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 Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 6:36 am
The power signature faded with the Senshi, and Alastor held his breath for a few seconds more before he exhaled and, finally, coughed. The fire was gone but he still felt overheated. His skin felt dry and crispy but he wasn’t sure if that was in his head. His clothes were singed. He didn’t see any visible damage.
Vaguely he was aware of where he’d been kicked and elbowed, but as he rubbed at his throat and blinked a few times, his vision cleared and he could breathe better.
It wasn’t late enough for him to be out like this. And he had to check on Chad. He looked to his left and saw nothing, and then to his right, and–oh, probably there. Something in the back of his head told him he thought he saw Chad head in that direction, but he didn’t know if it was just his mind playing tricks on him.
There wasn’t anyone else around. No energy signatures, no people.
He powered down where he sat, and his fingers still felt sore. It felt like magic was still clinging to him, like the fire might still be dancing over his skin. Maybe it was in his mind. He just felt hot. And sore. He pulled out his phone and, even while he was still trying to focus his eyes he texted Michael, ‘All good’.
Probably. The phone was returned to his pocket and he pushed himself up. Sore, but not painful. That was fine, that would fade. He wasn’t stabbed so Michael couldn’t be mad at him.
It wasn’t a good idea to stay in the area, and he wasn’t going to leave Chad out here alone. He made his way to the trees to try and recover him, but finding him was easier than he’d thought. “Chad, there you are.” He held a hand out to help him up. “Are you all right?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:39 pm
He couldn’t see clearly any more. There were too many tears flooding his vision. He hadn’t meant to get Devyn into a fight with anyone. He didn’t know that… that some weird fire tornado was even possible to suddenly appear. His heart was still trying to escape his chest and he had his face buried in his hands.
But was he all right?
Chad nodded as he sobbed against his hands. He had to be okay. What other choice did he have? He’d caused enough trouble, and maybe Devyn would decide to take the pen back, after all.
“I’m sorry,” he choked on a sob. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” It seemed like all he managed to do was cause trouble, even if he didn’t want to. He just wanted to see Elliot, but clearly he should just cut his losses and stay home all weekend because at least that way no one would get hurt.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 4:53 pm
It wasn’t safe to stay here, but Devyn didn’t want to cut Chad’s emotions short. He knew Chad was sensitive and he never wanted him to feel bad about feeling things. Trying to keep them all bottled up just let them turn to poison, and he wasn’t going to put Chad through any of that if he could help it.
“What are you sorry for? You did a good job, Chad. I’m proud of you. Come on, let me help you up. Are you hurt, do you want to come back to the house with me? I just had dinner on the stove, there’s more than enough if you want a plate. Or were you trying to get to Elliot again? I can walk you there if you’re still headed in that direction.”
He kept his voice soft and stifled the cough that tickled at his throat again. It hurt a bit but he didn’t think there was any damage. He cleared his throat and it dislodged the tickle as good as a cough, but he rubbed at his neck carefully anyway to try and ease some of the agitation.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 6:20 pm
He didn’t know what to say. There were too many things trying to get out all at once. He was sorry that Devyn got hurt, sorry that he had to call him in the first place. Sorry that he ran into something dangerous again. Sorry that he pulled Devyn away from his dinner. Sorry for being emotional. Sorry for existing in the first place.
And now Devyn was offering to help him up, but Chad still couldn’t move. It was like his legs had seized up with fear. Maybe if he stayed still he wouldn’t get hurt. It worked for him well enough so far. If he was still enough then maybe he wouldn’t be seen.
But yes he was trying to see Elliot, to which he was able to nod his head, even as he cried harder.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 6:37 pm
At first, Devyn couldn’t figure out if Chad was hurt or just afraid, but in the end he supposed it didn’t matter. Even if he was just overcome with emotions, he still wanted to make sure he was okay. When it became apparent that Chad wasn’t going to be able to take his hand, he decided he’d do the next best thing; he crouched down and carefully scooped him up.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re safe. I can get you over to Elliot’s. I think I know the way.”
…Well, wait. Maybe. Probably. He knew how to get home from here. He didn’t know if there was a faster way to get to the Reid household, but he knew he could head in that direction and go from there. He wasn’t sure if he’d make it back before Michael, but he hoped that he wasn’t worried too much.
“If you want to stop by Michael’s place first, we can get cleaned up there. Get you some water, let you rest for a minute. But if you’re in a rush to see Elliot, I can run us over there.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:18 pm
Embarrassingly, the first reaction Chad had when he felt Devyn reaching to scoop him up was to flinch. He hadn’t meant to, and when he realized what he did, he cried harder and put his arms around Devyn’s shoulders to hold onto him. He appreciated Devyn more than he could say -- and he really couldn’t say much at the moment. The last thing he wanted was for Devyn to think he didn’t want him close. He did! He just hadn’t expected it at that moment.
His hands hurt from pressing against the ground. His knees from being shoved down. Head from his hair being pulled. Wrist from it being twisted.
And he knew that Devyn was being incredibly kind in offering to bring him to Michael’s place for some water and rest, but…
“I miss Elliot,” he whispered after a couple of sobs.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to Michael’s place! Michael was very kind to him, too! But… he’d already wasted so much of Devyn’s time by needing his help. And if he ended up resting, he would have so many questions for him.
At the moment, he couldn’t do much more than cry, though.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:41 pm
“It’s okay,” Devyn said again, and he’d say it as many times as he needed to.
He saw the flinch, saw the onslaught of more tears.
Saw enough to know that nothing was going to keep him from getting Chad over to the Reid household.
He held him gently, close to his chest but not tight enough to be uncomfortable. Or, at least, he hoped. “You’re safe. We’ll be at Elliot’s soon, I’ll get us there.”
Devyn didn’t drag his feet; he had a destination in mind, and even if he was a little muddled about the actual directions, he’d get Chad there. No more surprises for tonight, either.
It had been eventful enough already.
He just hoped that he didn’t look like he’d stepped out of the fire–and that Chad was going to be able to work with a cover story that didn’t involve outing him as a Senshi.
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