Who: Lem, Vex, and Nic When: morning, Thursday, Dec 28th Where: Vex & Lem’s house? Status: Complete Warnings: Violence
The day before had been hard, but tolerable. Even though she spent a lot of time at the house, Lem hated being stuck there. The fog was oppressive and annoying, and -- as she found out when she stepped onto the porch to get some air -- freezing fucking cold. Lem was sure she’d heard someone shout down the street, but everything was so distorted and weird, she couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t even see the shape of the Castells’ house, and it was pretty close by.
At least she’d had Vex with her. They ended up sleeping quite a bit, when they weren’t staring out at the fog. Lem’s mind wandered all over the place -- what if the world wasn’t out there anymore? She pictured their house as just a floating island out in some foggy space, completely removed from reality and time. Somewhere Else. Maybe if they walked through it far enough, they would reach where the Pegasus was. Lem had suggested as much to Vex, but he seemed doubtful. If the light hadn’t changed when the sun went down and night came, Lem might have actually started believing it.
It was hard, not knowing how Nic was; if he was actually next door or out somewhere, if he was safe. She tried not to worry too much about him, he was magical and powerful and probably fine. Maybe worried about her. She’d written a few notes, folded them into paper airplanes, and thrown them from the side of the porch toward their house, but who knew if they’d actually made it over there.
Then it was morning, and Lem woke up to a sound she’d never heard before, at least not while she was awake and not caught up in Vex’s visions. It was like a slither, like something with scales was rubbing against ... the house? She laid in bed, her body still half-draped over Vex, her heart starting to pound hard. Lem twisted her head to look toward the window. They’d left the curtains open because why not, and as she stared, something passed by the glass. Something shadowy and big enough to reach the second-story window in the first place. Lem’s body gave a little jerk and she started shaking Vex awake. “Vex,” she hissed. “It’s here.”
Vex was possibly the only person in town who was very calm about the fog. It felt almost soothing, like a thick woolen blanket hugging their house. Of course it was cold but that was okay, it was the visual that mattered. The fact that Lem was agitated didn't even really bother him. She was a firecracker, it wasn't in her nature to be calm. She spun around with sparks flying, he sprawled out and slept.
He was sleeping soundly too when she happened to wake him and the words didn't quite register at first. "Hi," he mumbled groggily, blinking owlishly at her as he tried to get her face into focus. The words filtered through eventually and he blinked again. "What's here?" he murmured, clearing his throat as he sat up to look around for whatever it was. His brain sluggishly suggested Christmas, but that had already come and gone.
Of course by the time Vex was awake and sitting up, the shadow was gone. Lem was still staring hard at the square of foggy white, but she didn’t see anything else. Had she seen it at all? Her body said she had, taut and humming now with nervous energy. She sat up too, one hand clutching in the front of Vex’s shirt. They were inside, they were safe, she told herself. The Pegasus would protect them, guide them in the right direction. “There’s something outside,” she said in an urgent whisper. “It was big and it moved by the window. Like a-- a big shadow in the fog. I heard it rub on the house.”
The idea of something rubbing against the house made Vex think of a gigantic cat, slinking through the fog, rubbing against houses and fences. Someone else might suggest Lem had just had a nightmare but Vex wouldn't think that. There were things out there. Not a werewolf, it wasn't a full moon, but something else, maybe something that lived in the fog. Maybe it was the fog. He got up, his back a little achey from sleeping in a dumb position. "It won't have gone far," he mumbled and padded to the window to peek outside and try to see anything at all.
Lem got up to follow him, because of course she did. She stuck close behind Vex, re-gripping the back of his shirt and peering around his arm into the fog. At first she didn’t see anything at all, and she was once again questioning whether it had been there in the first place, but then something darker moved against all the white, seemingly further away than it had been before. She startled again and clung tighter to Vex, staring with wide brown eyes. “Is it the flesh god?” Lem whispered, her tone almost reverent.
"I don't know," Vex whispered. The flesh god was more like fields and fields of flesh but maybe it had taken on a different shape just for him, for them. He pressed his hand against the cold glass, staring at the shadow as it moved slowly around. He thought he could see other shapes out there, dancing shapes and glowing eyes but it was hard to tell if it was blurry or not in the fog so he wasn't sure if it was real or not. "I want to see it better," he murmured, transfixed by it and if it was the flesh god, it should feel how hard he wanted it to come closer. Or maybe it was the other way around because he definitely felt a pull from the thing, like it wanted him to come closer and that really made more sense.
Half of Lem felt like they would just Know if it was the flesh god, like how you recognized faces from years ago across a room, or knew the smell of a place you used to spend a lot of time in. But at the same time, who knew what form it could take in this world? Had it come for them, and brought a fog along with it so no one else would see? If so it had taken its damn time getting to them. Lem’s stomach flipped over at the idea of getting closer to it, but it was a mix of fear and excitement both. Something big and weird was happening, and it was hard not to want to be a part of it. “Should we go outside?” she asked, still whispering and clinging to Vex. “At least on the porch ... maybe it’ll come?”
Vex didn't answer, just stared out at the shadows as tranquil joy started flooding his senses. He didn't understand why it was here already when their work wasn't done but maybe it had answers, maybe this was just the beginning of their quest. He couldn't see the pegasus anywhere but he didn't see the demons either, just this shadow moving slowly in the fog, graceful and alluring. Was it a test? It was so cold outside, going out there was near-torture for a simple human. Did it understand that? Was that part of it all? Vex was afraid that if he left the window and took too long getting all padded up for warmth the god would go away. Like they needed to keep watching it or else it would disappear. He turned a little, managed to pry Lem's hands off his shirt and guide them to the window. "Watch it," he whispered. "Don't let it leave."
Lem flattened her palms against the window, only giving Vex quick glances as she nodded. She had the same impression -- they had to keep an eye on it, or it would disappear. This was it, they were actually going to make contact in their own world, and she’d been the one to wake up to it. It made sense, of course, she was the conduit, but it was still exciting. Vex seemed calm, so she was calm too. “Okay,” she whispered back, turning her full focus out the window. Everything started to feel dreamy as she watched the shadow-god move around out there. Lem lightly tapped her fingers against the cold glass. “We’re here,” she said softly, and felt like it could hear her. “Don’t go, we’re here.”
Content in the knowledge that Lem was keeping an eye on the god, Vex hurried out to the front door, only slipping on shoes before opening the door. It was bitter cold out there, like jumping into the ocean, but he didn't care. He couldn't see the god from the door but he knew where it was so he carefully made his way along the house, using the wall for guidance. His skin stung after just seconds in the fog, his muscles tensing from the effort not to shake. It was just like a god to make this hard for him and he was determined to prove himself worthy. He stopped when he reached the corner, looking around wildly to try to catch sight of the god again. Maybe this was it, maybe it just wanted to be seen and then vanished as soon as Vex got near. He took a step away from the wall, then another, keeping in mind the direction the house was in, trying to make sure he knew where he was and which way he was turning. It was wild, standing in the middle of it all, unable to see anything. He didn't even hear anything once he stopped moving.
"This is what death feels like," he whispered and his eyes were open and he understood. It was a holy experience and despite the pain he didn't want it to end. He looked toward where the house should be, imagined Lem still standing in the window, her palm pressed against the glass. Could she still see god? Could she even see Vex? He smiled toward her in case she could but then something lashed against his back and he was thrown against the corner of the house. He didn't understand it at first, his whole body burned with the cold but his back burned even more so, like he'd just taken a lashing. There was something hot and wet on his face and it took him only seconds to realize he'd cut his head. Something was standing over him and in a moment of clarity and growing panic, Vex realized this was no god of his.
Lem couldn’t see him. She could still see the shadow though, the flesh god moving through their side yard. She watched as it stopped, paused, then lunged forward with a terrifying speed, getting darker as it got closer to the house. Lem heard the thump against the side of the house and her heart leapt into her throat. That had been Vex’s body, she knew it. A scream ripped out of her lungs and she turned to run out of the room. Lem’s socked feet skittered on the wood stairs and she fell down the last few on her ass, but didn’t let that slow her down much, dashing for the front door. “Vex!” she shrieked as she ran onto the front porch. The next breath burned her lungs with cold, but Lem hardly felt it. “Vex! Nic! Nic help!” The words were drawn out and as loud as she could make them, desperate and stricken and probably too much to hope for, but it was all Lem had. She couldn’t even see where Vex was as she leaned over the side rail of the porch.
The last time Nic had set foot in a fog like this one he had almost killed his sister. It was enough to keep him locked inside, fearful that an attempt to see Lem might result in an attempt on her life. He didn't mind the cold, bitter and deadly as it was. It made his skin tingle and sometimes go numb, but his blood would never freeze. It would never betray him in that way, just like his sister would never burn. But the fog was not his to control. He had tried, had pushed at it and cleared a small patch on the patio, but it refused to yield to him and returned the moment he let go. Feeling useless while surrounded by his element was not something Nic took kindly to, and he paced in the living room, waiting for the fog to let up. Once or twice he thought he saw something out there, a shadow out the window, but it never came too close, always remaining just out of sight.
It had been eerily quiet until suddenly it wasn’t, Lem’s scream for help pulling Nic out of his daze. He threw open the front door and ran out into the fog, not even stopping to pull on his coat, a step he immediately regretted. Even if it couldn’t kill him, it would sure as hell try. At least he had his shoes on, his footprints in the snow the only way to tell where he’d come from in the blanket of white. “Lem!” Nic shouted, disoriented by his lack of vision. He wanted to keep moving, but wasn’t sure which way to go. “Where are you?!”
Vex wasn’t answering her, which was just making Lem panic even more. Was he dead? Had the god killed him? Why would it have come just to do that? This couldn’t really be happening, she couldn’t lose Vex, she couldn’t. She’d let out another couple of wordless screams, mixes of grief and rage, when she heard Nic’s voice from behind her. Lem whirled around and ran to the other side of the porch. “Here! I’m here!” she yelled for him, her voice cracking. Lem started waving her arms around over her head, hoping the movement would help once he got close enough. “Run! I’m here, run run run!”
Nic turned towards her voice and ran, one hand out in front of him to brace for impact should he run into anything. The other hand hung at his side, summoning water and turning it into ice, creating a blade with which to defend himself, should the need arise. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it, a shadow fleeing from sight, and the hair raised on the back of his neck in response. “Go inside!” he shouted as he continued on. “There’s something out here!” He’d known that before, when he was indoors, but it was different now. He felt like a swimmer in shark infested waters just waiting to get bitten. He would face it to get to Lem, but if she could get to safety, she should.
“NO!” Lem screeched, her fingernails digging into the old wood of the porch railing. Nic’s voice was getting closer, he was coming, but that wasn’t as much of a relief as she wanted it to be. “It got Vex!” She saw Nic appear out of the fog then, and Lem bounced and vaulted over the railing. She realized she was still just in her socks when she landed on the snow, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Lem didn’t notice what Nic was holding, only that he was there. She grabbed for his arm to start pulling him to the other side of the porch and house to get to Vex, even though she wasn’t positive exactly where he’d been thrown against it. “It got Vex! We have to get him!”
"I'm here." It was Vex, speaking calmly behind her as he slowly walked along the wall, his vision a little blurry and his balance shot to shit but his spirit was soaring. His back burned like that thing had poured lava on him and he was baptized. He felt holy, the pain like nothing he'd ever felt before but it was good, like getting kicked was good. Good pain. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he said, reaching with a bloody hand out to Lem. "It's perfect."
Nic took wide-eyed one look at Vex and wrapped an arm around Lem’s waist, holding her close. He’d never thought he would need to protect her from Vex, but in that instant he was certain that letting her go would get her killed. “You’re fucking bleeding!” He shouted at Vex, hoping the volume would convey his sense of urgency. Whatever was out there, it was dangerous and it was only a matter of time till it came for all three of them. “We need to get inside now!”
Watching Vex emerge from the fog like that, looking like some serene holy man and reaching out for her, plunked Lem right back into that dreamy-surreal headspace. Her eyes widened as she reached for him too, pure amazement running through her in an electric shiver, replacing all the fear. He was alive, he was okay, he was bleeding but he looked happy about it. Maybe one couldn’t be touched by a god without a little blood involved. Lem let Nic grab her and pull her to him, glad that he was there too to bear witness, but most of her focus was back on Vex. She was still reaching for his hand, unable to exclaim or question yet.
"I am," Vex said and now he couldn't help but smile. "It hurts like a bitch but I'm alive. It looked right at me, leaned down and stared into my soul, Lem. It wasn't god, but it was... it was something." He had felt purpose in that gaze and he felt like he'd just been bathed in millennia of wisdom. There was no way for a mere mortal to internalize all that knowledge but he had felt it and it had changed him. "It touched me." All the wisdom was making him feel a little woozy now, or maybe it was the bleeding. "It's gone now but yeah, we should go inside. It's fucking cold."
For the briefest of moments, Nic thought he was going to have a fight on his hands, that he was going to have to drag Lem inside to keep her from Vex, something that he wasn’t sure he could even accomplish. She’d likely fight him for it, as would Vex, but if he had to choose between Lem living and hating him or Lem dying, he’d keep her safe. But that moment never came. Instead, Vex suggested they go inside and Nic did everything in his power to guide them that direction as quickly as possible. They hadn’t gone far off the porch, it was just behind them, but even that felt far in this cold. “Come on,” he said, trying to get them in as fast as possible. He didn’t point out that something was still out there, lurking in the fog. He could feel its eyes on him, could occasionally see it in the shadows. The last thing he needed was them to head back out. For some reason it was keeping its distance. It didn’t matter why, so long as it left them alone.
It wasn’t god, but it was something. Lem let herself be herded back up onto the porch and into the house, but she looked back a few times before she actually made it inside. That seemed to break the spell a little, and once they were all in and the door shut behind them again, Lem reached for Vex’s arm to turn him around so she could see. There was a gash across his back like a claw swipe, and it was still bleeding. It looked fairly horrific, but Lem had seen a lot of horrific things, and Vex was obviously still alive, so she felt much calmer now. “We need to get this cleaned up,” she said, glancing at Nic. “God-touch or not, don’t want you to bleed out.”
"It was like... God's emissary," Vex mused and the shock he was in prevented him from feeling just how cold he was now. The skin on his arms started hurting too when they were inside and he started warming up a little and he closed his eyes, drawing a shaky breath. "Holy fire," he whispered and he wanted to say he wasn't going to die but he wasn't so sure. Maybe not everyone survived their baptism but he was determined to get through this, he had too much shit to do, too many answers to find. His spirit was stronger than his body though and he was shaking by now, his smile wan.
Nic held his tongue, since anything he had to say on the matter would contradict their rambling. They sounded high to him, like they’d gotten lit and decided they needed to meet the fog monsters. That would have made them sound a little less crazy, but he had the feeling this was just them feeding off each other. “We need to clean it. Mild soap and water will work fine,” Nic said, guiding them both towards the kitchen where Vex could have a seat and they could take a better look at his back. “Then we’ll want to put pressure on the wound to help stop the bleeding.” At least, that’s what they’d done whenever he or Zania got hit with really nasty backlash. It looked like Vex needed stitches, which he could’ve managed if they were at his house. He didn’t trust anything at their house not to make things worse.
All of that sounded reasonable and good to Lem. Getting Vex somewhere he could sit down and they could look at him and patch him up. She was glad that Nic was there to help guide them, because otherwise she might get lost in asking Vex questions about what he’d seen, what he was feeling. There was a pang of jealousy that Vex had been the only one out there to be touched by God’s messenger, but it was easy enough to ignore. She’d thought the thing had killed him, but it hadn’t, it had blessed him instead. Holding onto Vex’s freezing hand, she helped lead him to the kitchen and got him in a chair, then carefully pulled his shirt off of his body. “We need to warm you up,” she told him, peering into his eyes. “I’m gonna make you some tea and once your back’s bandaged you’re gonna bundle up, okay?” She rubbed her hands over his bare, skinny arms, then cupped Vex’s face and gave him a little grin before she kissed his cold lips. “You’re an amazing motherfucker,” she murmured, scritching a bit in his beard. “Keep dreaming, we’ll take care of your shell.”
Lem always knew the right thing to say, that was why she was Vex's conduit, his angel, his firecracker. There were more words, more feelings but Vex's mind felt stupid and slow in that moment so he just grinned at her and nodded. "You're perfect," he mumbled, then leaned forward to rest his head on his arms. It was up to Lem and Nic now to soothe over his new mark, he just had to stay still and bear it. He wondered what it looked like, wishing he could see it through Lem's eyes like she could see things through his. "Take a picture," he groaned as he thought about it. "I wanna see."
Nic was not taking a picture of the wound. He was fine letting Lem do that and instead busied himself with getting a clean, wet rag to clean the wound off. He kept watch over the two of them from the corner of his eye, a little bubble of jealousy cropping up when Lem kissed Vex. It was nothing, he told himself. It wasn’t like they were fucking, so he shoved it back down and proceeded with carefully dabbing the rag on Vex’s skin, starting from the outside and working in. He knew it wouldn’t be pleasant, but they needed to clean it before they wrapped it up.
Lem kissed Vex all the time, so it didn’t even occur to her that Nic might think something of it. She loved him in ways no one else would ever understand, and it felt natural to do when he’d been through an ordeal and come out the other side. Lem had her phone in her sweater-coat pocket just out of habit, and she pulled it out while Nic got the rag ready. She snapped a picture of the gash in Vex’s back, still sluggishly leaking blood, then held it where Vex could see it. “It’s gonna leave a gnarly scar,” she said, sounding kind of pleased about that. Lem left the phone where Vex could reach it and then went to start up the tea kettle. He needed warm stuff. “Oh, uh ... I think there’s some big bandages upstairs? I’ll go get them!”
Every touch of the rag sent a sharp burning pain through Vex's core and it didn't feel like a normal wound. He already knew this wasn't a normal wound so this didn't surprise him, only further established what he already believed, that this wound was special, that he was chosen. It still burned and he hissed softly, clenching his fists and closing his eyes tightly. This was very close to the kind of pain he liked, he reminded himself, so if he could just slip into that state of mind where he craved it, it would be okay. He hummed softly to himself, twitching each time Nic dabbed at his skin. "S'good, s'good," he whispered, humming again and turning his head to relax more.
“Bandages would be good,” Nic agreed, his focus mostly on cleaning the wound, everything else playing out in the background. He didn’t notice Vex speaking at first, but when Lem ran from the room it got quiet enough that he could hear him. It clearly hurt-- Vex’s body was tense, his eyes still closed tight-- so Nic couldn’t fathom what he was going on about. “You okay?” he asked. “I’m almost done. That thing got you bad.” It was bad enough that Nic would’ve recommended going to the hospital, had that been possible. Instead, they’d just have to do the best they could to make Vex comfortable until the fog lifted.
"Got me good," Vex corrected him but his words were muffled and a little slurred. This was not a bad thing, it just hurt a lot, like Nic was setting him on fire. He knew logically that the man wasn't doing that but the feeling still prevailed, his nerves dancing in pain. He felt a little drunk now, slipping into the mindset where he could handle the pain, let it become part of him and elevate him to a higher level. Or sink into something. He couldn't articulate to himself what the feeling was, just that it was fuzzy and better.
Before too long, Lem came thundering back down the stairs, a bunch of supplies cradled in the front of her shirt like a makeshift pouch. She’d gotten some antiseptic creams and rubbing alcohol -- just in case the water wasn’t enough -- and all of the bandages she could find in the house. The scratch was long, it might take more than one to cover it up completely. She dumped all of the stuff out onto the kitchen table and walked around behind Vex to see Nic’s progress. It was definitely a bad wound, and she was glad that Vex hadn’t bled out already. But then again, humans were amazingly resilient. She thought of those old pictures of the backs of slaves, criss-crossed with lash marks from beatings they’d survived. Lem put her arm around Nic’s waist and gave him a hug without getting in the way. “I can do the bandages,” she offered quietly. “I think he’s lost for a while.”
Vex’s response worried Nic, not the words themselves, but the tone. It made him wonder if there was venom or some other toxin affecting him. He’d watch him, just to be sure, and if he had to go back to his own house to get supplies, he would. It wasn’t safe out there, but he felt better about making the trek alone, so long as he was on the defensive. He glanced at the supplies Lem brought down and picked up the antiseptic cream, adding that to the wound as he leaned in to Lem, his way of returning the hug when his hands were busy. “Let me know if he gets worse,” he said, then stepped back so she could start on the bandages. “I’m hoping there’s no side effects to that scratch, but we can’t know for sure.”
"Fuuuuck," Vex groaned as Nic applied the cream. It felt like the wound was protesting and it didn't feel like any wound he'd sustained in the past. He clenched his fists, brows furrowed and eyes shut tight. "Lem," he slurred. "I need you to kick me." He wanted her to knock him out if he was being honest but that wasn't smart or sustainable. Spreading the pain around felt like a good idea though, occupy his nerves elsewhere.
Lem had been with Vex long enough to know what he sounded like when Good Hurt turned to Bad Hurt, and vice versa. It made her stomach twist to hear him make Bad Pain noises, and she winced in sympathy. Lem glanced at Nic when Vex asked her to kick him, sure that wouldn’t make a lick of sense to her boyfriend. “Give me just a sec, honey,” she told Vex as she hurried to spread the bandages out over his god scratch. She taped them down, then shifted her position a bit. “You ready?” Without giving him a chance to say yes, Lem leaned to one side and kicked Vex hard in the side of the thigh. She usually kicked him in the back, careful to avoid his kidneys, but now that wasn’t exactly an option.
Nic watched them with evident confusion, his mouth open, yet he couldn’t figure out what to say. ‘Stop’ seemed reasonable, yet Vex had asked Lem to kick him, so she was only doing him a favor of sorts. Yet it seemed like the last thing Vex should want right now. It made him feel out of his league in a way he’d never experienced, not sure he could help even if he wanted to. Even if asked, there was no way he was kicking Vex.
In a jolt it felt like Vex's body realigned somehow, the sharp and pleasant pain in his thigh drawing the attention of his nerves elsewhere, scattering the pain around. He still felt dizzy and he looked it but he also looked a smidge happier. "Better," he murmured and his back did feel better now that they were no longer touching it. "Help me to the couch," he mumbled, needing to get there before the urge to sprawl out on the floor got too overpowering. He should probably lie on his stomach but there was an intense urge in him to lie down on his back, to press his wound hard against the cold floor.
At least he’d only wanted it once. Nic looked confused and alarmed, and Lem couldn’t exactly blame him for that. He didn’t know all their quirks yet, all the shit they got up to that was so weird to other people. But he would learn, and hopefully he would accept. “Yes, you need blankets,” Lem declared to Vex and pulled one of his arms over her shoulders so she could help him up. With Nic’s help on the other side, they got him to the couch, and Lem draped a couple of the fleece blankets that lived there over him. “I’ll get your tea too,” she said, passing a hand over his wild hair before she turned to Nic. “Do you need anything? Doing okay? Do you know where Zania is?”
If the kicking had continued, Nic would’ve needed something else to do, because watching his girlfriend beat up her...her Vex was unsettling. Once seemed to be enough, so he helped Lem move him, keeping out of the way as Vex got settled and Lem fetched him blankets. He’d have felt better if they were headed to the hospital, or at least stitching up the worst of the wound, but this would have to do. “I’m fine,” he said, taking a deep breath as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Zan’s at the shop with one of the guys from the bar. I sent a rat out there yesterday. I should try to send another though, now that we know what’s out there.” He wasn’t sure if it would make it, but it was worth a try. “What about you?”
Vex felt a little better as he stretched out and he found it made a lot of difference if he pressed his back against the back of the couch. The pressure soothed and mellowed the sting so that's what he did. Tea sounded good, he should probably eat to get his strength up but the thought of food turned his stomach a little. "Bring me some candy," he mumbled. "And some vodka." He barely heard what Nic was saying but the rat caught his attention and reminded him why he liked the witch so damn much. His people. His weird fucking people.
Lem was glad that Zan was at least accounted for -- she knew she would’ve been losing her mind if Vex had been out there somewhere, or if Nic hadn’t actually been next door. But she had her favorite people with her, and Vex was going to be okay, so things were good enough. “I’m good, doing fine,” she told Nic as she headed back toward the kitchen to fetch stuff for Vex. If whatever was out there was a manifestation of the flesh god, Lem was sure Zania would be fine, but if Nic wanted to check on her with a rat, that was cool too. She felt pretty calm about it all now; it was just something they were there to experience and let pass. She poured tea, dumped a bunch of sugar in it like Vex liked, grabbed the vodka and a couple bags of candy, then returned to lay it all out on the coffee table in front of him.
Nic had been calm about the fog, but he wasn’t calm now. Before, it had just been creepy and a bit claustrophobic, but not outright dangerous. It had deceived them, waited until they thought it was nothing but fog and the cold, and then thrown something far more sinister into the mix. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” he said, flopping down in an armchair. He felt useless now and he didn’t like it. A thought occurred to him then, that there were people he could reach. There are monsters lurking in the fog, he thought as loudly as he could. Whatever you do, stay inside. He hated not knowing if anyone heard him, or if they were even awake, but at least they had been warned.
Vex was happy for now. He had vodka and sweets and the two went together perfectly. The table was very close so he didn't need to maneuver much to get the things he wanted and he took great pleasure in chewing his chocolate slowly. He was going to survive this baptism, he could feel it and it was largely thanks to his people. "I'm good," he murmured with a weak smile, putting the bottle of vodka back to drink some tea instead. It was a concoction of flavors, both clashing and melding perfectly and that made them a nice distraction. "Take care of Lem for me."
Vex seemed to be content, and Nic was sitting down now, so Lem wasn’t sure what to do with herself. “I’m fine,” she said again, more insistently this time. She didn’t need coddling, she didn’t need to be taken care of. If anything she was the caretaker in the house. Since Vex had stuff to munch on and drink, she turned and looked at Nic again. “Are you hungry or anything?” she asked him. Part of her wanted to just curl up on his lap, or make him and Vex sit on either side of her so she was flanked with tall protective love, but more of her was restless, needing a task so she didn’t start getting more scared, or think too much about whether or not the fog outside would ever fade. What if it was just the three of them forever? Were they even in their own world anymore? It was a lot.
“No,” Nic said, shaking his head. “Well, yes, probably. I haven’t eaten much. Just restless. Like… I feel like I should be doing something.” Something more than eating, at least. Sitting and doing nothing didn’t sit well with him at all. He wondered if Lem felt the same way, though Vex was probably fine. He looked fantastic for someone who’d just been through an attack like that. “Maybe… maybe we can cook something,” he said, standing again. “We should also maybe check the windows and doors. I don’t think those things will try to come in, but it’d be better to have everything locked down, just in case.” And it gave them something to do, even if it only took a few more minutes.
Vex was wishing he could draw - or that he'd picked a conduit who could draw. The face of the god creature was etched into his head, the way it had leaned down to study him before leaving, like it was admiring its work. So many teeth, scales, claws. Vex was in awe of it, blessed and suffering. He was feeling great considering his wound and the tea, vodka and sugar were helping. He knew that restless energy in Lem, could practically feel her vibrating across the room. "We do need food," he muttered. "You guys should cook that beef that's in the fridge. Make a proper meatloaf with salad and sauce. A celebration." He grinned and took another slurp of the vodka. That should keep her busy for at least an hour.
Lem wasn’t too scared of what was out there anymore, even though it had hurt Vex. If it wanted to get inside and kill them, it would have done it by now. If it wanted to eat Lem and Nic, it had an opportunity and let it pass. Now she just wanted the fog to go away. That part was claustrophobic and she wasn’t sure why it was still lingering. Maybe the god had other people to mark too. “Meatloaf for breakfast?” she asked with a titter, then shrugged. Sure, why not. Did they have fresh stuff for a salad? Lem couldn’t remember, but she would look. Maybe she would do some baking too, while she was at it. She wasn’t great at it, but she could read the directions on the box, if they had any. “Okay, I’m on kitchen duty ... Nic, if you wanna check all the doors and windows, that would be great.” She didn’t usually boss anybody around except Vex, so it felt a little odd to dole out instructions, but hopefully Nic wouldn’t mind.
Nic was used to women bossing him around. His sister had been doing it his whole life. He couldn’t say he liked it, but he honestly didn’t mind at the moment. He didn’t know how he felt about meat loaf for breakfast, and this wasn’t a celebration for fucking anything, but he’d feel better with the house on lockdown, even if Lem and Vex couldn’t care less. So he nodded and prepared to make himself useful. All the doors and windows needed to be shut and bolted if they weren’t already. After that, he could see about putting up wards on the house. It was something he should have already offered to do, but he’d been lazy about it. Now it felt essential and, even if it wasn’t, it would give him something to focus on other than the creatures lurking outside.
Vex felt better when he'd been lying there for a little while and he knew the candy helped with that but probably more so the vodka. He was tired and everything ached but he thought he could sleep anyway. It was soothing, listening to the sounds from the kitchen and Nic's footsteps as he hurried around the house to check everything. It was good to have his people around him, keeping busy. The vision took him by surprise. He was reaching for the remote to the TV when a dainty looking woman appeared in the living room, walking slowly and looking around, obviously calling something though of course Vex couldn't hear her. He recognized her face; this was not the first time she appeared to him so he expected this vision to be just like those early ones with nothing really happening. It was, he thought, just one of those connection visions, people he needed to be on the lookout for. "Lem," he called out, hopefully loud enough to be heard but he didn't really feel like his voice was strong today. "Gotta live one," he added in a mumble, narrowing his eyes as he watched.
He was wrong. The vision abruptly changed as the woman fell back, her robe torn and blood blossoming in the fine fabric. She was scrambling backwards, face contorted in a silent scream. It was uncomfortably similar to aunt Sarah's death and Vex watched in silent horror that quickly turned to relief as whatever had assaulted her didn't come after her. It slowly dawned on Vex that she had been baptized too but she was not calm because she didn't know what Vex did. How many others were there? Was his god amassing an army? Vex stared in fascination as she started to fade away as a shadow of a person crouched down next to her.
Lem had heard Vex say something that started with her name, so she came to the doorway of the kitchen to ask him to repeat himself ... and got immediately sucked into what Vex was seeing. It was a hazy version of his vision, the pretty dark-haired woman not quite as clear to her, but Lem could see enough. Her eyes widened as the lady fell and started to bleed, and Lem realized about the same time as Vex that they were seeing the god-thing touching someone else. Whether it was happening in real time or not, it was obviously today, and that was sort of exciting. Once the woman had faded away, Lem stared at Vex with wide eyes. “Is it ... marking people?” she asked in an awed whisper, though she was aware Vex might not have any answers. They rarely did, but the questions were important.
"Yeah," Vex murmured. "And I've seen her before. We're already connected." The visions he'd had of the woman before hadn't made a lot of sense to him or felt overly significant at the time but that went for a lot of visions he had. People standing around, chatting or reading. It wasn't always interesting but it meant they were people he needed to find. He understood that now better than ever and he wondered if all those people he'd seen were now getting marked too. It was intensely satisfying watching the pieces fall into place, interlocked and slowly forming a big picture. "Did you get a good look at her face?" he asked a bit hopefully. "We need to find her."
Lem was both surprised and not to hear that Vex had seen the woman in a vision before. She hadn’t looked familiar to Lem, but she wasn’t around for everything that Vex got to see. And the god showing him his other chosen people only made logical sense to her. She squinted a bit, more for memory than vision, then gave a low hum. “An okay look, I think. She’s pretty.” That wasn’t very helpful, but Lem wasn’t great at describing people. She just thought she would know the lady when she saw her. If she saw her. “We’ll find her. Another acolyte,” Lem said dreamily, giving a brief, bright smile. That done, she turned to bop back into the kitchen to keep cooking for her boys.
Vex sort of wished he hadn't been a weirdo loner in high school because he was sure this woman had been there at the same time as he was. A year or two older, maybe, not in his class, but around. He didn't know her name, he just knew she looked wealthy, lady-like and now she was like him - baptized. It shouldn't be too hard to track her down. Point Pleasant was not a large town, he would have to look into it when his wounds started healing.
Having checked that the house was completely locked down, Nic returned to the living room. Vex was still on the couch. Lem was still in the kitchen. Things appeared to be fine, but he still checked in with them both, just to be sure. He didn’t think those creatures would try to come in the house, but if they made any attempts, then he wanted to get some wards up to prevent it from happening. Vex and Lem might think there was some kind of god out there, but Nic knew better. The “god” could stay outside until it was gone, and hopefully it would take the fog with it.