"Alex, come on, quit it, man." Davian reached out and nudged Alex's shoulder, blinking through the haze of the Nightshade to focus on his friend. The shaman still didn't respond and alarm was finally starting to override Davian's usual filters. There was not a lot more sobering than thinking your friend might be dead.
"Fffffff--" Davian scrambled closer, straddling Alex and lifting him by his shoulders, watching the boy's head roll back limp. "--uck! ALEX!" Davian gave him a shake and then lowered him back down, pressing his ear against Alex's chest. Blinking, his own pupils still mostly dilated from the smoke, Davian couldn't hear a heartbeat or any breath and, in a panic, he stood up, fist in his hair, gripping one side of his chopped horns as his eyes looked wildly around the room.
"AMBRIEL!" Davian shouted. "Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck." Davian tripped over the pillows to get to his phone, calling his angel fiancé. For whatever reason, it went to voicemail. "FUCKING DAMMIT FUCK FUCK. Alex, hold on! I'm-- fuck! What am I doing?"
Davian found Paxton's number next and sent him nonsensical texts about Alex being dead and it being his fault and that the nightshade must have been expired.
"AMBRIEL!" Davian shouted again, towards the doors as he dropped next to Alex to try and rouse him, shaking him. "Come on, buddy, wake up. Wake up!"