Lunar's POV
"Elysium, that fucking idiot!" Anthien yelled into Aiden's phone, he wasn't even on speaker and I could hear him. My body was frozen as I watched Aiden's hands clasp around Castian's gushing throat. My heart was pounding in my ears, my pupils staring at the corpse. Aiden was swearing and spilling slurs, a snarl in the bath of his throat as Anthien barked, "I don't know if I can wake him up this time, Aiden. Where are you? How long has he been that way?"
"He's only been this way about five minutes. He slit his throat, and he's not breathing. We're at the Spooks," Aiden tore off his shirt as he put his phone on speaker, pressing the fabric onto Castian's throat, "Now, hurry the fuck up. Lunar, get the fuck over here!"
"The kid is there?" Leville grew more angered at the knowledge of my presence, "I swear to Elysium, I'm bringing him back just to kill him myself."
Shuffling over, Aiden's blood-soaked hands snatched my clean ones and pressed them to Castian's throat, "Keep the pressure here, I've gotta go to the front so I can show Anthien where we are."
He was gone before I could even try and argue. My throat was dry and locked. Why couldn't I be the one to go? I-I hate blood...
My hands were shaking violently, my stomach starting to knot as I put pressure on the gash. I forced the vomit down at the sound split flesh makes when blood is rushing from it, shutting my eyes tight and whimpering quietly. I took a deep breath and looked back at Cast. I needed something to focus on other than the flowing red river.
Though he was lifeless, his skin remained slightly tan. He wasn't breathing, but his eyes were moving while closed. It seemed more like he was dreaming than dead. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Part of me wanted to open his eyes and see what'd happen, but Aiden said to keep pressure to lessen the blood flow.
"You left him with the body? Are you a fucking idiot? He could have done this instead!! By the powers of Apollyon, I swear you and Castian want me to fucking kill you!!" I turned to see Anthien dragging Aiden by his hair, anger fueling his eyes as he shoved him to the ground. I was in a daze, squeamish from the moving warmth on my hands.
The sight of me had his temper strengthened, his body kneeling across from me as he slammed down a medical box. My irises watched him open it, eyeing the packages and liquids within, my lips daring to manage, "Wh-What is all that?"
"Ian Wilde uses the English term 'Gash Seeler.' It's meant to be used to stop the bleeding of a corpse. It's a potion that strengthens a dead aura so we can bring the body back to life. However, it's not meant to be used so many times... Each time you die, your body becomes immune, and it's more difficult to manage. You risk losing connection with yourself and the world. It will still bring you back, but...not in a good way," I think in some way my response eased him because his muscles seemed to relax a bit, his eyes growing soft as he glanced at me. He pulled out a vile of blueish-purple liquid and a dropper, filling the dropper before delicately moving my hands and cloth. I watched him place the elixir, his hands pulling out a large needle and a vile of yellow fluid, "This is to bring you back. W-We just label this as 'Life Bringer...' Our English terms are really boring."
I think the force he had in stabbing into Ozora's thigh was personal, not giving a damn if he caused pain or discomfort. I would have told him to be gentle, but part of me agreed with the little anger he still held on to. Tonight was unacceptable behavior. I noticed, at this point, that Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Hayes were leaning against a building and watching us. Neither of them looked too happy, either. I had a feeling Castian was in for a very long lecture.
My body jolted at Cast sitting up fast and hacking into the pavement, my temper turning to worry as I watched blood and shards of rock and stone spilling out of his mouth. His wounds healed, the glow of his tattoos brightening for a moment before fading. I wanted to be furious with him, but I was confused. Why is he coughing gravel? What happened? Why is this happening?
His body was drenched in sweat and blood, his forehead cracking as horns grew, the red flowing liquid sizzled and evaporated as quickly as it spilled. The horns didn't stay long. They sparkled and shined gold before vanishing into sparkles. As quickly as that happened Castian's eyes flashed from blood red to left-silver and right-gold, and his hair flashed from black to white.
This raised more questions, piled on with curiosity and wonder. My irises darted to Mr. Lincoln to see his reaction, his eyes mostly watching me. If he was having questions he hid them well.
Anthien didn't wait a moment when Ozora settled and sat up, his fist connecting to Castian's face as his rage spiked back up, "Next time keep him out of this, or I'll send you back there."
His punch would have killed me, but Cast didn't even budge. He panted and wiped the blood from his lips, a stupid grin on his face. All he had was a tilt of his head like this was some normal fucking night, "Awe, did ya miss me?"
"Asshole," Without making anything but a straight face, I lifted my fist and made contact with his smirking face. My irritation was back but shattered into pain from hitting him. I shook my hand, a pout on my lips as he just laughed. He stood up and did a little dance.
Literally fucking died, and he's dancing? He's insane. I'm with Anthien. Let's kill him.
Anthien slammed his medical box shut, swearing under his breath before he growled out, "I understand what we're dealing with in this goddamn place, but what the fuck is wrong with you? Involving Lunar into this ritual shit? Did it ever occur to you that he's fucking human? They hunt us with ease, and you have the audacity to fucking kill yourself and wreak the area with your blood?"
"He's fine, isn't he? Besides, I took that into accountability, quit being a pussy," Ozora chortled more, watching Leville aggressively comb his fingers through his hair, "Everything is fine."
His comment made Anthien lift the box and chuck it as hard as he could at Castian's face. Of course, Cast ducked and watched it fly passed him as Leville snarled, "Do you ever think people don't want to be fucking involved in your bullshit death wishes? Do you ever think about other people other than yourself?"
"Bold of you to ask when we know your reputation, Antie Pantie," Ozora snorted, his hands casually entering his pockets as he cocked his head at Anthien. I couldn't help my heart pounding, Leville had opened a dark casket, and he was about to be buried alive, "Did it ever occur to you my intentions of such? Did it ever occur to you that I truly don't give a damn about my life and that I don't feel pain? Did it ever occur that I truly mean it when I say I don't fucking like you? It's not my fault you think I'm bullshiting. I never asked you to come around. I never asked you to help me. I never asked you to join in my bullshit. Have you ever noticed that I've never asked anything of you? You just fucking show up. Yet, you can ask Lunar. I called him. I called Aiden. Yet Aiden had to call you to come to bring me back from the Limbo."
I took the smallest step back, preparing for a fight. Anthien's jaw tightened and popped, starting to open, but Castian beat him to the punchline, "No, don't even try, Anthien. I know you're just pissy because you don't want to fucking believe it. Face it, Anthien. Quit being a fucking baby and face it. I don't fucking like you. You came to my garage. You came to my house. You begged me to hang out, or you just showed up and dragged me out. You called me. You texted me. Go ahead, pull out your phone. Look at the texts and the call logs. You called first. You texted first. I don't fucking like you. I never fucking lied about my feelings, either. I never acted as if I liked you. I never gave any bullshit, so sit your fucking ass down and cry me a fucking river, then build a bridge with the rocks I just coughed up, go across it, and fucking stay there..."
"You're fucking pathetic. You're worthless. You're useless. You're a weak piece of shit that rapes and kills people, and I hope to one day rip out your fuckin' heart and eat it. I wouldn't hang out with you willingly even if it meant saving the entire universe," Cast had no remorse. No empathy. He was no longer laughing or smiling. He was full-blown serious, and his eyes glued to Anthien's, "Ya done bitching, hm?"
I wanted to intervene and calm things down, but I remained still. As much as I wanted to stick up for Leville... I-I couldn't. He needed to say it instead of bottling it up.
Anthien's jaw was tight, but he kept his mouth shut, walking passed Castian and picking up the mess he made with the medical box. Without a word, he walked away, Aiden nervously calling out, "W-We'll call you when you cool down!"
Aiden and I looked at one another and seemed to have the same idea, a silent agreement; Leave Anthien alone until he's calm. Now was not the time to try and mess with him. He needed to be left alone. His anger at the moment was a ticking time bomb, and growing up with him, I knew from personal experience that that explosive went off if you tried to calm him down yourself. He needed to do it on his own.
But Cast did have a point...He never lied about his feelings towards Anthien, even around me when we first met. He never gave bullshit or pretended to like him. He was always honest.
Without a second thought, Ozora turned and began walking. Immediately, Aiden and I ran after him, Aiden huffing, "Where are you going, now?"
"To see Mama."