Some of you may have noticed that I've begun editing my older stories. I'm happy to say I've been able to add a bit of something new to each story, with one in particular being fleshed out quite a bit (it went from 300-ish words to over 700).
Anything that uses 'chapter' instead of 'part' in the title has been edited, so give those a re-read alongside this if you want to~
Chapter Warnings: Character death, blood (marrow), swearing
***
Rurik was woken by the sound of muffled footsteps downstairs. Assuming it was Lotus puttering about in the kitchen, he rubbed the sleep from his sockets and glanced at the clock on his phone. The display read 1:13 am.
Lotus usually doesn't get up to make breakfast until six. Maybe he had a nightmare or something... well, he's not in here pestering me to wake up, so it must not be that bad. I might be able to catch a few more hours of shuteye before I have to get up.
As he rolled over to go back to sleep, he heard a muffled voice... one that was far too low and rough to be his companion's.
With his senses now on high alert he jumped out of bed, snatching his knife holster off the nightstand in the process, and crept to the door.
Pushing the door open slightly, multiple hushed voices joined the footfalls. Through the landing's balusters, beams of light could be seen sweeping around the first floor.
Dammit, some dumbasses broke into the house. So much for sleep...
Easing the door open enough for him to slip through, Rurik snuck out onto the landing. He tensed as a nearby shadowed figure startled at his entrance onto the landing. Before he could lash out, though, the dim shine of a solitary red eye light revealed it was only Lotus. His silhouette was barely recognizable without his scarf and cloak, a black hoodie and sweatpants making up his sleepwear.
Those clowns must have woken him too.
Lotus seemed to visibly relax as well, going back to watching the scene below from his spot overlooking the first floor... though his eye light and the barely audible rattle of bones still gave away his nerves. Keeping low, Rurik took up a spot next to the smaller.
Catching each other's glances, Lotus pointed down, held up five fingers, then shifted the scythe next to him and held up two fingers.
Five intruders, two armed.
I'd be fine down there, but Lotus' scythe is too unwieldy to use in the house. He should avoid close combat. Sniping from the upper landing with bone constructs should work.
Rurik silently relayed his plan, waiting for Lotus' nod of confirmation before standing up and pulling his knife free from its holster. He wouldn't bother with the stairs. A quick drop onto his first target would give him the element of surprise and preferably send the rest into a panic.
The armed skeleton vaulted over the railing once a shadow got into position below, landing square on top of them and smirking at the startled yelp they produced, sinking his knife into its target. Yanking the knife out, he found his footing and scanned his surroundings for the next closest target. A whoosh beside him let him know his first victim was a monster. Now, it was a sad pile of dust.
Four left.
Four figures rushed toward him, one stopping short as another next to them was impaled by a set of jagged bones, dusting moments later. Risking a glance upward as he parried a knife strike, the skeleton spotted Lotus preparing a second volley of bones to attack the intruders.
Unfortunately, the one that stopped had broken off to make his way up the stairs.
"Lotus, incoming!" Rurik warned to his partner, quickly focusing back on his own two enemies.
One slashed at him with what appeared to be claws, prompting him to sidestep their attack and plunge the knife into their back, earning a satisfying howl of pain and another whoosh of dust.
Two more.
This enemy was much quicker than the other, matching Rurik's counters and dodges with his own. If it weren't for the fact that he was fighting for his and Lotus' life, this might have actually been a fun sparring match.
Pity I have to kill this guy-
"Rurik, up!" Lotus' voice cut through his focus, the panic laced in it jarring him from the rhythm he'd fallen into.
Looking up, the warning allowed him to just barely avoid the enemy that had intended to drop down for a sneak attack.
He rounded on the new enemy, only to grunt as a knife tore into his right shoulder from the figure he'd been fighting previously. He slashed outward to gain some distance, hissing at the flash of pain the movement caused.
The enemy attempted to advance once more, jumping back as jagged bones rained from the upper landing. The jumper cried out as one of the bones stabbed into their right leg, pinning them into the floor.
Rurik lunged forward, finishing the job and leaving the final enemy standing in the dust-strewn living room.
Last one.
As Rurik stepped forward, the remaining figure thought better of his situation and bolted for the door, wrenching it open and disappearing into the night.
Rurik stomped toward the open door, gripping the frame. He grumbled, "Yeah, run like the coward you are! Next time, stay out you piece of shit."
He inspected the door, finding the lock was scratched up and broken beyond repair, "Great, that'll need to be replaced."
A dim light clicked on behind him as he slammed the door closed. He turned to see Lotus rushing from his now-illuminated bedroom and down the stairs with a white box under his arm.
Flicking the living room's light switch on as he hit the ground floor, the small skeleton strode over to the couch, "Come sit down, Rurik."
"I'm fine," Rurik replied automatically.
Lotus glared at him, clenching the handle on top of the box, "You're injured. I know you don't like it, but no matter how tough you are you still need to get that wound treated so it doesn't become infected."
"I'm. Fine," the taller skeleton bit out as he glared right back.
Lotus closed his sockets, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly before opening them once more, "Rurik, please."
Rurik debated refusing a third time... but the way the smaller's glare fell into something sadder drained the will to argue out of him. With a huff of resignation, he made his way over and flopped onto the couch next to his partner.
Lotus pulled aside the strap of the taller's black tank top to get a better look at the injury, which was now slowly leaking marrow.
"Hmm...," his sockets furrowed as he mumbled, "it looks like the cut's almost completely through your collarbone." Pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball, the small skeleton unscrewed the cap, tipped the bottle against the cotton, and capped the bottle, setting it aside.
Scooting closer, he warned, "I'll need to clean the area. This'll sting a bit."
True to his words, the rubbing alcohol burned into the cut as Lotus cleaned it. Rurik flinched, gritting his teeth and fighting the desire to pull away from each swipe. Luckily, the cotton ball was quickly replaced with some gauze and a bandage.
As the smaller replaced the unused supplies and carried the medkit back upstairs, Rurik let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and moved his top's strap back into place on his shoulder.
Glancing around the room, it looked like the would-be burglars hadn't managed to do more than rummage around in a few drawers and closets, and nothing looked to be missing. There was some damage to the walls and floor in addition to the broken deadbolt, along with blood and dust scattered around the room that would need to be cleaned up, but all in all the outcome was manageable.
He watched as Lotus came back down the stairs, a new bandage on his right cheek.
Things could have turned out much worse...
He shook the thought from his mind before it developed into something more vivid. Lotus took a seat next to him and asked, "So, what now?"
"Well... it's too damn early and I'm tired as hell, so I'm going to bed. The lock can be dealt with in the morning," Rurik stated, standing and trudging up the staircase as he stretched, "You com-ngh!"
At least, he attempted to stretch until his injured collarbone reminded him not to.
"I...," Lotus paused. Rurik stopped halfway up the stairs to stare when the silence stretched on. Lotus' gaze never left the door as he said, "I think I'm going to stay up for a bit."
"Suit yourself. Night," the taller shrugged, traversing the remaining stairs and passing Lotus' room to reach his own.
He probably just needs a couple minutes to settle down.
Rurik yawned as he shut the door to his bedroom, crossing the room and falling onto the bed while avoiding his injured shoulder. Rolling onto his uninjured side he absently tapped the phone's display. 1:47 am, plenty of time to sleep.
Pulling up the covers, he closed his sockets and let himself drift off.
***
Word Count: 1,484