rose tinted browsing

Healer thought for a moment, fixing his colar and staring out a window, "She'll get over her fears, and even if she doesn't, she is still valuble when it comes to stealth missions." He turned to leader, carefully inspecting the bruise on their temple.

"I guess you-" they stopped mid sentence, bolting upright and making their way towards the door, "Somebody is hurt."

Healer rushed after them into the hallway, preparing to scold Hero for making a stupid decision, but when he saw Sidekick crying, he immediately softened.

"What happened?" Leader demanded, worry in their tone.

"Arrow shattered." Hero reported, pulling the still shaking Sidekick into a better position.

Healer took hold of her injured arm and began to inspect the wound, he couldn't bring himself to get angry at Sidekick when she was in a weakened state. She was viscerally shaking as she cried, whether from shock or pain he could not tell.

Leader held the door open. They didn't say much, they never quite knew how to help when one of their team was injured. Healer knew it pained them, but they couldn't seem to express the emotions properly. They gave Healer a nod before glancing between Sidekick and Hero.

"It's going to be okay. Nobody is mad at you." Hero soothed, sitting on a bed with Sidekick before easing her back into the pillows, "You can squeeze my hand as hard as you need to."

"I'm just going to do enough to where the blood clots, I don't want her passing out," Healer held her arm with one hand and the arrow shaft with the other, "Leader I need you to pull the other one."

All Sidekick knew was pain. She couldn't stop thinking about the fear in Hero's eyes. The concern in Leader's voice. And the shame of injuring herself. But this all left her mind as Healer's power flowwed through her arm. She knew it would be painful, she had watched Hero struggle under it's presence before, but nothing could prepare her for the real thing.

She felt herself scream. Pain shot through her entire arm, causing her to arch her back in protest. There was no sensation she could ascribe to it, only pain.

But as quickly as it started, it stopped, leaving her dazed and gasping for air.

"Good job, it's all over." Hero soothed, still holding her hand.

Healer walked off holding the arrow, he had an odd expression on his face, one which greatly concerned Sidekick.

Leader followed, one hand on his shoulder, quietly muttering something she couldn't make out. She couldn't help but think it might be about firing her.

"You're okay. Don't worry about them." Hero stood and let go of her hand, "Focus on resting, I'll put your bow away, okay?"

Sidekick nodded weakly and allowed herself to cry more when she knew nobody was watching. She didn't mind crying, but around Healer and Leader it felt wrong. She wanted to prove her strength, and crying wasn't going to help her case.

----

"You can't even anchor, what hell are you doing?" She scolded herself as she angrily pulled another arrow from her quiver. She went silent as she pulled the string, her form many levels of incorrect, causing her hand to release prematurely.

Thud

The arrow hit below the target and bounced back, sliding along the ground back to her feet.

She exhaled sharply through her nose and pulled another arrow, "I'm useless if I can't even target shoot" she nocked the arrow.

Sidekick pulled on the string, this time extra focused on her form. She felt the muscles between her shoulders tense as she coiled. The nock touched her cheek, right where it was supposed to.

BANG

Pain flared through her bow arm, causing Sidekick to drop her bow. She cried out, looking at the two halves of a carbon arrow shaft in her arm. Sidekick shouted in pain, crumpling over the injured arm. She knew she shouldn't take the arrow out, but she couldn't face the shame of Hero seeing what she had done. Especially after the monstrosity known as their last mission.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway, followed by the sound of the door slamming open, "Sidekick!"

Sidekick hid her injury best she could. She was hyperventilating, watching her own blood trickle from the wound. Fear and shock made her thoughts hazy, but she knew for sure she didn't want Hero seeing her injury. She knew it was useless, especially when Hero knelt beside her.

"Sidekick I need you to stay calm. We'll fix this. Can you walk?" They held her shoulders, looking into her eyes for an answer.

"I'm sorry," Sidekick shook, scanning Hero's face, searching for a sign of anger but not finding any.

"Shh shh, I don't care how this happened, I'm worried about you, now let's get you to the infirmary." They stood, pulling her with them.

Sidekick sobbed as she leaned into Hero, still clutching her arm to her chest as she slowly walked to the door.

----

Her eyes were dilated and breathing fast as she followed Vix. It was all she could do to keep going, one step after another, following him as he navigated the crowd.

Vix was tense as well, holding the handle to his knife with white knuckles. He was constantly alert, ready for an attack from any angle. So as he did a visual scan, his gaze caught on Sadie.

"You okay?" He continued walking, but more slowly as he watched her.

She shook her head, looking longingly at a side street away from the market.

Taking this sign, Vix led them over and turned to his crewmate, concerned, "What's wrong?"

Sadie put her palms on her temples, squeezing her eyes shut against the ever present flow of information, "Just- Just a lot of people."

"Yeah I get it, mortals stress me out too. Never know when one's going to attack." He scanned the street, reaching up to touch his necklace, making sure it was still there.

Sadie looked up at him, "Why would they attack?" She instinctively put her hand on her sword hilt.

"No don't worry, they wouldn't attack you. It's just," he looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Children of Fluksus are seen as bad omens. I'm actually one of the longest surviving out of my siblings."

Sadie's eyes widened in shock, but she quickly stored the thought, "Can we get back to the ship?"

"Yeah, we're basically done. We can walk back along the beach."

Acantha had never seen Rogue as concentrated as when she was making sand castles. She was silent as she compacted the sand in her bucket, trying to make the perfect concoction between wet and dry sand.

Meanwhile Heron already had his castle, even though it was crumbling in some places. He had gone searching for shells and was now decorating his castle with them. Then atop his structure was a small piece of driftwood acting as a flag pole. He seemed pleased with his work, looking to Acantha for validation.

She gave him a thumbs up, "Well done."

Rogue whipped around and looked offended by Heron's sand castle building expertise before remembering her pride, "Mine's gonna be better."

Acantha laughed, "I bet it will."

Rogue determinately flipped over her bucket and hit the bottom a few times for good measure. Then she lifted the bucket and was immediately annoyed by the fact no sand had left her bucket.

Heron laughed, earning himself a handful of wet sand to his bare chest, "Hey!"

Acantha, who had done her best to suppress her laughter, "No throwing sand. We agreed on this."

"What's going on over here?" Vix asked, jumping down from the sea wall a few meters back.

"Rogue being bad at making sand castles," Heron called over.

"Oooh sand castles!" Vix beamed as he quickened his pace, leaving Sadie to walk in his wake.

Acantha shook her head, "You are all children."

"Yeah, so?" Vix asked back, pulling his shirt off and sitting beside Heron.

"Touché"

----

This raced through Cabral's mind as he crashed through a building in rage. The son of the god of weaponry knew his arsenal well and intended to use every extent of the knowledge against the foolish mortals who dare mess with his wife.

"Where is she‽" he shouted, pinning a mortal to the wall by their collar, a curved blade poised at their neck.

"At the end of the hall," they gasped, clawing at his arm.

Cabral punched the mortal in the groin and sprinted off in the direction he was told. He kicked open the door and... "Oh gods-"

Mitra was curled up on the floor. Her eyes were barely held open and lips parted as if to speak but all that came out was blood. She was a sickly shade of gray, showing the veins beneath the surface. Her breathing was labored, slow, shallow, and barely audible.

"No- no no no no no-" he barely contained a sob as he gently pulled her into his embrace, "What did they do to you?"

Mitra went limp in his grasp, relaxing into him. But one of her hands was weakly holding his, using much of the energy she couldn't seem to lose. The never ending aspect of her immortal life force somehow keeping her alive.

The poison had been strong enough to kill a mortal within minutes. But Mitra can't die, and it virtually incapacitated her. It made her feel sick. An illness rivaled by no other. The taste had lingered in her mouth in the hours since. A taste which made her choke as they poured it down her throat.

Cabral gingerly held his wife as he vacated the building. Walking past corpses and injured mortals, wishing he could condemn them to a harsher fate than the Children of Merripen.

"I will fix this."

----

"What's going on over there?" Sadie called from down the hill, her sword lowered.

Acantha faultered for a moment before shouting back, "Heron got hit."

She couldn't understand the word Sadie shouted, but it was undoubtedly a curse. She began to run to the pair, holding her sword at the ready as she did so.

Acantha carefully rearranged Heron's limbs so he wasn't in as much of an uncomfortable position. It was all dead weight. There was no movement in his body, it was unnerving. She lifted his head and placed a bundle of extra clothes below, putting his neck at a better angle.

"Where did he- His hand?! That small of a cut?! Even I didn't get the death reaction from something that small." Sadie said, exasperated. And yet, she still sat beside him and grabbed the suture kit.

"Give him a break, he kept me from getting something worse." Acantha picked up her bow and gathered her arrows once more, "And I don't think he practices with that spear either."

"Just help the others, I'll deal with him."

Not long after, all of the Lyktos were defeated. Vix and Rogue climbed the hill, comparing their kill count as they came upon the others.

Rogue paled at the sight of Heron visually dead on the ground, "What happened.... is he-"

"Why didn't you guys call to us‽" Vix nearly shouted, his grip tightening on his axe.

"Hey, calm down," Acantha held her hands in a placating gesture, "He's not dead, he just looks like it. He just got a cut on his hand and Lyktos wounds put the body into a fake death state."

Rogue knelt beside Heron, "You dumbass" She wasn't mad at him, sounding more concerned than anything, "I thought I was about to march down into the afterlife to get you."

Vix sheathed his axe, "We should head back." He knelt beside Heron and scooped the demigod up in a princess carry. Vix was surprised by how light he was, becoming visibly concerned by the way he felt ribs through Heron's shirt.

They all stared at him, each surprised by the action.

"Are we not ready?" Vix asked, looking between them.

Sadie turned away, "Yea, we're ready." She started walking off briskly in the direction of the apothecary, making a point to hide her face from Vix.

He followed, leaving the other two to scramble after them.

----

But this morning was a little different. As she was watching her small friends wake up and begin to traverse the landscape, something else caught her eye. Belladonna's bush was acting off. It was clumping together tighter than it should. It resembled an insect going into rigor mortis, her branches crossing over themselves.

"Donna, what's wrong?" She gently touched one of her stems. Immediately after making contact with it, the branch peeled back.

Before touching another, she looked around the garden. Cherry and Smith are asleep at the base of Smith's tree. The flowers are conscious but definitely not fully awake. Oregon is precariously walking across the fence as if it were a balance beam.

Calyx is sitting at the base of Douglas' tree, seemingly in the middle of an in-depth conversation.

Fireweed had to deal with this by herself. She couldn't worry Calyx, and he was too hard on himself already for his accident.

"Please be okay." She touched another branch, and as this one peeled back, she could see the form of a limb.

Donna is back. This is bad. Are they going to die? Are they dying, and she isn't doing anything? Is she making it worse? Fireweed staggered back from her friend's plant, petals fluttering from her hair.

She had to get Calyx.

Fireweed sprinted. She'd never seen a sempite return in such a way. It scared her. She didn't know what happened to make Donna form here, but it couldn't be good.

Before she even said a word, Calyx was on his feet, "What happened?"

"She- The- Donna's back." Fireweed stumbled over her words and one of Douglas's roots.

Without saying a word, Calyx rushed off. Donna would only return if she was gravely injured, which meant he had to act fast.

Veins of green sprouting from his fingertips snaked their way up his arm. He didn't consciously perform the magic. It was simply a part of existence for the demigod. With this, Calyx knelt, ripped the bandages from his palms, and began to dig through the branches.

Inside laid a sight he could never forget. Vacant eyes stared into the distance. The chlorophyll still wet on her lips. And the hole going through Donna's chest.

"Gods almighty, what did they do to you?" He gently cradled her shoulders, unleashing the magic he held.

"Will she be okay?" Fireweed leaned over Calyx. All of the bees in her hair were gone, fleeing from her stress.

The light returned to Belladonna's eyes and she gasped awake. She looked around wildly then seemed to realize she was safe, "Hello Cal."

----

But this morning was a little different. As she was watching her small friends wake up and begin to traverse the landscape, something else caught her eye. Belladonna's bush was acting off. It was clumping together tighter than it should. It resembled an insect going into rigor mortis, her branches crossing over themselves.

"Donna, what's wrong?" She gently touched one of her stems. Immediately after making contact with it, the branch peeled back.

Before touching another, she looked around the garden. Cherry and Smith are asleep at the base of Smith's tree. The flowers are conscious but definitely not fully awake. Oregon is precariously walking across the fence as if it were a balance beam.

Calyx is sitting at the base of Douglas' tree, seemingly in the middle of an in-depth conversation.

Fireweed had to deal with this by herself. She couldn't worry Calyx, and he was too hard on himself already for his accident.

"Please be okay." She touched another branch, and as this one peeled back, she could see the form of a limb.

Donna is back. This is bad. Are they going to die? Are they dying, and she isn't doing anything? Is she making it worse? Fireweed staggered back from her friend's plant, petals fluttering from her hair.

She had to get Calyx.

Fireweed sprinted. She'd never seen a sempite return in such a way. It scared her. She didn't know what happened to make Donna form here, but it couldn't be good.

Before she even said a word, Calyx was on his feet, "What happened?"

"She- The- Donna's back." Fireweed stumbled over her words and one of Douglas's roots.

Without saying a word, Calyx rushed off. Donna would only return if she was gravely injured, which meant he had to act fast.

Veins of green sprouting from his fingertips snaked their way up his arm. He didn't consciously perform the magic. It was simply a part of existence for the demigod. With this, Calyx knelt, ripped the bandages from his palms, and began to dig through the branches.

Inside laid a sight he could never forget. Vacant eyes stared into the distance. The chlorophyll still wet on her lips. And the hole going through Donna's chest.

"Gods almighty, what did they do to you?" He gently cradled her shoulders, unleashing the magic he held.

"Will she be okay?" Fireweed leaned over Calyx. All of the bees in her hair were gone, fleeing from her stress.

The light returned to Belladonna's eyes and she gasped awake. She looked around wildly then seemed to realize she was safe, "Hello Cal."

----

So he stayed outside. He decided to get started on a long overdue project: Expanding the garden. His axe felt familiar, but the scabs and bandages made it uncomfortable. The pain distracted him from his other problems.

Thud.

He could ignore his inability to make proper food and how underweight he had become.

Thud.

He could ignore the holes in his clothing and blankets.

Thud.

He could ignore the sempites nervously watching him, not daring to approach their caretaker.

Thud.

He could ign- he couldn't. It wouldn't leave his mind. None of it would. Every problem was just stacking atop one another and creating a mountain which he feared the prospect of climbing.

Thud-Thud

The axe finally went through, lodging into the next fence rail. Calyx took a deep breath, pulling one hand from the handle and brusing back his overgrown hair. He looked at the bandages, noticing the blood seeping through.

He furiously pulled the axe from the wood, swung it above his head and brought it back down, yelling "I'M A FAILURE!"

A pair of hands grasped his shoulders and turned him around, "You take that back." It was Smith. "You take that back right now. You are not a failure and you're a fool for thinking so. Look at us. Look how healthy we all are."

Calyx's hollow gaze scanned his surroundings. The blooms of Vervain, Lily, Lupine, and Lilac. The bright red fruits of Cherry. The unripe apples in Smith's hair. The bees in Fireweed and Belladonna's area. The grapes in Oregon's vines. The towering figures of Hemlock and Douglas Fir.

"You did that. You. No failure could do that."

Calyx took a second, allowing the tears to pour down his cheeks, "But-"

"No. No 'but's. We'll figure this out, okay? I know you can do it. And we can help. I'd say we're strong enough to do a lot of things. Don't worry about us for a while, you need t-"

He couldn't finish his sentence before Calyx collapsed into him, heaving with sobs, "I- I- I need help."

Smith hugged back, "We will be here."

----