•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 𝐴𝑟𝑖𝑠 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•

"Wow Zayne." Rafayel joked from where he was sat, still mindlessly sketching something on the paper, "Don't you like living with one of your closest childhood friends?"

"Living with childhood friends isn't the problem." Zayne sighed, "The problem is when the childhood friends name is Caleb Xia and can't leave you in peace for point-two seconds without bombarding you with whatever utter nonsense he can think of at the moment."

"Point taken." Rafayel nodded, "Although, it'll be nice to have the chef of the household back, not sure how much more of Xavier's homemade hotpot I can tolerate, I dread the days where it's his turn to cook."

"Hey!" Xavier argued, "What's wrong with my hotpot?"

"Your hotpot gave me severe food poisoning as well as probably ninety-eight undiscovered diseases." Sylus shot back, "That's what's wrong with your it."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with Sylus." Zayne added, "You lot don't understand the struggle I went through trying to get fluids into him."

"Hey-!" Xavier yelled back.

"Now if you'll excuse me." Zayne stood, moving away from his laptop for a brief moment, "I'm off to get my charger."

So, Zayne left the room, off to hunt for his charger. Which had actually been borrowed by Xavier and never returned, but Zayne didn't know that yet, the sound of keys in the door echoed through the living room.

"There he is." Rafayel spoke up.

The sound of the door opening and closing could be heard, before the muffled sound of shoes being taken off spread through the house.

However, the quietness was unusual.

Normally, Caleb made his arrival home known by announcing the fact that he was home so loudly than anyone within a five-mile radius likely heard it, no matter how long he'd actually been gone for. So, for him to of not been home for the past month and not say anything wasn't like him.

Sylus, Xavier and Rafayel all noticed this.

Before anyone could speak up, the door from the hallway to the living room opened with a soft click. Too soft.

"Evening." Caleb greeted, seemingly normal. He was wearing his usual DAA jacket and black cargo trousers, but something about him seemed off.

It was Rafayel who noticed it first. Caleb looked paler than usual, drained even. He was stood a little weirdly too, like he was favouring his right side.

"Are you alright?" Rafayel asked.

"Fine." Caleb replied, a little quickly, before lowering himself down next to Xavier, not bothering to take his jacket off.

"You're not even going to take your jacket off?" Rafayel asked curiously, "What, are you making a statement?"

"I'm fine." Caleb replied again, quicker this time.

Sylus has noticed it too now. Something off in Caleb's stance. At first, he had thought maybe he was tired, or pulled a muscle somewhere. However, something truly seemed off now.

"He didn't ask if you were fine." Sylus spoke, looking directly at Caleb who was beginning to lean to one side.

"I'm just tired." Caleb smiled weakly, wanting this conversation to end.

Xavier had also noticed something off by now. It was only upon shifting his gaze downwards that he noticed it. A dark red patch slowly seeping through the left side of Caleb's jacket. Blood.

"You're bleeding." Xavier blurted out, staring directly at the growing dark red patch on Caleb's side, where his hand had slipped away for a moment.

"Huh?" Rafayel snapped his head back up swiftly.

Caleb didn't look down immediately. Quite possibly the biggest mistake he could've made, that's what gave it away. For it to seep through his thick DAA jacket, the amount of blood must've been quite substantial.

"It's not-" Caleb began, hand already shifting to cover the bleeding wound on his left side.

"Don't." Sylus cut in, already making his way across the room to where Caleb was sat.

He positioned himself in front of Caleb, grabbing at Caleb's arm. Not violently, but enough to cause a visible shift. Caleb reacted almost instantly, a sharp inhale, his entire body tightening before he could stop it.

That was all Sylus needed.

"Show me." Sylus demanded, a non-negotiable request.

"It's nothing." Caleb insisted, shaking his head, not moving his arm away.

Rafayel was stood up know, very much less intimidating than Sylus, but still trying to do his part.

"Okay, no. That is not 'nothing'." Rafayel insisted, "You are actively bleeding."

Sylus did not bother waiting any further and reached his hand for the jacket Caleb was wearing. Caleb's hand rapidly shot out, grabbing Sylus' wrist, his grip alarmingly strong.

"Don't." Caleb warned.

"Then do it yourself." Sylus told him firmly.

Exhaling deeply, Caleb slowly tried to remove his coat. Xavier reached out to help him pull it off before it was dropped to the side.

The sight of Caleb's shirt was even worse. It stuck slightly to the wound, Caleb pulling it away with a wince and a subtle wet sound.

"Oh my-" Xavier began, looking shocked at the sight of such a nasty wound, "That looks deep."

Rafayel visibly recoiled at the sight of the exposed wound on Caleb's left side, below his ribs.

"Go and get Zayne." Sylus barked at Rafayel, "Now."

Xavier was already moving to grab the first aid kit they kept in the kitchen.

The sound of Rafayel screaming, "ZAYNE!" at the top of his lungs could be heard throughout the entire house. His voice sounded sharp and urgent instead of his usual dramatic tone.

Still having not found his charger, Zayne's rapid footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs before he appeared in the doorway to the living room almost immediately. His expression its usual neutral self.

Until he saw it.

His gaze locked onto Caleb, tracking the blood, Caleb's posture and the position of the wound.

"What happened?" Zayne asked.

Caleb didn't answer, breathing slightly off now. Xavier already opening the first aid kit, opening a fresh pack of gauze.

Being a highly skilled hunter, Xavier was in fact trained and able to manage a stab wound on someone until someone more trained could take over, that being Zayne.

"Looks like a bullet wound." Sylus informed him.

"Since when?" Zayne asked, already crouching down in front of where Caleb was sat, rolling up his sleeves and quickly snapping on a pair of sterile gloves from the kit.

"...Not long." Caleb exhaled, feeling Zayne's gloved hands already lifting the hem of his once white t-shirt.

Zayne didn't respond to that, his hands already coming up. Assessing the damage.

"Sit back." Zayne instructed once he'd looked at Caleb's back. No exit wound.

Caleb didn't argue.

"Pass me the gauze." Zayne turned to look at Xavier, who quickly placed the open gauze in Zayne's open hand.

Moving as quickly as possible, Zayne rapidly pressed the gauze straight onto the open wound, other hand bracing lightly against Caleb's shoulder. Caleb inhaling sharply as contact between the gauze and wound was made.

"Stay still." Zayne instructed firmly.

Caleb just exhaled through his nose, his jaw tight, using Rafayel's bright purple hair as a focal point, not saying anything. That alone said enough.

Zayne reached for more gauze, packing and pressing it further onto and into the wound, an attempt to control the bleeding.

Caleb's reaction was immediate. A sharp inhale, his entire body tensing hard against the pressure before he forced himself to stay still.

Despite the clear reaction, Zayne still pressed firmly, not easing up.

"The pressure is necessary." Zayne told him.

"I know..." Caleb muttered, his breathing growing thinner.

"Breathe." Sylus looked at Caleb and told him.

"That is a lot of blood-" Rafayel stated to nobody in particular before Sylus shot him a look.

"Go and call for the ambulance." Zayne instructed firmly.

Rafayel nodded, grabbing his phone and dialing the number.

While they were waiting for someone to pick up, Zayne kept his hand pressed firmly over the gaping wound.

"Stay with us." Zayne encouraged, his hazely-green eyes meeting Caleb's purple ones.

"...I am..." Caleb drifted, breathing uneven. The blood loss was definitely starting to get to him now.

"You're not." Zayne deadpanned, his gloves soiled with blood, still packing gauze handed to him by Xavier, securing it with bandages upon bandages around Caleb's mid-section.

"Are you dizzy?" Zayne asked, hoping the question will encourage Caleb to stay with it for just a little longer.

"...No...Yes..." Caleb murmured.

"Good." Zayne replied, "Keep talking. Don't fall asleep."

Sylus watched from a couple feet away, asking, "What if I got something to put in his mouth? Like a sour candy? Might help keep him awake."

"I would strongly advise against that." Zayne explained, "We don't want him consuming things if he'll likely need surgery to remove the bullet."

"Do we not need to remove the bullet?" Sylus asked, considering it was standard for him to remove bullets from himself at times. However, he also had an Evol that allowed almost instant healing.

Zayne shook his head, "No. He can live with a bullet inside him, he cannot live with an open wound. Our priority is to keep him alive by slowing the bleeding."

From across the room, the sound of the Rafayel speaking to the operator could be heard.

"Yes, he's conscious... uh-huh, still responsive... yeah- we're applying pressure..."

"You could make it sound a little more serious, you know?" Sylus deadpanned at Rafayel, "It sounds like you're placing a pizza order rather than trying to get someone to take Caleb to hospital within the next twenty minutes."

"I'm trying to keep the environment less stressed." Rafayel argued.

"Just make yourself useful..." Sylus sighed before turning his attention back to where Xavier was assisting Zayne in keeping Caleb awake.

"Can you tell me your name?" Xavier looked down at Caleb, who was trying to stay awake whilst also endure the nauseating unbearable pain of Zayne pressing against the raw wound.

"...Caleb." Caleb mumbled.

"Very good." Zayne applauded, "Can you tell me your birthday?"

"June..." Caleb murmured.

"Almost there." Xavier encouraged, "Do you know what date in June?"

"Thirteenth..." Caleb managed, eyes beginning to close shut.

"No, no." Zayne gently squeezed Caleb's hand, "Stay awake. Keep your eyes open."

"...Don' touch me like that... Zaynie..." Caleb managed.

Zaynie? Zayne hadn't heard that nickname in years.

"Zaynie?" Sylus repeated, half astounded, half amused.

Zayne didn't react.

"Can you tell us who did this?" Xavier asked softly, "Anything at all?"

"...Evol people... probably..." Caleb rambled, "Managed to get away... shot me..." wincing as Zayne pressed harder.

"-Ah-" he managed.

"Breathe." Zayne told Caleb firmly, as he pressed his fingers to the inside of Caleb's wrist, checking his pulse, "You're just fine."

"Okay, very good." Xavier told him, remembering the most of it to report when he could.

It took less than ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive and before long their entire living room was filled with paramedics, transferring Caleb onto a stretcher. Oxygen mask on, pulse oximeter on his finger.

Zayne carefully explaining everything in detailed medical terms for the paramedics on the scene. One of them actually remembering him from Akso Hospital, when they'd brought in another patient.

Eventually, Caleb was taken by ambulance to Akso Hospital.

The living room was a mess, blood-stained couch, bloody gauze, bloody everything.

Grabbing his lanyard, Zayne declared, "Well, let's go."

So, soon enough, Zayne, Rafayel, Xavier and Sylus were all in the waiting area of Akso Hospitals trauma bay. Zayne had actually gone in to see what was going on, blood transfusions and prepping for theatre.

Stepping back out into the waiting area, Xavier was first to look up at him.

"Well?"

"He's stable." Zayne confirmed, "He's barely conscious but he's stable. They're preparing him for surgery now and giving him blood."

"He'll be okay, right?" Rafayel asked.

"Most likely, yes." Zayne nodded, "The bullet didn't hit anything major. So, after quite a long recovery period, he should be fine."

"...I guess this really shows how serious this whole Evol hunting thing is." Xavier thought out loud.

"It does." Sylus agreed, "We're all at risk."

And that was something they all had to quietly agree on.

It was the next day by the time they were even allowed to come and see Caleb. He was awake now. Freshly out of surgery. Sore, aware, but okay.

Alive.

"You're looking better." Sylus said immediately as he saw Caleb in the bed of one of Akso's many recovery rooms.

"I feel it." Caleb chuckled softy, before wincing at the feeling of tugging at the site.

"Don't strain." Zayne told him firmly, "You need to let it heal."

"I'm not straining." Caleb argued.

"Anyway, we brought you some stuff to read, as well as your phone." Xavier spoke up, passing over a small paper bag.

"We did also have snacks, but Xavier and Zayne ate them all on the way over." Sylus sighed.

"Wow, way to go, guys." Caleb deadpanned, looking directly at the two stood together, "I almost bleed out and you guys eat my snacks."

"We'll buy you more." Zayne assured him.

"Don't worry about it." Caleb sighed softly, "You deserve them after saving my life even after I tried to downplay it. Honestly, you should consider switching specialties, Zayne."

"You're welcome." Zayne smiled politely, "But I think I'll stick to cardiology."

"But," Rafayel piped up, "No more hiding injuries. We've clearly seen the consequences of that."

"Yeah." Caleb agreed, "No more hiding injuries."

Before long, visiting hours were over and it was time for them all to leave. Well except from Zayne, his shift was starting. However for Sylus, Rafayel and Xavier, they had to leave.

"Take care of yourself." Xavier smiled softly as he left the room.

"Don't cause the nurses any trouble." Rafayel joked, "That's my job."

"Uh-huh." Sylus sighed, "We know. You checked yourself in over a mildly sprained ankle."

"It was broken!" Rafayel argued.

"It was sprained." Sylus repeated.

"It was definitely broken." Rafayel argued one last time, "Anyway, we'll leave you to rest."

"Thanks guys." Caleb smiled.

And with that, the room went quiet again.

(Honestly, it took me forever to write this. May be slightly medically inaccurate and/or ooc. Please lmk how I could improve!)

So, after narrowly managing to escape, he deemed himself unsafe to remain in his residence in Skyhaven and moved to a different property. Through various sources of information, he discovered what types of Evols the company was searching for. Gravity, that being his, for starters. However, they were also searching for people that had Evols such as Ice, Light, Energy Manipulation and Fire.

At first he had contacted two of his childhood friends. The first one he contacted was a guy he'd grown up with. His friend Zayne. Linkon City's finest cardiac surgeon, who also possessed the ice Evol. It took much persuasion, but eventually, he had agreed. In fact, the only reason Zayne had agreed was because the residence Caleb ha managed to acquire was closer to Akso Hospital than Zayne's current residence.

The second was a girl he'd known and grown up with for as long as he could remember. He had informed her, trusting her with that information, asking that she come and stay with him to become safer. However, she had refused. Since her Evol wasn't one being actively hunted for, she deemed she was safer staying in her apartment rather than in a house with people who's Evol was actively being hunted for. While a little upset she had refused, Caleb accepted her decision not to move in.

However, after hearing the types of Evol that were in fact being hunted, she mentioned to Caleb about her neighbour. Some impossibly old yet young hunter she worked with called Xavier.

So, after getting in touch, Xavier was arranged to move in and become housemates with Caleb and Zayne.

"You sure you want some random hunter living with us?" Zayne had asked Caleb after hearing this news.

"I'm sure it's fine." Caleb shrugged, "Besides, you're all about saving lives, aren't you? Technically we could be saving his life letting him come live with us."

"If you say so." Zayne had sighed.

The next two moving in only came about after again, his lovely childhood best friend giving him information about two other of her 'acquaintances' that might benefit from his shelter from a potential threat.

"His house has actually just suffered from damages from a tsunami on Whitesand Bay." she had told him, "And he's got one of the Evols they're searching for."

"Oh?" Caleb had asked, "Which one might that be?"

"Fire." she had replied, "Which it oddly contradictory considering he's from the sea."

"The sea?" Caleb questioned, unsure of what she had meant at first.

"He's a Lemurian." She had informed him as if it was nothing, "You know, those people from the sea civilisation Lemuria?"

"Sure thing..." Caleb had nodded.

However, Rafayel had in fact ended up on the list of people moving in.

Sylus' way of moving in with Caleb, Zayne, Xavier and Rafayel was slightly different. He had casually mentioned that someone from the illegal Evol organisation had managed to get into the N109 zone and tried to go after him. In fact, he even mentioned to her that he was thinking of moving to another residence for a short amount of time just to avoid these Evol hunters.

So, there Sylus was, getting into contact with Caleb and moving in.

Fast forward to today, move in day. Caleb was already there when Zayne's car pulled up.

"So, guess we're moving in with a bunch of random people today?" Caleb half-joked as Zayne got out the car, beginning to unload a couple of boxes he'd brought himself from his car.

"This may be the stupidest thing I've ever agreed to." Zayne muttered, "The moment there's trouble I am going home."

"If you say so." Caleb smirked.

It wasn't long before a flashy red convertible sports car pulled up outside the house next to Zayne's car. A mop of purple hair could be seen before the driver even properly got out.

"Bold choice of hair colour." Zayne muttered to Caleb as they watched what must be the next resident pull up.

With that, Rafayel hopped out of his car, taking the sunglasses off his face and smiling at the two tall black-haired guys stood in front of them.

"Well, guess you're both my new roommates." Rafayel spoke as he locked his car, "I'm Rafayel."

"Nice to meet you." Caleb nodded, holding out his hand to shake Rafayel's, "And this is Zayne, but don't expect too much emotion out of him. It once took me almost three business days just to get him to smile."

"I see." Rafayel smiled, reaching to pull many boxes out of his car, "Ugh, it's too hot today."

"It's like twenty-five degrees." Caleb added, noticing this new guy seemed to be quite the sensitive type.

It took ten minutes for Rafayel to take the majority of his stuff out of his car, making Caleb think Rafayel had missed the memo about this not being a permanent arrangement

Seemingly, Zayne thought the same thing.

"That's a lot of stuff for a temporary arrangement." Zayne spoke politely, "Most of the box stuff I brought is just important stuff."

"Are you saying my art supplies aren't important?" Rayafel asked, turning his head to look at Zayne, "Besides, my home isn't currently habitable in as of right now."

"I see." Zayne nodded, not having much else to say.

After briefly talking outside for about twenty minutes, someone new could be seen walking up the street with a white suitcase and a white backpack. As far as they could tell, he just sort of... spawned in.

"Hello." the new guy spoke, looking at the three other men around him.

"Hi." Caleb greeted, "You must be-"

"It's Xavier." Xavier informed.

"Ah, yes, right." Caleb nodded, "Well, we're just waiting for one more and then we'll head inside."

"I see." Xavier nodded, closing his eyes while he stood there, dropping his head down slightly.

"Xavier, are you okay?" Zayne asked immediately as he saw this, thinking this man they'd just met was about to pass out.

"Hm?" Xavier mumbled, looking up before processing what he was asked, "Oh yeah, fine. Just sleeping"

"Standing up?" Rafayel asked with shock on his face.

"I must advise against that." Zayne spoke softly, "You risk falling and doing damage to yourself."

"I'll be fine." Xavier admitted, already closing his eyes again, "I'm used to it."

"Man, you are weird..." Caleb mumbled under his breath.

Around thirty minutes later, still no sign of Sylus.

"Are we sure he's even coming?" asked Zayne, just wanting to go inside.

"Probably." Caleb shrugged.

Almost as if on cue, an expensive looking car pulled up in the driveway in the middle of Zayne's and Rafayels.

"Well hello there." Rafayel joked as the engine cut out and Sylus stepped out, dressed in all leather and sunglasses over his eyes.

"I thought we agreed to meet at two." Caleb joked, "What was the hold up?"

"I'm fashionably late." Sylus smirked.

That's when they noticed what appeared to be some sort of bird fly up from the car and land on Sylus' shoulder.

"It's my mechanical crow." Sylus informed them, "He's called Mephisto."

"You brought a pet?" Caleb asked, slightly worried yet also intrigued.

"My Mephisto is not a pet." Sylus spoke slowly, as if he was incredibly offended.

"Why don't we just go inside?" Zayne offered, Sylus grabbing his things from his car before locking it.

So they did.

Within half an hour, bedrooms had been allocated, Rafayel having had a minor argument with Sylus over having the biggest room.

"But I need it for my art supplied!" Rafayel had whined.

"Tough." Sylus argued, "I was here first."

Watching from a corner, Zayne rubbed at his temple while Caleb laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe they'll all get along someday?" Caleb suggested.

"If they don't, I'm going home." Zayne sighed, adjusting his glasses.

While Sylus and Rafayel squabbled over the bigger room, Zayne noticed Xavier hadn't been seen in a while. He'd gone in his room with his stuff and never resurfaced.

"He's probably just unpacking." Zayne insisted, already sat at the table with his laptop out, typing something up.

"You're such a workaholic." Caleb joked as he saw Zayne already doing something work related less than three hours after moving into a new house, "You spent an hour unpacking and you're already back on your laptop."

"I have stuff that needs doing." Zayne explained calmly, not looking up from the report he was typing up.

"I assure you." Caleb piped up again, "You're not gonna lose your medical license by not working for one day, doc."

"Hmph." Zayne huffed as he continued working, ignoring Caleb.

"Well I'm gonna go check on that Xavier guy..." Caleb trailed off.

Zayne did not reply.

"Hey, Xavier?" Caleb knocked on the door, "You alive in there?"

No response. Odd.

Slowly, Caleb pushed the door open. It wasn't locked.

That's where Caleb was met with the sight of Xavier, or just the top of his head, buried underneath the duvet on his bed. Plushies surrounding every single inch of space. From what Caleb could tell, he'd just unpacked his bed items, and fallen asleep on the spot.

"Right..." Caleb nodded to himself, before leaving out the door again.

"Was he fine?" Zayne asked, still not looking up.

"He was asleep." Caleb answered, "Again."

"I see." Zayne answered automatically, not really paying attention.

"Y'know, maybe you should go check him out." Caleb suggested, "Nobody should be sleeping that much. We saw him sleep stood up earlier."

"He's probably just tired." Zayne concluded, ending the conversation with Caleb at that.

A few hours later, all five of the new residents were all sat in the living room. Rafayel was sulking that he lost the bigger bedroom, Sylus was smirking. Xavier was in fact now awake. Zayne continued to work while Caleb cooked dinner.

Once dinner had been served and Caleb's cooking skills had been appraised, everyone went to their respective rooms.

And maybe, they'd all be okay.