Nik nodded a little, shifting and forcing himself into a sitting position to make it easier for Eclipse. His entire body screamed in pain, and shadows seemed to swirl under his skin for a moment, the monster pushing at his weakened mind and body to try and escape.
Eclipse moved and scooped him up as gently as he possibly could, seeing the shadows beneath his skin. "Lets go." he said, standing up, ready to follow them.
Nik let out a soft whimper of pain, closing his eyes and cuddling close to Eclipse, his breaths ragged and bordering on sobs. Aron closed his eyes for a moment, then started walking, clearing a path with his sword as they made their way out of camp. He called the retreat, too.
Eclipse followed him carefully, dodging attackers and letting Aron handle them, his own ams full of the injured and hurting Nikolas. "You'll be okay sweetheart.." he mumbled softly, more for himself than anything.
Nik shook his head a little bit, burying his face in Eclipse's shoulder and breathing in his scent, still shaking and on the verge of tears. Whatever had been done, it seemed to have completely destroyed him. Aron led them over to where Errol was waiting.
At the sight of Nikolas in Eclipse's arms, Errol winced. "Come on." he said in his soft voice, and led them into a tent. "Put him on the bed, and stay here. I'll need you to help keep him calm while I work."
Eclipse nodded gravely, moving carefully as he followed Errol, moving ith the gentlest care as he set Nik down on an empty cot, though he didn't let go, gently, oh so gently brushing the other's hair outof his face, "Just hang in there alright? We'll get you patched up.."
Nik was shaking, golden eyes opening and fixing on Eclipse's face fearfully.
"Okay. Let's see what's wrong…" Errol gently pulled the shredded remnants of Nik's shirt away, and placed his hand and the stub on Nik's chest.
Eclipse stayed next to him, holding his hand gently, "You're gonna be alright sweetheart…" he said softly, biting back a whimper as Errol tore the rest of the other's shirt off, scared for him.
Errol removed his hands, closing his eyes for a moment. "Oh, sweet prince." he murmured, eyes soft and careful when he opened them again. He shook his head a little. He gently put his hand on Nik's injured leg. He glanced at Eclipse. "Be prepared. He might scream. Healing hurts him because of the curse." he began to heal Nik's injuries.
Nik whimpered brokenly, hand clamping down on Eclipse's.
Eclipse held him gently, holding back his own tears for the other, wanting nothing more than to take the pain away, nothing more than that as he watched Errol do his work.
Errol continued quietly, working on the worst of the injuries.
Nik started to cry softly, shaking and whimpering, his eyes squeezed shut.
Eclipse held his hand reassuringly, wanting to wrap him up and never let go, and he would as soon as Errol said he could. But for now he murmured comfort to the other as best he could, tryinghis best to stay strong and not cry, wanting the powerful Nikolas he met back at the peace camp to come back to him.
After a while, Errol finished up and stepped away, dropping his hands to his sides. "I've done all I can for now." he said quietly, eyes on Nikolas. He shook his head. "What they did to him…" he closed his eyes. "I can't imagine going through that."
Nikolas was crying softly, his hand still gripping Eclipse's as hard as he could.
Eclipse nodded, rapping his arms around the other gently, "I know.." he whispered, hugging the other tighter, upset by the whole thing. "How much would a sleep spell hurt him?" asked Eclipse softly, knowing the other needed rest.
Errol hesitated, then shrugged. "I don't know." he replied softly. "We have a sleeping drug that we used to use sometimes, when the monster was particularly bad." he sighed softly.
Nikolas leaned against Eclipse, still crying and clinging to him desperately.
Eclipse hummed, "What was it made of?" he asked, he knew a few sleeping spells, ones that gave deep and dreamless sleeps, but he needed to know what would force the monster to sleep too. "I'm an elemental, and I think I might be able to knock him out for awhile so he can sleep peacefully, but I need to know what effects I need to replicate.."
"Uhm…" Errol listed off the ingredients. "Knocked him out like a light. Can't do it every night, though. Like most drugs, it's addictive, and we didn't want him getting addicted to something."
Nikolas was shaking, crying still. He didn't want to let go. He didn't want to let go because he was scared it wasn't real, scared he would wake up and it would be a trick.
Eclipse nodded, "I think I can replicate it, minus the addictive qualities.." he said softly, "Benifits of being a luna elemental.." he held the other tighter instinctively, his eyes licking back down to him, "Hey…. you're safe, I'm not going anywhere, I promise." he said softly, hugging him tightly. "This is real, i promise."
Errol nodded a little. "Alright."
Nik whimpered softly, holding onto him tightly. He was still crying. He couldn't seem to be able to stop. He couldn't.
Eclipse nodded, before his attention became solely focused on Nik, "Nik… Nik, sweetheart, talk to me, please?" he said softly, moving to lie down on the cot with him, cradling the other on his chest as he fumbled to pull a moonstone out of his pocket. "Would you like to rest?" he asked softly, knowing e'd never do anything without consent while he was in this state.
Nik nodded a little, eyes squeezed shut and face buried in Eclipse's chest. "Y-yeah…" he whispered, clinging to Eclipse. Errol slipped out of the tent. Nikolas's throat felt tight. He cuddled as close to Eclipse as he could get, still crying.
"Errol mentioned something about a sleeping potion they gave you sometimes, right?"he spoke slowly, wanting to make sure the other understood and was okay with it, his hands rubbing at the tension in the other's muscles.
Nik nodded a little bit, shaking still. He looked nothing like the prince he had been only a month ago. His clothes were tattered and torn and stained. Bruises littered his fair skin. He was shaking. He was broken.
It was all Eclipse could do to keep his voice steady as the other shook, knowing the last thing he needed was more emotional baggage. "I can use my aura to make you sleep the same way if you want…" he said softly, hugging him, "I promise I won't let go of you till you wake, and even then, no one's taking you from me."
Nik nodded a little. "Can you… can you keep the dreams away, too?" He whispered. "Please?" His voice cracked a little, and his body shuddered with sobs that tore their way from his throat.