#neith oc

So Neith slashed and stabbed and dodged and launched and punched and kicked and bit and screamed and cried and—

"Neith!"

Turning to the sound of Clement's voice, not being late ever again…

…Just a bit too late.

A bird knocked them onto their back with its enormous talons. It would have ripped his chest into two, if someone hadn't impaled it last moment. It fell on top of Neith, dead.

Like how he could have been.

Like how Kin might as well be…

"Neith!" That was Indigo. Why did she sound like she was underwater? Did she fall too? They tried to struggle, get the damn bird off him, why did Kilian even like these, but the bird was too heavy. He ended up rolling it to one side. Indigo's face emerged on the other side.

"Hey, Neith," she said, gripping his arm like he might disappear. "Breathe. Please, just breathe with me."

They were breathing. They tried to tell it as much, but… couldn't? They couldn't draw enough air from his lungs to do so.

Maybe Indigo was right.

He took a breath.

"There you go," she said and hugged him tight. "Keep breathing."

Enough air, just enough to speak a single word, entered their lungs. They wasted no time in using it. "Kin…?"

"We'll look for them," Kilian said, appearing over Indigo's shoulder. Or maybe he was always there. "By God, we'll look for them. But please, take a deep breath. Indigo? Hold them still."

"Wha—?" they began as Kilian gripped their shoulder, but cut off with a scream as Kilian popped it into place. They hadn't even realised it was dislocated. Well, now he knew.