A Little After a Dream (Ad-Vitam!)

[Anonymous]

"Leini..."

   A faraway voice called her back. Quinn. Leilani recognized it instantly. Why did he sound so sad? It was unlike him. She could count on him to be the happy face in her life - always there even when she didn't notice. A Quinn set in sorrow, had she ever seen it before? She remembered herself reaching out the rain and the wind whipping at her face. The pain, the irony taste in her mouth- Her mind was still in that groggy mist between unconsciousness and the moment where she would realized the state of the world around her as being something more than fragments of bad memories. This time was blissful, however it disappeared quickly, and what she woke up to was a throbbing pain. Leilani clutched at her forehead, feeling the dampness of blood against her fingers.

   The dream...Why was it always dreams? When she closed her eyes, what filled her visions were scenes - sometimes beautiful and frequently terrible. Words, characters that she had familiarized with over the years as if they were real people who had lives and she was simply observing them all. But what she just woke from there was nothing except her and that presence; the presence that felt so familiar, so intimate. It had invaded her in that darkness, in those last seconds she was there - peeling back her mental skin. She could not fight it, and now the calmness that enshrouded her before barred down heavily on her, forcing her into near stoic state. Not quite however, her sense of self remained somewhere digging at the edges of walls with dirty chewed down nails. Her first reaction to the wound on her forehead would be to panic, to have her heartbeat begin to race, and throttle the person who did it to her. Instead she simply brought her hand down from her forehead and struggled to right herself. Her body was heavy, tired, and worn down. Her eyes went to the blood on her hand-

   That was not her hand. At least she still seemed to have her night vision.

   What her gaze fell on was a much larger, thinner, and long fingered hand with dark coloured skin and claw-like nails that could make any villainous woman jealous. This was the very furthest one could get from hers. She grabbed her wrist - with another one of those hands, which was attached to an arm, like the other one. At this point she was hoping that someone else dropped them. Unfortunately those arms were also attached to the torso. H...her torso. She padded down her chest, hands crawling across alien clothing that was the least of her worries, the worst of her worries were realised when two of her best assets were found missing in action.

Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh god oh gods.

   No mount of forced stoic states could stop this rise of panic.

   She...No he...no she...Oh, this was going to be difficult. He, for as of right now that's what Leilani was instead of the plump perky young woman that should be in his place, sat a handsome man with pale long hair. He was adored in lavish clothing - quite unseen in the slums of Arca, he would stand out like a sore thumb - fit for a king or a prince, not a farmhand. The eyes that Leilani now looked through were coloured brightly orange, the pupils slit much like a snake's. His hands moved to feel his face, the features - bridge of his nose, cheekbones, jaw line, to his ears that were not human in the least bit- all the while his breathing seemed to be caught in a cycle of short unsteady breaths. There was a pressure on his chest, a soreness in his ribcage. Something was definitely broken. He wiped away the blood that had accumulated under his nose.

   What do I do now? His thoughts became sedated again; only some emotions could break through, and only for a small duration before they were suffocated once more, allowing him to think on practical actions instead of ones purely controlled by strong desires. Later, he knew, he'd have a heart attack.

   The door slammed against the brick mortar outside. Again, and again. Rain poured in, soaking the floor boards and the wind carried words that for a moment he forgot.

"Leini..."[/i]

   "Quinn..." After he spoke his throat tightened in embarrassment. That deep voice - definitely not normal. No one was around to hear it, so why did he feel silly? Either way, he attempted to stand up awkwardly, like a fawn using its legs for the first time. Carefully he steadied himself on the nearby table, his nails clicking against the surface. Oh, he was much taller...He could get used to this. A small smile played on his lips, but faded with the sound of the door. It reminded him of what he needed to do. Somehow, he needed to find Quinn and save him.

Despite not being used to the new body, he had to make do. The biggest challenge before him was getting out of that doorway. The first time, he had hit a seemingly invisible block until he realized antlers were growing out from his head. Not just any antlers, bloody golden ones. This...Could take some manoeuvring.

[Anonymous]

Quinn glanced up at the creature once it had stopped. They had reached the cemetery much to his dismay. It hadn't taken that long. The thing seemed distracted, looking for something. It seemed like the one and only chance he'd have at getting away. It wasn't watching him so therefore it wasn't focused on keeping a hold of him. At least that was how he hoped the thing's mind worked. Quinn struggled again, attempting to push himself away.

He as quite surprised when it actually worked which was obvious due to the fact that he broke free and tumbled right into the mud. That didn't matter though. All that matter was that he was free and he could run away before the thing could have a chance to turn and stop him.

Quinn clawed at the mud, much like an animal on four legs would do, to get himself to his feet. He stumbled forward a little and nearly fell face first into the mud again. He caught himself with his hands though and pushed himself up right enough to be able to run. Or at least start to since his feet were sinking into the wet dirt. The ground gave an awful noise when his feet broke free just as he was about to break into a sprint. It was a kind of sickening noise.

Just as he was about to dart off though, his eyes went wide and an involuntary cry left his lips. Almost like one you'd hear after stepping on a cat or dog's tail. He had one thing in common with both animals...a tail. It was always behind him and therefore easy to catch. Which was exactly what the creature had done. It jerked him back and caused him to tumble right back into what had been his muddy landing place.

At that point he had to have looked like he just decided to go outside and roll in the mud. It didn't matter too much to him since the rain was washing it all away again and what matter most was what the creature had been looking for had happened to show up.

More black and sort of disfigured things surrounded him in a circle. All different sizes but all a little bit less threatening than the one that had kidnapped him. Less threatening did not mean they weren't frightening though. They all peered down at him which caused a chill to run down his spine. Quinn shrank back a little, like a kitten trapped in a corner, and his ears flattened against his head. "I-I'm not very tastey.." he mumbled.

For a second after that there was silence and then the awful clicking noise started. Each one of them sounding off at different times, sometimes meeting up. It sounded worse than just the one that had done it before at Leilani's. His eyes darted between them as they all loomed over him. No room for escape this time. He closed his eyes tightly and just wished that they would all go away despite knowing it probably wouldn't work. Closing his eyes just kept him from seeing them which made it a little better. It was better not to see what was going to happen right than see it and know there was nothing he could do to get away again. 'Leini..help..'

[Anonymous]

There was nothing in that little house that would be worth stealing, which is why the door still hit against the brick mortar long after Leilani had started down the street. Quinn was like a beacon, calling him. A pulsating light that embossed itself on his senses. Help, he needed help. And he was running as quickly as he could to get to him, simply following instincts he had no time to sit down and question. His boots sunk into puddle after puddle, rain soaked through his clothing, all the way through to his skin. While it felt nice against the pain in his chest, it was overpowered by his struggle to breathe.

   By the time he had gotten to the old gates to the cemetery his white hair was sticking to the side of his face and he could not miss the chance to brace himself against one of the stone columns with a hand to collect himself. It hurt, the burning through his ribcage, the throb of his head though the wound there had already healed, it was near unbearable. All it took was one deep breath for him to begin a coughing fit. One thing lead to another, he leaned over and threw up all over the nice cobblestones leading in.

   "Blood...?" He choked out, his throat sore.

    There was a sickening realization, had he done this in his small, and not as physically fit as this body appeared to be, he would be laying on the side of the road with no breath to catch. And with that thought, words came back to him...

   "Indeed. Surely we shall die if we do not."

   He...Was beginning to understand. Leilani wiped his mouth. It was a bit of a shame to ruin the clothing with blood and mud. But he could not waste anymore time. Who knows how long he had been unconscious. In the sky he could see a slight lightening. He hoped he wasn't too late.

   A cemetery wouldn't have been his first choice. They were...Creepy at best. Creepier now than ever. He took to a slower walk, being careful with his breathing, and wary with his eyes. The shadows moved here, and he could sense...The same sort of pain and violence radiating as it did with the creature that stole Quinn away into the night. They were moving towards a single destination. And he followed. Whether or not this was a part of a greater plan, which he had a feeling it was, it didn't concern him. Not at that moment. Finding Quinn was the most important, he'd figure out what to do after that. Leap before you look. Good plan.

   A clicking sound rose into the air. His deer-like ears twitched in their direct. He knew...That noise. From a dream. He could not remember until now, strong emotions had clouded it. Denial, fear...These were spirits so far gone it was quite possible no god in the entire world could save them. The sort of blight that only wants to cause suffering, like it had suffered. But why...of all people had it targeted him...Quinn?

   He broke into a run, ignoring the pain, and only stopping with a circle of the smoky creatures impeded his path. Not that it mattered. He had found what he was looking for.

   "Quinn!" He called out, completely forgetting that his friend would not recognise him - at all. The spirits stared at him, the hollow eyes looking right through to his soul.

"You...Were supposed to help...Us!"

   The words struck into him, and they seethed with such venom his face paled and his ears pinned themselves against his head.

"Oh carp." He said.

[Anonymous]

This was it. Not exactly the end he thought he'd have. Being eaten or whatever by creepy things. Things he hadn't ever seen before but things that still wanted to steal him away from the comfort of a blanket and his best friend. His thoughts then traveled to Leilani. Poor Leilani out cold on the floor as he was taken away. He could only hope she was okay. He had tried to get away to get back to her and his attempt had failed. He couldn't help keep her safe.

The clicking stopped and his ears perked up a little again. His name was being called but the owner of the voice didn't sound familiar. He opened one eye and glanced up at the creatures that surrounded him. They were no longer focused on him. They were looking elsewhere and he could only assume they were looking at the person who had called out his name.

Quinn opened his other eye and tried to see in between the creatures but to no avail. He wanted to know who was there and how they knew his name. Better yet he wanted to get to them so he could get away from his predicament. He was sort of afraid to speak. He wasn't sure what would happen if he did. He didn't want all of the things' attention back on him. Despite that though he ended up calling out. "I-I'm right here! P-Please help!"

What was this person supposed to do though? Not even he could do much. He wasn't sure but he hoped they had something up their sleeves.

[Anonymous]

He didn't have anything up his sleeves, actually. Well, he did, but those were his arms and everyone had those. And his were currently preoccupied in a gesture of 'whoa there'. Focus had been turned to him, this was a start. Perhaps if he distracted them, Quinn would have enough time to slip away to someplace safe. And then what...? He'd just have to play it by ear...

   "I know! Let me think of something." He was not speaking to the spirits, but to the friend he could not see through the throng - eyesight was becoming an increasingly useless sense. What had led him here was not that - it was difficult to explain, if he had to, to someone who had never experienced it before - it was like a tug; a hold on his entire being dragging him forth, he simply had to follow blindly. Which he had. The call for help was the source. Now he found himself in a spot where he had to play the role of 'hero'(heroine). He had been prepared for it, albeit not well. Leilani didn't play hero. It was uncommon in the slums. You were always just out for yourself...But Quinn did not live in that world. "When you can run, run. Just think of them as bears!"

   The spirits did not seem to understand him, or suddenly did not care about the person they had encircled. Leilani swallowed hard. Oh boy, they were angry.

   "Look," he started to say, keeping his eyes on them while bending down to grab a very conveniently placed stick. O-kay. So not the best weapon, but it was better than nothing, and hells be damned if he was going into this unarmed. It seemed like a good stick. Please don't let me down... "you all seem a bit...miffed. Buh-uutt, you have the wrong person."

   "You are...Arkeemi."[/i]

   Arkeemi? That name rang true somewhere deep. He had heard it before but it had now been forgotten. He shook his head. "No. I'm..." He hesitated. Quinn was right there. The words caught in his throat. He knew he had to say them, to establish an identity - he was still Leilani in mind, no matter how sedated his emotions had become, the thoughts were still hers- but in this body, it was hard to breathe... "...I'm...My name is Leilani."

   "Liar! You lie to hide....Failed us... We'll take something precious..."

   Hair stood up on the back of his neck. Those words meant business. Without wasting another moment, and with trusty stick in hand, he took a swing at the nearest creature and hit nothing but smoke. Leilani stumbled forward, knocked off balance by hands pressing against his back, and fell straight into the mud. The same mud and circle that had entrapped Quinn. Pain.  He couldn't wait for the crushing feeling in his ribcage to pass. He had to get back up, yet it was taking everything out of him to push himself out from the mud.

"Arkeemi has become weak..."

   That terrible clicking noise resounded once more.

[Anonymous]

Think of something? There really was no time to think at the moment and he had tried to think of things and nothing he thought of would work. Well the thoughts that he had managed to focus in on while is brain was in it's constant turmoil. There was not much he could do though but hope the person came up with something that would work. If they thought of something that didn't work..well then that would probably be the end of everything. Just thinking about it had another chill going down his spine. 'Don't think about that again..'

Run and think of the things as bears? Did they know he often ran from bears? If so then how did they know? As far as he could hear, he didn't know the person at all. Then again it could be a coincidence. You would normally run from a bear if it was chasing you. Anyone would. "O-Okay." It worked. Too bad even with the attention off of him, there wasn't really a way between the creatures so he could run. They'd have to move first which didn't seem like a likely happening.

Quinn looked around frantically, trying not to miss any sort of opening but none came. Just as he had expected. 'I can't run..' He could try to push through them but that would no doubt end him up right where he had been before. It was worth a shot though. He was ready to try but stopped when he heard some rather shocking works.

"...I'm...My name is Leilani."

"Lei..ni..?" How was that even possible? That voice was not her voice. It was more of a man's voice and her voice was no where near that range. It wasn't possible that hitting her head had caused the change either. Not even a cold or sore throat or anything like that could've done that. It couldn't be Leilani.

The person that came tumbling through the circle of smokey creatures soon after was definitely not Leilani either. Apparently what ever plan this person...Leilani...had didn't work either since they were both now in the same spot. Quinn quickly tried to help Leilani when he noticed she...no..he was struggling to get up. The clicking noise had his ears pinning back against his head again.

Awful.

"Leini...?" He was at a loss for words. If this was Leilani she didn't look the same at all and he couldn't even begin to figure out why she had changed so much. "Leini...you have antlers." Of all the things to notice, other than the fact that Leilani was no longer a girl, was the fact that there were rather large, and in the way, antlers on her...his head. "And your ears, Leini!" It was like he had completely forgotten the situation they were in or that it wasn't as important anymore...

[Anonymous]

It had taken him a moment to realise where he had fallen. All that seemed to matter was getting back up. His muscles were straining under exhaustion, as if they had not yet awaken and he was as weak as a kitten. Not that Leilani would normally know a man's strength, such things were alien to her. But he knew enough to guess at it. The pain tunnelling through him wasn't aiding him. It worn down his mind, his tolerances, his ability to think. Whatever that alien calm managed to do, it could not still the thundering madness of pain.

   He felt hand grab him and his initial reaction was to jerk away, which simply pushed him further back into the mud. Not helping.

   "Leini...?"

   His heart skipped a beat then, he was sure of it. Slowly he looked up towards Quinn. And the first thing he thought of was how terrible he must have look then. All covered in mud. It was on his face, caked in his long white hair, his clothing... In Leilani fashion, his cheeks were burning with embarrassment until he saw that his friend was in a similar state. It made him feel better in one way, but in a more logical fashion he came to the conclusion that it meant they were in the same situation. Wallowing in the mud like worms. Doomed.
   
   He couldn't help but smile, albeit sheepishly, as he grabbed onto Quinn to help him up. The first thing he notices, of course, would be the antlers and the ears. Just like him. Leilani would admit it made things a little easier. "Among other things..." he said, "You believe...That I'm Leilani?"

[Anonymous]

Leilani jerking away at first caused him to stumble a bit and almost fall back into the mud as well. It wouldn't have made much of a difference if he had anyway. His lower half was pretty much covered in it while there were just splashes of it every where else. It just meant he'd have to wash up really good after they managed to get away. Well if they managed to get away.

When Leilani grabbed onto him afterwards for help though, he spilled a bit and gladly helped him up. He would've looked him over and fixed any scratches or anything as well if he had things with him and if they had he time to do it. They of course didn't..technically they didn't have time for their idle chit chat either...

That didn't change anything though.

"Of course. Leini doesn't lie and besides..no one else really knows I have problems with bears." Again that statement before could've just been in general but he didn't really think so then. "Ah you're taller too Leini!" Even if he was taller though Quinn could still see the creatures looming behind him and he was suddenly reminded of their current situation. "Leini..what do we do now.?"

[Anonymous]

Oh. He was taller than Quinn now, wasn't he? As much as he wanted to find out how much taller, there was not time for it. But like his friend, while he knew this fact, it did not stop him from asking questions that could have been asked later. And it shouldn't have been on his 'top things to say' list. At the top should have been 'are you okay, are you all right? Do you have anything broken, missing limbs? Nothing is shuffled around?' Still, it felt good to know he believed, even when he himself was having a difficult time out of it. They would...He would need to figure out something later, if they got out of this, and hope beyond hope that it would go back to normal on its own.

"W..what now?" Stuttered out. He hadn't thought that far remember? It was always leap first think later when you are about to die. He was fairly sure that the vicious spirits, or demons or whatever they happen to be, would not let them go after a little talking. He remembered being told in that dream before waking up to a nightmare. The 'voice' said they were spirits, long gone, if he heard correctly. But what good did that do? He couldn't touch them and yet they could touch. What was that all about, it certainly wasn't fair! All that thing gave him was a body he could hardly use- a man's body no less!- and some garbled up information he could not understand. If it was not for the emotional suppression he would be panicking...

"Give up..."[/i]

"No, I won't give up!" He shouted. "Stop reading my mind why don't you?! Not fair."  The circle of spirits wavered. No, they were swaying. Side to side. The image of them changed. Bodies made out of smoke. The details were all there; details of a decaying body, but made out of something other than flesh and were darker than the night itself. Not fading even when the rain was pounding heavily down on everything. They were so different than the ones he had seen before, not in shape, but in demeanour. They had never spoke to him, only listened to whatever mad words Leilani said. This was all a trap wasn't it? One had stole into his house in the middle of the night and took advantage of his vulnerable state to snag Quinn. But, was he the lure? Or a sacrifice to make him angry, feel a pain greater than the toll they caused on his body? And why?

   He had...Seen this before. The spirits were becoming a smoke filled veil around him and Quinn; one being. They were creating a new one. No...Just returning. The feeling of familiarity grew stronger. He really had seen this before. Though not in the waking world. This was it. He took his friend into his arms, ignoring the screams of his ribcage when the pressure collided with them. He didn't care. Leilani, she, wanted to hold him, feel his warmth. It drove away the cold. It gave him something real to grasp hold of. He wanted to keep him safe. He would keep him safe.

   The veil closed in on them and thousands of dark decaying arms stretched out, clawing at their clothing trying to scratch at the skin beneath it. They raked at him, he could feel the sting when they hit. He held on tight to Quinn and felt the irony taste of blood build up in his mouth like it did at the cemetery gates.

"Arkeemi has become weak..."

   He hated those words and would not allow them to be the last thing he heard.

   I don't plan on dying again!

[Anonymous]

Answering a question with a question..that was never a good thing. He had hoped that Leilani had thought everything out before jumping right in. Apparently not though. This was going to be a problem. He had no ideas what to do obviously so what was going to happen? Most likely the worse possible option? They were going to get eaten? Well..maybe eaten? Quinn shook the thought out of his head. No no..he didn't want that.

Leilani was shouting again then, which brought him out of his rather depressing thoughts. He didn't know what he was shouting for though. He couldn't hear the creatures. He could though? He frowned a little and looked up and Leilani, not sure what else to do or what to say. When he noticed the creatures swaying, he glanced around at them. What were they doing?

Making themselves bigger and one thing. That's what they were doing. Quinn shrank back a little. This really wasn't good. His eyes went wide for a second when he was suddenly pulled to Leilani. A small frown crossed his lips before he hugged the taller girl...man...back but lightly. He was hurt and Quinn knew it. He didn't want to make it even worse. Quinn buried his face in Leilani's shirt and his ears pinned back against his head. So it really was all over?

The scratching at his clothing after that had him gripping Leilani's shirt and of course Leilani holding him tighter as well. He bit down on his lip when the scratches started to go past the clothing though. "Leini.." What were they supposed to do?

[Anonymous]

He didn't plan on dying. However, Leilani was beginning to grab at the short straws; running all the options through his head over and over while attempting to ignore their surroundings. An attempt that was proving to be futile, it would come twisting back too fast for him to count on a moment's peace. Time was quickly slipping through the hour glass, he would be able to count each grain that was left if he pleased to. All he knew about anything that could pertain to what was happening was through the dreams that had haunted him for years. He never thought he would turn to them, out of all the things he could grasp hold of for help, that was the last. The funny fact about those dreams were that they were only fragments. Short bursts of scenery, sound, people, feelings that were not his but flowing through him regardless. What he saw was only...Fleeting. But he knew, oh boy did he know, that all of this was very, very bad.

   He could do nothing, only stand with his arms around the person he thought he'd be able to protect, and feel the hands tearing away - and they would tear until there was nothing left; nothing left of fleshy vessels. What one had to worry about was when they reached the small speck of soul in the middle of it all. Then the real pain began. You'd be one of them. They'd take you in their thousands of hands and consume you. And there was no end to it. You'd live in a half-death, half-life existence. Trapped by mortal wills, desires, all things the living care for, and nothing but death would surround you. Soon you'd lose your sense of self, you'd begin to wander...Searching for those you could steal away into the dark, simply for a seconds relief where you'd hold a piece of life in your sick hand...

   He couldn't let that happen. Not to Quinn! He was too innocent...So frail and helpless...That was why he held on tight to Leilani's shirt and pressed his face into his chest - which were he in another body he would never allow - trying to escape. He was his only ticket out of here. But how-

   "Guh!" The wind was knocked out of him by the shock of long fingers digging into the small of his back so far he could feel the sting of a wound. Then there came others, taking advantage of his delayed reactions. Hands dug into his shoulders deeply. Oh gods, his heart started to race for the first time in this body. He still held onto Quinn, even when the arms started to drag him back towards the wall of the veil. More of them joined in, latching onto every part of his body that they could grasp. Hands forced themselves onto his face and pulled his head back. His hair was tugged and antlers were gripped. He couldn't look down at Quinn and he still felt him until his own arms were pulled away.

   He couldn't breathe.
   
   Life was slipping away. His worn and weary body did not have much in there to begin with, he could tell the moment he had woken up on the cold floorboards of his house. It was like he had been sleeping for such a long time...And about to do so again. He couldn't do a thing. Because of him Quinn would die, and suffer eternity trapped as a hideous monster. His eyes stung. And left behind would be Lucine...His sister. It hurt. Failure hurt. It was worse than any broken bone that may be in his chest, worse than the soreness of his throat and the hundreds of hands on his body, tearing him apart.

   I won't die again!

   Like before, those words seemed to come from another part of his mind. A deeper sort of conviction lined them. It wouldn't let him give up though everything was beginning to grow colder and darker...He was so tired.

   And then, something was being pulled out of him forcefully. By now he had grown numb to pain, and his thoughts were fading. Images of Lucine was what he wanted to remember. She had always done the best she could, and now he could never repay her... A warm light was flowing around him, and though he could not see it, it was spreading against the walls of the veil and forming thin lines. Those thin lines expanded into symbols. Hands retreated, they made a sickening sound as they pulled from the wounds made in him. Leilani gasped, and began to choke on blood. Just as easy as it seemed to be formed, the veil disintegrated. Leaving nothing behind.

   He collapsed to his knees in the mud, and spat out the blood. He felt...Empty. Like a hole was opening up in the recess of his soul and gaping.

   How?

[Anonymous]

Quinn frantically raked at his brain for any way out of the mess they were in. It was hard to concentrate though when every short thought was followed by a painful distracting scratch or tear. He wasn't one who could think past pain. Whenever it came it always laid over any thoughts he had. All that would become important was stopping or getting rid of it before he could get back to what he had originally been thinking. If that thought was still there afterwards though.

He glanced up at Leilani after he heard the noise the other made. His expression went blank when soon after looking up he found that Leilani was being pulled away from him. He didn't want that. If he was taken away there wouldn't be much hope for anything. Even if he did somehow miraculously survived there wouldn't be much of a point. Leilani was the closest person to him that he had, beside his parents. "Leini!" Quinn tried to keep a hold of him but it wasn't working. He was only one person against many things pulling on the other side.

Quinn moved forward to grab a hold of him again but just as Leilani was being pulled away, he was stopped by being pulled the other way. "No! Leini!" His heart thumped against his chest again as he again clawed at the empty space between the two of them and squirmed to try and get away. Even when he noticed the light around his friend he still tried to get away. He wasn't sure if the light was a good sign or not. Well at least not until the things pulling them disappeared.

Being released suddenly caused Quinn to fall forward. He caught himself by planting his hands in the mud though, causing more to splash up into his face. That didn't matter though. He quickly scrambled over to Leilani then, finding it quicker to just go on hands and feet rather than try and stand up again. He dropped to his knees when he was near him though and stopped just as he was about to cling to him again. "Leini, you're hurt." Hurt a lot more than he was too. He frowned and quickly tried to help his friend to his feet again. "Back..let's go back. I'll fix you up. It'll be okay, Leini."

[Anonymous]

It was taking all he had not to slump to the ground, to the mud and to rest. The rain still came down, though a little lighter than what it had been. He didn't feel it as it hit where parts of his skin were exposed, like all the nerves had been thrown out of him and what he was left with were the scraps. With no mirror he could only imagine what he looked like. Dirty and ragged. He supposed it might not be much different when he came home from work. With a shaking hand he wiped away the dark blood on his lips. Coughing up blood, that was not a good sign. It would be a contradiction if he were to say he was worried about not being worried enough. He was aware of what happened, however after the light...

   That light...

   He looked up, his slit pupils falling on the figure of Quinn scrambling towards him. On all fours. Through the mud. His neatly shaped eyebrows raised. Not out of surprise that he was alive, by all means that was an utter relief, it was just that...It had to be one of the first things he saw after escaping from that mess. She would have laughed, and perhaps he would have if he was sure it would cause his ribcage to fall apart.

   They did escape...Right? He wanted to look around, search every tombstone, tomb, tree, rock and piece of grass to make sure they were safe. That those things would not come back to finish the job. Quinn's voice brought him back.

"Leini, you're hurt."

   It was always like him to make sure everyone was all right before himself despite not looking much better after the ordeal. Leilani reached out and grabbed onto Quinn's shoulders, making sure he was real, that he was not simply a trick or a game in his mind. His friend felt much warmer than he did, much warmer than the mud, or the rain.

   "You're alive!"  He managed to say, "Back? What do you mean back? Those things could still be around! Can you walk? ...Can I even walk?"  He added in a rush, knowing that Quinn had survived sparked more life in him. His voice took on a familiar energy; one that had been absent. And pain started to rush back. The 'calm' was leaving him. However, the body remained.

   "I don't know what to do..." He said in a weak mumble and began to feel dizzy from blood loss. He slumped over onto Quinn.

   Out, like a light.

[Anonymous]

Quinn stared at Leilani a little dumbfounded when he grabbed his shoulders. Was he going to be sick? He hadn't really seen that that had already happened before. If he had he probably would've felt sick to his own stomach and done the same. Thank god he hadn't though. The statement that followed had him smiling a bit. Even if he had thought the likelihood of him coming out alive during the whole ordeal was slim to none, he was happy and tried to act like it would've happened that way the whole time. "Of course I am."

"Back. Home. To your house. Or..ah..to mine maybe...your sister will be home soon right? No good for her to come back and find a beat up giant and me, right?" He quickly shut himself up when he realized he was rambling. It was not a time for that. "I can walk. Ah..I don't know if you can walk. Can you walk? Stand up and try, Leini."

His expression went blank when Leilani started to tip forward. "Ah ah, Leini. Careful careful."

Too late.

Leilani was out cold again but this time he was leaning on Quinn which almost caused him to be squished into the mud since he hadn't actually prepared for it. "Oh no no. Leini..wake up. I can't carry you." He probably wouldn't be able to get his friend to his feet to assist him in walking..or dragging..or anything! "Leiniiiii." No luck..no response. Nothing.

Quinn whined a little before at least managing to move Leilani away from the mud before having to lay him on the ground. "Okay...okay...ah..." He frowned a bit before grabbing Leilani underneath the arms- "I'm sorry Leini I have to drag you now." -and started to pull him along.

[Anonymous]

It was the first time he didn't dream.

Leilani woke up to finding himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, or the blurry image of one. He brought a hand to his eyes to wipe them and slowly the events of the night came back. Well, at first it was slow then the images sped up; racing through his mind that was just waking up from what felt like a very long sleep. But it was a pleasant one. he couldn't remember anything from it. It was simply...Sleep. There was no overpowering force of alien emotion, or the sensation that he had seen it all before. However once his mind came back to him he began to wish he did dream. All of it.

And he was still the same. He noticed instantly that laying down with antlers attached to one's head was a difficult process, he found himself constantly trying to shift to get comfortable. His body, though he did not like to think of it as his it was only a loaner, ached as if he went through all the hells in the world at the same exact time. His head hurt something fierce; pressure by his temples and at the back. He shut his eyes tightly when his gaze fell on the light streaming in from the curtains placed across the window. It wasn't raining anymore, but he could remember it vividly. The warmth of the blanket spread over him was welcoming; falling back to sleep, to what he hoped was again dreamless. He could already feel himself fading away with his hand still laying across his forehead. Then a thought hit him like a heavy blow.

   Quinn, where's Quinn?

   Stupidly Leilani sat up without hesitation or caution and instantly regretted it. He bent over double on the strange bed he had obviously been placed on. He didn't remember climbing into it. His breath was knocked out of him by the sudden sharp pain striking through his chest like a bolt of fire. He gasped trying to catch it, and his arms hugged his torso as if that would help it stop. The moments felt like eternity, and when it finally passed even then he was wary to breathe. An ache was left there, and when his fingers with the claw-like nails trailed accidentally along the bandage wrapped around his chest he winced. Pain again.

   When was he bandaged? They were all along his arms, covering and soaking up the blood from the wounds underneath them. He could see the stains. Some of them were still brilliant red, signs of fresh blood still flowing. Carefully, very, very, carefully he looked himself over. Bruises, cuts and scrapes decorated him everywhere. He remembered that. The dark hands reaching out to him, tearing...Shivers ran down his spine. He didn't want to think of it. It was over. But in the end, his thoughts would eventually travel back to those events - to find answers. However the only questions Leilani was asking right now was who bandaged him, and where the heck was he? And where was Quinn?

[Anonymous]

It hadn't been an easy task to get Leilani to his house. It wasn't any easier getting him through the door and to his own room either. The trip consisted of frequent stops to rest his arms a little and readjust how he was dragging Leilani along. Quinn felt bad for having to drag the taller male but it was really the only thing he could do. He had tried once more different ways to move him along the way and each way was more difficult than the first.

It had taken a bit with all of that but when he had finally managed to get Leilani onto his bed, Quinn had plopped down on the floor for a moment to rest. Just for a moment though. Resting more would have to come after fixing up Leilani. If he didn't fix him up then there was a possibility of him bleeding to death. That was no an option.

Quinn was glad that his parents were not home during the morning due to having to go to the tavern early and open up. Normally he'd go with them but he didn't have to work that morning. Someone else would be there to help them out. There was no one home to question why he was bringing home what could've been mistaken for a dead body and also question him as to why he was raiding the house of any bandages he could find.

His own body had protested to the lack of sleep and the scratches and things it had as he cleaned and bandaged up Leilani. It wasn't something he could ignore but he tried to keep it out of his mind until he had finished up. Moving Leilani was hard and bandaging him up was almost as hard. He had to sit him up after all and get the wounds on his back and everything. Not a task for one person. Somehow he had managed to though, after a bit of struggling of course.

After all was said and done, Quinn left the room to go fix himself up and return whatever bandages he had left. He had figured Leilani would be out like a light for a while anyway so he wouldn't have to worry about him waking up and flipping out. "..Mmh..sleepy.." he mumbled to himself as he put the bandages away. He rubbed his eyes a little before tossing out what was left of Leilani's shirt. The poor thing didn't stand a chance...neither did his own shirt for that matter which was tossed out with Leilani's. That was okay though because he had more clothes. The only thing that bothered him a little was the cool air against his exposed skin, causing his hairs to stand up and goosebumps to rise. They only stayed for a moment before going away once he was used to it. Later he'd have to figure out what to do for Leilani since he was taller than him and his father. "I'll figure something out.." He pushed the thoughts from his mind before heading back to the room, completely planning to nap until Leilani woke up.

Too bad when he got back to the room it was obvious that Leilani was no longer asleep. So much for napping. Quinn went over to him and tried to get him to lay back down. "Leini, you need to take it easy. Lay down, okay?" he said, smiling a little. "Just for a little bit, until the bleeding stops. Okay?"