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Carnelian would have called her. He was always on time with his phone calls to his girlfriend. He was devoted, sincere and trustworthy.

Unfortunately, tonight was a terrible night.

Rather than run home and change, Carnelian headed straight for Makalya's house, bypassing the usual greeting to her father and gift-giving and all that friendly chatting they would do. No, the corrupted senshi didn't even power down before seeking her out. His face was badly beaten and he was still bleeding profusely from a broken nose and no amount of him stopping and angling his face to the sky seemed to help. Makayla was good at treating this sort of thing. She would know what to do.

Besides, Carnelian was desperate to lay his head in her lap and whine the night away. And hopefully be loved on an pampered by his beloved lady. ....but mostly whine.

Red and black velvet perched just outside Makayla's window and he reached out to scratch at it with one hand, the other hand holding part of his coat to his face. Serpentarius had managed to hit him around the eye too and the area around the injury was starting to swell and turn purple. Carnelian however was in too much pain to be embarrassed.

He hated to see her like this.

Carnelian lowered his head and nodded mutely, allowing the pure Chaos energy that powered him to melt away. The hole in his chest closed up and disappeared, covering his starseed in a mask of flesh and warmth again. The redhead crawled onto Makayla's bed hoping not to worry her or alert her father to his presence. While Caleb was always cordial to the man, he had a sinking suspicion the father had something against him. Her father was very protective of his lovely and intelligent daughter.

If only he could see his utter devotion to her. Caleb sighed through the blood clotting in his sinuses. That'd be a discussion for another day. Right now, his face was throbbing and he was desperately trying not to whine. At least not yet. He had to have his head in her lap for the whine to work.

He laid down, stripping out of his comfortable button-up shirt and leaving just his jeans and white tank on. The blood was clotting a little but he couldn't stop the blood from touching here and there. God that would be a b***h to remove. He'd need so much bleach. Caleb nestled himself down on his back and used his button-up shirt as a shield between the blood and the bedsheets. The last thing he needed was to stain Makayla's lovely linens.

Sure, some men wouldn't want to admit they'd lost a battle. Some men wouldn't want to admit they were in pain. They'd power through it, ignoring or shoving away any help that would be offered. Some were so masculine that the last thing they would ever want was to admit defeat.

Caleb was not one of those men.

He tried not to wince when the washcloth was placed over his eye. Would it scar? How long would he be like this? Would he be able to see out of that eye or breathe properly? More importantly, would he have to go to the hospital for this? The redhead had never been beaten before. Sure, he'd broken nails and chipped teeth and whatnot but nothing like this. Breaking bones wasn't something Caleb was used to. He didn't know how to react to the pain and the upset the injuries caused Makayla. It broke his heart.

Caleb sniffed back some of the blood (and a few tears). "Well... I wouldn't say it was... okay yes they beat the hell out of me." he admitted with a shaky chuckle. "Snakes. She had snakes... name was Serpentarius. I... I didn't even do anything and she attacked me... she shot these snakes at me, you wouldn't believe it, Makayla..."

He lifted a hand to brush the hair from her face in a gentle gesture. "Heh... good thing we're not like them, right?"

Somehow, his girlfriend threatening death on another was incredibly comforting to the redhead trying not to bleed all over her furniture. Caleb coughed and tried to sit up but his head began to swim and he laid back down. He certainly wasn't up for going anywhere anytime soon.

"Heh, affirmative, ma'am. If your father wants to start something, he can take a number and call me in the morning..." Another cough and Caleb tried to make himself comfortable under his lady's gaze. "...we'll just say I tried to stop a fight or something and got in the middle... wrong place, wrong time... and clearly I wasn't thinking well enough to go to a hospital. I'd much rather soil your sheets, haha..."

His body felt heavy and the pulse of blood in his veins and face was making his head hurt. Caleb thought maybe his sinuses had ballooned to something heinously huge by now and his jaw was probably purple. "Darling, do you have, you know, something strong? Something vaguely illegal I could take...? Please?"

"My darling, I'll count my blessings a thousandfold. You're an angel."

A long fingered hand reached out to graze Makayla's cheek. She really was a goddess to him, a blessing, a guardian and a friend. He'd follow her anywhere, to the depths of hell and back with a smile on his face. "We'll worry about this... Serpentarius beast later... I'd rather just... snuggle here with you and sleep for a while. I can't go home like this." Indeed, if he did, his mother would have a fit and his sisters would start flipping tables before they taped him to the top of one of their cars.

The drive to the hospital would be excruciating and Caleb had had just about enough of anything even remotely painful for the time being. "We can go to the hospital tomorrow..." He waved his hand in the air with a heavy hint of exhaustion. His limbs were going limp. "I'll even watch the Home Shopping Network at this point..." Caleb coughed, laughing through it as much as he could. The painkillers were clearly doing their job well - he was getting tired quickly and before long, he was sure his words would start to slur together. Makayla was always the better and more functional of the two when on medication.

Caleb sputtered a bit, mumbling something even he probably didn't understand as he stood. "Remind me to cook you something very special when this is all over, for putting up with me, my dear. You're too nice."

It was true - whenever he needed something, she was there to provide in a heartbeat. And he for her. The redhead just hoped he was good enough for her sometimes. If he was a better fighter, this would never have happened. When they reached the bed, Caleb used his knee to ease himself down... and fell into a blissful heap. "Ahh... much better..."

His eyes closed and his breathing slowed. He didn't realize how exhausted he was until he felt the comfort of a warm bed.