CW: blood, aftermath of fight, denial, grief, cages, kidnapping, death threats, panic attack (lemme know if I missed anything)
Roman didn't even wait for the carriage to stop before jumping off of it, rushing over to where a large group of people were. They had heard the gunshot from far away, and it was after it echoed that the witch had felt Virgil's panic fade into nothing.
He had to be okay, he had to be alive! He had to be there, Roman didn't feel him anywhere in the large group of people but Virgil had to be there! The bond was wrong, that was the only explanation, Virgil was there and he was okay.
The witch pushed his way through the crowd, several people were wrapping up injuries for others, giving each other water, some were crying and others were angry. What the hell happened? And where was Virgil?
He saw Logan pressing a gauze into Mr. Johnson's forehead, clearly trying to stop the bleeding since there was blood all over their hands and running down Johnson's face. The alchemist looked up, and when he saw Roman a sad expression crossed his face, almost answering the burning question.
"Where-where is he?" Roman asked, choked by fear.
"Oh Roman..." Logan sighed, letting go of the gauze as Mr. Johnson took it. He walked over and held out his arms to the witch, but Roman just took a step back and shook his head more.
"Where is he, Logan?"
"I'm sorry... I-"
"Logan!" Patton called, people making way as he came through. Several looked over as Remus and Janus followed him, but others didn't blink or look twice as they continued to lick their wounds. To them they just looked like more strangers.
Logan's expression somehow fell even more, his shoulders slumping as tears started to gather into his eyes. Patton's eyes widened in fear as the alchemist looked away in shame.
"I'm sorry," he told them. "I-I... I came out here as fast as I could. But he was gone by the time we arrived."
"Where is he?!" Roman shouted, looking around desperately. He tried focusing on the bond, but Virgil wasn't in town. It felt like he was moving further away but that couldn't be true, please don't let it be true, Virgil couldn't-
Miss Kayda stepped forward, putting a bandaged hand on Logan's shoulder. Blood covered the white bandages that were on her knuckles, a clear sign she fought hard. "They took him," she said bluntly.
"They... they took him?" Patton asked, his voice small.
Kayda hugged herself, holding her arms. "I'm so sorry dear. We all fought the hunters, god if I had known I never would have let Virgil even step foot into town while those... those monsters were here."
"None of us would have," Mr. Johnson spoke up. "I should have fought."
"You were the first to be hit, it's just a good thing they decided to hit you with a rifle instead of shooting. Luckily they didn't shoot anyone, but they did threaten to."
"He's... he's not here..." Roman finally admitted to himself, placing a hand to his chest as his heart broke into pieces. Virgil was gone, the monster hunters took him, they took him! "They... they..." He blinked his eyes as tears started to form. They were going to hurt him, they probably already have.
"Roman?" Remus called, stepping forward and putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
Roman's hand formed into a fist, grabbing his shirt. He nodded. "Yeah. Because I'm going to find them, and I'm going to get him back."
"How are you going to find them? You have no idea where they're taking him!" Kayda said.
The witch looked over to her as his eyes flashed red. "I'll find him with my magic. No matter how far apart we are, I can feel him. I'm not going to lose him."
Instead of becoming fearful, Kayda smiled, which was a pleasant surprise. "Then I'm helping you."
"Remus, Janus, you two have the most experience with messing with monster hunters. We're going to need your help."
Remus smiled wide. "Let's fuck up these hunters."
~~~
Virgil woke up with a groan, his whole body sore and his head buzzing. He was groggy as he tried to force his eyes open, realizing that he wasn't lying down but instead sitting up.
He blinked his eyes as he saw bars in front of him. His arms were suspended above his head, keeping him sitting up on his knees. He lifted them, wincing as he removed pressure from them, steel cuffs keeping hold on them. Better than iron he supposed, though they had those black crystals on them that kept him from using his magic.
What was going on? What was he doing here? Looking around some more, he was in a carriage. A few other cages were stuffed in there, but he was the only living thing inside. It felt like the carriage was moving since he was jostled every now and then. He did his best to avoid touching the bars, he did not want to find out what they were made out of.
He blinked tears out of his eyes, now just realizing that he was crying. He tugged at the chains that held his arms, gasping at the feeling of fear and grief that came from somewhere. Oh... oh no, they're coming from Roman! What only made the situation worse was the fact that he realized his necklace was missing and was replaced with a steel collar. The one thing he had left from his fairy parents!
He pulled at the chains harder, panic setting in as he remembered everything. Monster hunters captured him, people were hurt trying to save him, and Roman was getting further and further away from him!
"Ro-Roman," he called, tears falling down harder as he pulled and tugged. He didn't have his cloak, the hunters tore it away earlier and revealed his feathers. His wings widened as he tried to pull free, and one of them hit the bars. He shouted in pain as it burned, quickly pulling his wings closer to himself. He looked over to see some of his feathers burned black, an ashy gray covering them as red cinders cooled. Iron.
He gasped in fear as the carriage started to slow down. He tugged harder and harder, he needed to get out of there! Who knows what the hunters were going to do to him, they could take his wings and magic away from him!
The carriage came to a stop and people were moving outside. There was clicking and the carriage door opened, two men walking in. Virgil tried to swallow back his sobs as he glared at them. One had a gun on their back, the other had one in their hand and pointed it at the fairy.
The first one pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the cage. He pulled out a canteen before reaching out towards Virgil. The fairy flinched back and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a hand grab his jaw and pull him forward.
"You're going to behave now, unless you want a lead bullet in ya," the hunter threatened. "This is water, and it's all you're getting for now. So drink up."
Virgil whimpered when he felt the canteen pressed against his lips, but allowed the water to go down his mouth. It tasted old, and like dirt, but his throat hurt and it soothed the pain. It was pulled away too fast from him, he did not get nearly enough water, but it was something at least.
The hunter shut the cage loudly, making the fairy flinch harshly. It was locked and the hunter put the ring of keys on his belt before he, and the other hunter turned to leave. Virgil looked outside the open door and saw the sky was dark, it was already night! The door closed, shutting him away in deeper darkness and locking away the stars and moon.
It didn't take long for Virgil's breathing to grow unsteady. Fear and hopelessness settled in deeper, making the tears come faster and soon enough he couldn't breathe. It felt like his throat was closing up, and his body shook hard, but he couldn't touch the bars or it'll burn him.
Roman was oh so far away, he was angry, scared, and upset, and he wasn't there. He couldn't save Virgil this time, no one could. His arms hurt, and he felt so weak and he was crying too hard and he couldn't breathe. The burn on his arm ached and he just wanted to lay down, he wanted to be held by Roman and Patton. He wanted to laugh with them or be nervous about telling Kayda about his wings but a good nervous where he was safe and comfortable with food in his stomach!
But he was alone, he was in the dark, cold and hungry and scared for his life. They... they were going to kill him. Oh stars... they were going to take his wings away from him and he was going to die.