#My shoulder hurts so bad 😭 my arms are so weak that using a cane is like. less pain but more exertion

[eros-ghoulette]

Everywhere

Zephyr is in pain and Aether wants to help.

Characters: Aether, Zephyr Word count: 443

Aether was currently walking back to the ghoul den. He was tired, Omega needed help in the infirmary, and who was he to say no? So he spent his whole day there, mostly doing the paperwork while the other quint was on duty to help his patients. Ifrit came around on lunchtime to bring him a sandwich and then went back out to do whatever he needed to do. All Aether wanted was to lay in his bed and get some sleep, and maybe find Dew to cuddle with.

As he entered the ghoul den, he smelled it immediately; sour and, somehow, herb. He rushed to their common-room. Zephyr was laying on the sofa, their cane laying on the ground next to them. They were laying on their belly, their shirt slipped up a bit, revealing their lower back and small love handles. Their face was buried in their arm and a pillow. Aeth walked over and crouched down besides them, placing one of his clawed hands on their shoulder.

“Where does it hurt?”, he asked, knowing that smell of Zephyr well.

“Everywhere”, came back the quiet answer, and Aethers heart broke at the sound of their voice. He stood back up and reached for the medicine cabinet, only to realize, that they had no painkillers left.

“I’ll get you something”, he told the airghoul and wanted to leave for the infirmary again.

“No”, Zeph mumbled, turning their face to look at his pack mate. Their eyes were red and the cheeks puffy. “Don’t help, Mount gave me the rest. Barely made a difference.” Zephyr’s voice cracked. They looked at the small table and Aether saw their last package of painkillers. 

The quintghoul looked worried and reached to grab the cane. He leaned it against the wall and watched quiet tears falling down Zephyrs cheeks. They turned their face back to the pillow.

“Where are the others?”, Aether asked then.

“Wanted to be alone”, came back. The other one knew why. Zephyr hated to appear weak, and they hated to be pitied. 

“Should I go too?” Aether knew the answer already, but he needed confirmation.

“No.”

The quintghoul sat down on the ground next to Zephyr, his hands placed on their lower back. He was tired, but Zeph needed help, and quintessence was the best he could offer. Aether closed his eyes and concentrated, his hands began to tingle, a familiar feeling. After a while, his head began to pound. The paperwork had already exhausted his brain, and using his quintessence now, especially that much, took his energy like nothing else. But it was for Zeph and for them, he would do anything. 

____________________

I let myself get inspired by @aweisz fanart and hope it's not too bad written. And I hope Felix is doing better today. (Also, my fucking hand hurts today, my back hurts, I got my period, and I'm still ill so every time I cough my brain and lungs feel like they will explode 💀😭. And I can't concentrate, no matter what I do, my mind ends at the ghouls)

[nexus-nebulae]

bruh why did i choose to walk up the steepest inclined path in this whole fucking park