CW: V0m!t!ng, bl00d
TW: Self-h@rm, self-h@t3, mentions of attempted [sewerslide], t0x!c and @bv$!v3 relationships, and internalized $3x!$m.
It was midnight in Paxos island, and everyone in said island were asleep. Well, almost everyone.
Essie, Affie, and a woman with dark brown hair and green eyes wearing a pastel blue off-shoulder dress with long, bell sleeves that were so long that her manicured hands couldn't be seen unless she raised them and a silver, wheat-shaped headband who went by the name Circe stood in a secluded area of this Greek island.
"The trick to doing astral projection correctly and pulling it off without error, is to close your eyes and really think where you want to be." Circe said. "This is why the first thing I taught you when I started mentoring you two was meditation and focus. With focus and hard work, you can even go as far as back to your home in Philly, which is 8214.77 km from here. Now, who wants to try first?"
"I will." Affie said, immediately knowing where she wanted to go.
"Alright." Affie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Once she opened them, she was immediately in the living room of her house.
She first went upstairs to her parents' room, where both parties were sound asleep. The slumbering Sarv immediately rolled off her husband's arms and was about to fall off the bed, only for an unconscious Ruv to catch his wife and pull her back into his arms before she could.
Affie let out a quiet sigh of relief as her eyes trailed to the clock on the nightstand.
11:30pm
'Who knew it took 30 minutes to astral project to the place of your choice.' The golden-haired demoness thought to herself.
She then walked out of her parents' room before going to her brother's room, where the sound asleep Selever could be seen spooning the slumbering Penelope and Melody. Due to her and Essie being in Greece, they couldn't sleep with their daughters like they always do so her brother eagerly let them sleep with him instead.
Her lips twitched into a small smile, and she wished she had her phone or maybe loom with her. She wasn't as proficient at using it as her other mentor, Athena, was, but she still had some decent skill with it and she would love to make a tapestry out of this moment so she could hang it on the living room wall and tease the life out of her younger brother about it.
She giggled before walking out and going to her younger sister's room, where Rasazy could be seen asleep on her desk. The lamp was on and a book could be seen on the desk, indicating that she fell asleep reading a novel.
"You really need to stop falling asleep like this, sis." Affie muttered before using magic to pick her sister up and tucking her in bed.
She blew her sister a kiss before going to the house her grandparents lived in next door. Preparing herself for the potential worst, she took a deep breath before walking through the door and walking in her grandparents' bedroom, where only her grandmother could be seen slumbering in the bed.
She began to panic when she saw that it was just Rsch in the bed without Krus by her side.
Where is he?
Could he have k!ll3d himself while everyone else was asleep?
Before she could spiral even further into panic, she heard noises coming from the bathroom.
She walked through the bathroom door and nearly fainted at the sight.
Her grandfather was on his knees, hunched over the toilet with bl33d!ng cuts all over his arms and legs and a puddle of bl00d under a bl00dy kn!fe on the floor.
The toilet seat had v0m!t splattered all over it as the man d3gr@d3d himself in between v0m!t!ng.
Skurava and Lvrenski's ghosts appeared behind their son and hugged him.
"Stop it, son..." Skurava ch0k3d out in a sob; a rare occurrence for the middle-aged woman. "Please..."
"Listen to your mother, Krus." Lvrenski said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I know this is hard, I know you're hurting, but doing this will make it hurt even more."
"I deserve it." Krus said bluntly, dizzy from the loss of bl00d and feeling like his throat was on fire due to the amount of times he v0m!t3d.
"You don't." Skurava objected. "You deserve better."
"I can't do this." Krus teared up. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep living. I'm so tired. I want this to end...Am I selfish for that? Am I asking for too much?"
"No and no." Lvrenski answered. "I know you're tired of the 'endless' cycle of being subject to t0x!c and sometimes even borderline @bv$!v3 relationships, being left and/or hvrt by those you cared about when you needed them most, h@rm!ng yourself mentally and physically, and wallowing in d3pr3$$!0n and self-h@tr3d, but [sewerslide] and self-h@rm aren't the answers, no matter how difficult and saddening life can be."
Tears rolled down Krus' cheeks. "Then what is?"
"Telling them." Skurava answered.
"I can't."
"Why not?" Lvrenski questioned.
Tears dripped down on the floor and mixed in with the puddle of bl00d. "I'm a man. I'm not supposed to cry or show weakness. Besides, they won't believe me anyway."
Affie spoke up. "Even if praded and prababushka were born in the early 1900s and lived through most of WW2, they still believe you and they don't judge you for crying and being vulnerable."
She went over to her grandfather and kneeled down to his level as he turned to her. "Also, society's changed; this isn't the 1900s anymore and $3x!$m isn't as prevalent now as it most likely was back then, so it's not just your parents who believe you."
Her eyes glowed purple as she used magic to clean up the mess and to heal her grandfather's cuts. "I believe you and I'm not judging you; Essie, Selever, Melody, and Penelope know and they believe you and aren't judging you either. As for mom, dad, and babushka, they'll believe you. Maybe dad won't care, but they won't judge you and neither will he. I know it."
She then used her magic to put her grandfather to sleep. "Get some sleep, dedushka. You need it."
She teleported her grandfather to his room as he passed out, following her great-grandparents as they went to their son's bedroom.
Skurava kissed her now slumbering son on the forehead as she and her husband sung him the lullaby that they'd always sing to him when he was a child.
"We love you so much..." Skurava sung. "We'll do anything for you..."
"And make sure you won't get hurt
By anything or anyone
We will be here to protect you."
"We want you to know that you are loved..." Lvrenski sung. "Our love for you and your sister does not have bounds..."
"We'll always love you through thick and thin
No matter what
Even if we..."
"End up 6ft under the ground..." Both husband and wife sung. "We'll always love you no matter what..."
"When the time comes
We'll be here, not physically but in your heart
And even though we'll end up d3@d
It will be worth it if it means you're alive and safe
We'd gladly risk our lives for you
We'd do anything for your happiness
You are the best things that's ever happened to us
And it breaks our hearts whenever we see you sad
And when you cry
Please never forget that we are here for you
And we'll wipe your tears
We'll walk through thunderstorms
And walk through blizzards
Just to keep you safe
We love you, our dear children
There is no need to be sad when you are with us
We'll protect you with all our might
Our love knows no bounds
We'll endure even the coldest of winters
We'll give you all of our clothes
Just to keep you warm
We love you, our dear children
There is no need to be sad when you are with us
Our love knows no bounds
You are the best things that's ever happened to us
And it breaks our hearts whenever we see you sad
And when you cry
Please never forget that we are here for you
And we'll wipe your tears
We love you so much
We'll do anything for you
And make sure you won't get hurt
By anything or anyone
We will be here to protect you
Now and always."
"Goodnight, мой сын (my son)." Skurava said with a bittersweet smile.
"We love you and we always will..." Lvrenski professed tearfully. "So please don't go."
They turned to Affie and mouthed a "thank you" to her. She mouthed a "you're welcome" in reply as she faded away.
"Are you alright?" Circe asked. "You're pale and you look like you saw something tr@vm@t!c."
'If seeing your grandfather v0m!t!ng and bl33d!ng isn't tr@vm@t!c, I don't know what is.' Affie said in her mind.
"I'm fine...but I'm tired."
"That's normal for your first time." Circe snapped her fingers, summoning a portal. "Goodnight, or should I say; good morning, Affie."
Affie smiled and bid her sister and mentor good night before walking through the portal.
Circe turned to Essie. "Ready to try next?"
***
Sometime later, Affie, was wearing a purple top, a yellow leather jacket, purple shorts under yellow stockings and black ankle boots, fell to the ground and hit the wall. She groaned and winced as she clutched the bl33d!ng gash on her head.
She had been lost in thought; what happened in Paxos still fresh in her mind and playing in her head all over again, while she, Essie, and Athena were having a training spar and wasn't able to dodge a hit from either Essie or Athena in time.
Her older sister, who was wearing a blue top, an orange coat, denim pants, and white sneakers and had her naturally shoulder-length hair tied in a half-up, immediately ran over to her and used her magic to heal her as she leaned on the other woman.
"Are you alright?" Essie inquired.
"I'm fine..." Affie muttered weakly. After a couple minutes of silence, Affie's mind cleared up and she felt well enough to sit up and Athena, who was wearing a yellow keyhole top, black denim jeans, and brown high-knee boots, spoke up.
"Are you alright now?"
"I'm fine."
"That's a relief, but what happened? You never space out like that during our training spars. Did something happen in Paxos or somewhere else recently?"
"It's...complicated."
"It's about dedushka...isn't it?" Affie turned to Essie.
"Praded and prababushka told you?"
"Yes, they did."
"I had a feeling they did, and to answer your question, yes; it is. I couldn't bear to see him in pain like that and knowing that I wasn't in my body and couldn't hug him or give him a pat on the back was like a kn!f3 to my heart."
"I can see that." Essie turned to Athena. "Would it be alright if we went home early."
Athena gave them a concerned smile. "Of course. The both of you stay safe, alright?"
A/N: I picked Paxos as the setting in the beginning of the story because it's one of the places some theorize as Circe's home, as the name for her home is given but it's never consistently stated where.
Btw, no, my depiction of Krus does NOT have an 3@t!ng d!$0rd3r; forced v0m!t!ng is one of the ways he "punishes" himself and I also wanted to break the stereotype of only women being in terrible relationships, hence why it's implied he's been in many bad relationships in the past. Sorry for making you suffer so much, Krus. I promise I'll make things better for you eventually.
Lyrics written by me; if you want to use in your fanfics, pls credit.