STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

23. FIGHT OR FLIGHT

Cage cursed, but she was at a bad angle, unable to catch him in time.

Instead, Ponychael stuck forward, catching South's body with the top of his head, and Taylor's hand managed to cushion the fall slightly so he didn't hurt his neck as he abruptly stopped falling.

All three let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"What in the world..." Cage picked him up then, and sure enough, he was completely limp, asleep. "In the middle of talking and everything."

Taylor sighed, recomposing himself. "Is he okay?"

"He's... asleep. But that wasn't natural," Cage said. "I should bring him to someone to get him checked... or at least find out if this is normal, right?"

Ponychael grunted.

Cage carried South rather easily. No one was around right now— servants preparing breakfast, the knights training, and the coachman letting the horses out to graze. Maybe Cale would be at the main tent?

Ponychael stood up, neighing in protest, following after her as she wandered.

"Sheesh, don't worry, I'm just going to find somewhere he can lay down..."

South suddenly jerked.

"—expensive—!!"

Disoriented, South found himself in Cage's arms and— reasonably enough, realizing his arms were slightly constricted and in wildly different positions they were a second ago, he panicked.

Failing to recognize Cage so quickly, all he knew was that he'd been moved from his previous position by someone he didn't know, and it was, in hindsight, entirely reasonable to reach for the pin holding his hair up and slash.

"Cage!' Taylor called out, alarmed.

Cage couldn't avoid the elbow to her stomach as South fought to be let go, but the cut up her cheek from the needle burned enough for her to not try to catch his fall.

Neither of them expected South to fail the landing.

He stumbled on his feet— and his knees immediately buckled. Only after crumbling to the ground with a pained groan, did he weakly shove himself up on his elbows and look up to realize who that had been.

"...I," he seemed horrifically embarrassed now, "am so sorry."

Cage held her slightly bleeding cheek, "uh, no worries. Now I understand why the horse tried to stop me."

"I uh," his eyes were frazzled, he was sweating cold, and he was so disoriented he felt sick. But he managed to get into a vaguely sitting position and realized he'd injured her. So he lowered his head further, "I'm so sorry. I have no justification for what I did."

"No really, it's fine! It's just a shallow cut!" Cage assured, "it was my fault anyways uh– more importantly, are you okay? You suddenly fell asleep, and then you suddenly woke up. Are you sick?"

"Cage, are you okay?" Taylor had made his way over on his wheelchair.

"Yeah, it's nothing," she assured.

"I'll fix it!" South quickly said, clearly discomposed. It was one thing to cut down people that hurt him, Cage had done nothing wrong.

So he picked up the needle that had cut Cage's face, and inspected the blood dripping off the side. Then he brought it to his lips, and licked the blood off the side.

Cage and Taylor's jaws dropped.

Licking his lips clean, South willed something to occur.

Cage thought it was her imagination, when the burning in her cheek subsided— but she understood that was true when she saw something peel across South's face, exactly where he cut had been.

South's cheek split open before her eyes, and blood dripped down his chin, to his neck, and he caught it in his glove before it went too far.

"What just—" Taylor gasped.

"Did you—" Cage's blood ran cold. What kind of power was this?

"There," South tucked away his needle. "I'm sorry about that. Thank you for helping me, but I'm fine. I think it's better if I return to my duties now, so if you'll excuse me."

And he really did excuse himself quickly.

He hustled for Ponychael, and like he was making an escape, he jumped onto the horse's back and rode off in the direction of the grazing grounds.

Taylor and Cage could only stare, bewildered.

"...well," Cage said, when she managed to find her voice again. "I don't know how to describe it to you, Taylor, but the God of Death of very specifically quiet right now and I really want to punch something."