Gluttony
By Nicolle
Disclaimer: The Gray Garden belongs to Funamusa/Deep Sea Prisoner. Story copyright to me.
Rated Mature for Gore.
The steady rhythm of knocking on his coffin gently pulled Kcalb out of a deep and strange dream. Head fuzzy, he attempted to figure out who would wake him in the middle of the night. Etihw didn't knock. They simply opened the coffin without regard to how he might feel on the subject. Wodahs knocked three times and waited for him to respond. Ater and Arbus had learned the hard way to leave him be when he was sleeping. No one else came into his room. No else had need to rap on his coffin since the Great War. During the Great War, only one person used that kind of cadence-
"Cranber!" He sat up, shoving the lid open at the same time.
Raspbel paused mid-knock, hand dropping to her lap. She was covered in blood and gore from her hair to her feet. Ichor dripped from her wings and puddled on the floor. Her mouth was a mass of crimson. Seeing her like this wasn't all that shocking. Kcalb had occasion to see her dragging some animal or other that's she'd killed late in the night back to the Preserves House to consume. In this way, she was little different from her gluttonous predecessor.
"What do you need, Raspbel?"
"I ate Rawberry."
He frowned. "All of her?"
She shook her head, sending little drops of blood to the floor.
"Is she still alive?"
Rawberry nodded.
The door opened with a crash. Wodahs stood there, breathing heavy, staring at them. He slumped against the doorjamb, suddenly relieved. Bloody footprints made a trail in the hallway and into the room.
Kcalb sighed. "Wake Eti and get Them to the Preserves House. Throw Them over your shoulder and carry Them if you have too."
Wodahs nodded, adjusted his tie, and went down the hall. Kcalb stood, tossing his sleeping cap onto his pillow, and stepped into his shoes while pulling on his coat. Raspbel grabbed his arm with sticky claws.
"Rawberry, before she interrupted-" Raspbel stopped and shook off the thought. "She said something about Macarona. Macarona is staying with us."
He pulled her along and noticed the trail of bloody foot prints she left behind her. He nodded. "It's all right. Come along."
That was a lie. Splitting Cranber's soul into two had been his doing. That Raspbel had lost control of herself was not a surprise. It was only natural that the two halves would attempt to be become whole in the way they understood best. His hope that, being sisters, they would refrain from actually eating each other, was slim at best. While it bore out in Rawberry, who was madly protective of her sister on an instinctual level, Raspbel seemed to have all of Cranber's more violent needs.
When they arrived at the house, Kcalb was glad it was the middle of the night. No one was around to see the mess. Otherwise unidentifiable pieces of Rawberry were scattered everywhere. Her torso, neck, and head, for the most part, were intact. Her eyes were open, but she was blissfully unconscious. Raspbel sat down next to her sister and gently cradled Rawberry's head in her lap. Unable to heal her himself, he went into the bedroom. Macarona lay in Rawberry's bed, a chunk of her neck and left shoulder were gone, blood pooled under her.
"Mr. Kcalb?" she whispered weakly.
Oh, hell, she's awake.
"Where's Rawberry? Why is everything so quiet?"
He gently took her hand and traced a pattern on her palm slowly. "Rawberry went to get help, remember?" He didn't know if that were true, but his spell would ensure that Macarona would be calmed into a peaceful slumber by the comfort of the words. The angel closed her eyes and her breathing slowed.
"Oh Raspbel." Etihw's voice carried from the kitchen. Kcalb looked through the open doorway to see the white god standing over the sisters, hand over their mouth. He blushed and looked away quickly. They were wearing the night gown he particularly liked. A sign that Etihw had planned to entice him after breakfast. Though all things considered, he doubted either of them would be in the mood.
"Oi! Etihw!" he called. "Start in here with Macarona."
They touched Raspbel on the head gently as they floated into the bedroom, Wodahs following behind. A simple touch and a soft glow had Macarona set to rights. Wodahs gently lifted the angel and carried her back to her own home. Etihw looked from Kcalb to the sisters in the other room.
"You'll need to-" they started.
"I know," he finished. "Come on."
Etihw sat down next to Rawberry while Kcalb drew Raspbel away by her arm.
"I don't want to leave her," Raspbel whispered, defeated, eyes on what was left of her sister's mangled body.
"Look at me."
Raspbel attempted to pull away.
"Look at me, Cranber."
Raspbel's eyes glowed a sharp red. She snapped to attention and looked into eyes as black as death. "Yes, my Lord." A few still moments later Raspbel let out a moan somewhere between agony and ecstasy, blinked, and looked down at her sister who was whole and sleeping peacefully in Etihw's arms. She cried out and threw her arms around them both. "Thank you!"
Etihw smiled, letting the demon pick up her sister and carry her back to the bedroom. The white god looked around. "What a mess." They looked at him. "Will we see a repeat of tonight?"
"No."
"Did you destroy her hunger?"
Kcalb shook his head. "Together, they embody gluttony. I cannot destroy their essence without killing them both. I settled for destroying a section of her personal menu."
Etihw nodded. "Still, what a mess."
"I'll help her with it."
Etihw looked up at him, a little surprised.
He shrugged. "Cleaning is it's own kind of destruction. Go on back home."
They didn't, but settled on waiting by the front door while he worked a spell in the gore. They watched with interest. It was easy to forget that their precious one had been just as deadly a spell caster as a fighter so long ago. The red pulled away from the carpet and walls, disappearing as it did so.
Raspbel came into the room with a bucket and map, clothing changed, but skin and hair still stained red. "Oh." She looked around before smiling at Kcalb. "Thank you."
He looked away. "You're welcome." He followed Etihw out of the house, scratching the back of his head. And realized he just made a bloody mess of his hair.
"You're going to need a bath."
He was far too tired for this. "What time is it?"
"Four in the morning."
Kcalb sighed. He looked down at Etihw. The nightgown he liked so much was badly stained, ruined. "You could use one too." He turned bright red, suddenly realizing what he had just suggested.
Etihw smiled. "Oh, you must be tired if you let that slip."
"Eti..."
They giggled softly. "You know, the hot springs on the other side of the apple orchard will feel rather nice on a cool morning like this." They took his arm. "And they have that nice little pool you could sleep in."
"Sold. Call Wod and tell him where we'll be."
xxx
Author's Note: This was a prompt I did a long while ago and is only a one shot. If you liked it, let me know with a kind word in a review.