Lucanis Week Day 7 - Free Day
Time for some angst! This one is also technically Lucanis x Rook X Neve. I couldn't find a good screenshot this time :(
When I imagined a scenario where Lucanis is romancing both Rook and Neve, I could only imagine how devastating it would be for him to lose both of them one after the other on Tearstone. I tried to capture what that might be like for him here.
Energy rippled from the dagger embedded in Ghila'nain, and Lucanis was knocked off his feet. He landed hard on his back. The wind was knocked from his lungs, and there was a strange heaviness in his limbs that had begun after he'd stabbed the god. All he could do was lie there, stunned and fighting for breath, as the energy rushed over him.
The world around him was a confusion of noise and light. Bellara and Emmrich were shouting at Rook, something about the Fade and the dagger and Ghila'nain. In his current state, Lucanis couldn't even raise his head to see where Rook was. Through the pain and the confusion, he knew he had to find them. Neve was already lost. He had to keep Rook safe.
He tried to rise, to open his eyes, but no good. It was like the air was too thick to allow for the motion, and his head was too full of fog to push harder…
He might have passed out, he didn't know. But next thing Lucanis knew he was being hauled to his feet, his arm draped across someone's shoulders. Spots danced in his vision and his head lolled. Noises and the rush of air around him came back at full force, like everything had suddenly sped up to high speed where once it had been sluggish. He blinked hard, fighting to regain his bearings.
He looked up and realized it was Emmrich who was hauling him away, shouting instructions at the others to keep moving. Somewhere behind them, Bellara was wailing and Taash was shouting, their cries answered by Davrin's emphatic urging for them to get up and keep going. But one voice was missing.
"Rook…" Lucanis said, voice soft and hoarse. "Where is Rook?"
No one was listening, or perhaps no one heard. He looked over his shoulder, scanning the area. Bellara and Davrin were helping Taash to their feet. Ghila'nain's body lay amidst the rubble. He knew with a horrible, hollow resignation he wouldn't see Harding, or Neve. But wherever he looked, there was also no Rook. No Aster.
"Where is Rook?" he said again, louder this time. He tried to pull from Emmrich's hold with no success, looking wildly around once more. "Rook!?" He called. "Aster?!"
Emmrich spoke to him in a calm voice, but Lucanis' couldn't make out his words. His ears roared, his vision flared purple, and—
Spite's voice roared out of him as the spirit burst into the forefront of his consciousness. Lucanis felt his body pull hard against Emmrich's hold, and heard the other man shout as he struggled to hold on to Lucanis.
"ROOK!!! WE. WON'T LEAVE. WITHOUT. ROOK!!!"
A pair of larger, stronger arms closed around Lucanis' body. Spite struggled as they were half dragged, half hauled off their feet by Taash.
"No! No!" Taash was shouting.
Everyone was shouting, crying. Unable to escape, Spite screamed, so loud and long it tore at Lucanis' throat. Then Lucanis felt the possession drop, and he was aware of nothing after that.
Lucanis woke in a bed that was softer than the one he was used to, but only by a little. The world spun as he opened his eyes and blinked in the bright light. His surroundings slowly came in to focus. He was in the infirmary at the Lighthouse. Memories returned. Neve's kidnapping. Harding's sacrifice. Rook's… what? Disappearance? It seemed more like a nightmare than reality. For a moment, he indulged in the idea that maybe that's all it was.
He looked up. Emmrich sat in a chair next to the bed, book in his lap. Lucanis noted his expression of kind concern, and how tired and pale he looked.
Dread washed over Lucanis like cold air.
"What happened?" he said. His voice was hoarse, blown out by Spite. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as spots danced in front of his vision.
Emmrich sighed. He spoke carefully. "What I must tell you," he said, "may come as a shock—"
"Rook is gone," Lucanis interrupted. His voice was hollow. "Aren't they?"
"No, no," Emmrich said quickly. "Rook is missing, Lucanis. Pulled into the Fade, we believe."
Lucanis nodded, eyes squeezed shut. He knew it. He knew. He'd known right away that they were gone, he just hadn't wanted to admit it.
Emmrich was still speaking, but his words were far away and hard to parse.
"Bellara and I are formulating a plan," he was saying. "I assure you, we will find Rook, and Neve. But we must—"
Emmrich's words faded from Lucanis' awareness. Instead, his attention drifted to a memory that rose up like a lifeline, or a taunt.
A week or so earlier. Lucanis, Neve, and Rook on the couch in the meditation room. Rook sat between them, their legs draped over his and their back against Neve's chest. Their curly hair bobbing as they gestured broadly, regaling him and Neve with a tale of one of their adventures with the Veil Jumpers. Lucanis' hand perched gently on Rook's warm knee, even this simple touch still uncertain. Neve, for her part, played with Rook's hair, slight smile on her face as she listened. She looked up and met Lucanis' eyes, and her face softened further. His heart skipped. He knew her expression mirrored his own. For so long, they'd both been alone. Now there was so much connection, so much warmth. So much love.
Now, gone. Not one stab wound, but two.
