eyes. She grabbed the soap and washcloth now, lathering it before started to wash Cas's body. She made sure to keep his head above the water, the tub deep enough for the eight foot Serna.
"We're all done." Serna smiled a bit, patting Nix's back.
"Here, why don't I get you a treat? You earned one."
Cas whimpered weakly, a few fresh tears rolling down his cheeks as Ethal dragged him around. "P-Please… just go away…"
"Okay! What kinda treat?" Nix asked curiously, purring a bit when Serna pet him.
Ethal hummed, ignoring Cas's pleas as she washed him. She was surprising gentle with it, but that didn't change anything. Eventually she lifted Cas out, wrapping him up in a towel to dry him off.
"See, that wasn't so bad!"
Serna thought a moment.
"How about some chicken?" She suggested.
"GET OUT!" Cas pushed Ethal away and huddled up on the ground in his towel, still sobbing quietly. He definitely needed a few minutes before he was ready to talk to anyone again.
Nix smiled brightly and nodded. Chicken was one of the few 'people foods' that Cas occasionally allowed him to have.
Ethal watched Cas a moment, then shrugged. She unlocked the door, stepping out. She'd done what she needed to. She made her way back out to the living room, taking her human up in her lap and sitting down.
Serna nodded, opening the door back to the house.
"Chicken it is!" She smiled gently.
Cas stayed in the bathroom for about twenty minutes struggling to calm down before he finally got up, dried himself off, got dressed, and left the bathroom. He was still crying softly and refused to speak. He crawled into Zachary's lap and buried his face in the other's shoulder.
Serna was taking care of Ethal's human for her, unfortunately, Ethal sitting in the living room still and waiting. Zachary just barely managed to wrap his arms around Cas, holding the human so close to himself.
Cas hiccuped weakly and buried himself further, trembling violently. He was still clearly very upset and he refused to look at Ethal at all. He had several bad memories with her know.
Zachary was trembling as well, hand going to to Cas's head. Cas was more important now. Ethal- he had to get Cas away, before she tried anything else. He pulled his hands away momentarily to wheel them into their own room. He closed and locked the door, wrapping himself around Cas again.
"I… I'm so-orry…" He tucked Cas's head under his chin, holding him so close.
Cas sobbed quietly into Zachary's chest, clinging to the other for dear life. While he did definitely smell better, he wasn't at all happy about it.
Zachary held Cas tightly, hand tangled in his hair.
"I'm so sorry…" Zachary closed his eyes, refusing to let go.
Cas hiccuped a couple more times as he clung to Zachary, tightly gripping the fabric of the other's shirt. "W-Why did she— d-do that?" He whimpered.
Zachary opened his eyes again, grip tightening.
"I… S-she's a horrible… Horrible g-godess…" He trembled a bit.
Cas nodded weakly. "S-She's the one who made Halm claim me to begin with… she was strangling me…"
Zachary tensed a bit at that. He slowly reached up, motioning to his chest.
"She- she- I died, her." She's the one who killed him.
"She killed you…?" Cas asked in a weak whisper. "I… I hate her… she's an asshole and… and she's fat overstepping her boundaries…"