When Toothiana next awoke, it was late. Or...well, early, very early, by the time on the ancient grandfather clock in the corner of North's medical hall. Nearly two o'clock in the morning. She sat up quickly when she realized the man that had been resting nestled against her chest was absent, and without another thought, shot straight into the air and hovered above the bed, searching with squinted eyes for any sight of him. Her initial panic subsided when she considered that he was most likely in the bathroom, or had been struck by hunger and ventured off to find North or an elf, or the kitchen.
She yawned, stretched, then settled back down into the still warm sheets and rolled over, falling back asleep very easily.
Almost two hours later, the fae woke again, cold and shivering. She reached down as if to draw someone closer, but found her arms still empty. Sitting up a bit slower this time, she gazed at the clock again, and her violet eyes widened. He's still gone...
Tooth stood up, feet flat on the ground rather than flying, and walked hesitantly to the door. She opened it and stepped part way through, before glancing back and looking at Jack. He was still asleep. She worried her lip with her teeth for a moment, then took her leave.
Her first thought was to check the kitchens. Maybe he had been up that entire time, waiting for her to follow suit? Finding the large, open-arched room with relative ease, she poked her head through the doorway and took in the sight. Many, many elves, all hard at work baking and cleaning, while several yetis aided in both activities. Neither North, nor Kozmotis were there. She huffed, and ventured on to the next place she thought she might find him. The lavatory. She knew there was a large room full of stalls for the workers, but she assumed that he'd probably use the facilities in the hospital wing. Tooth cursed herself for not having checked there in the first place.
Turning the corner of the high ceilinged hallway, she flew silently just inches off the ground. The fae was much too tired to gain any real height. Finally reaching the room, she hovered past the beds, stopping by Jack's to press her lips in a chaste kiss to his forehead, brushing a lock a white hair out of his eyes. Tooth smiled as she looked down at him and lingered for a moment. He was getting better. She could tell.
She reached the bathroom whose door, while open, revealed only blackness. Something seemed wrong. There was candle light, flickering slowly, only minutely, as if the flame was about to extinguish. She peered through and softly called, "Kozmotis?", before landing on the ground with dainty feet and stepping hesitantly inside. Her fingers automatically searched for the light switch, silently thanking North for updating his technology to suit modern times. She fumbled weakly for a few moments, before her hand finally found the switch and flipped it, violet eyes wide in their search for the General.
When she found him, the noise that escaped her was somewhere between a sob and a scream.
At first she only saw his legs, splayed out on the floor haphazardly, as he leaned weakly into the porcelain shower basin. Then, an abundant red caught her eye, a pool of it circling around him. The sharp tang of oxidized tin assaulted her nose, and she nearly wretched. Realizing then that her General was injured very badly, she rushed forward, forgetting her nausea. When he came into full view from behind the obstruction of the sink, Tooth cried out again, eyes filling with tears.
Kozmotis sat, doubled to the side with one arm slung over the wall of the bathtub, eyes closed, the natural pale olive of his skin gone, leaving a gaunt white in it's place. A knife was held limply in the hand that rested inside the tub, a deep gash in the wrist just above that leaked a staunch red, marring the pure porcelain it covered . His other hand, with a similar jagged slice, was lax to his side, a note nearby. Tooth could read the writing from where she was hovering.
Let me die my cowards death;
If ever any of you respected me, I won't be saved.
Dropping quickly to his side, she tried her best to not kneel in his blood, but soon her feathers were a molten red, some of it browning as it dried. One hand found the wrist inside of the tub, encircling it firmly with an attempt to stem the flow. The other found his face, lightly patting his cheek, trying to wake him. He did not stir. She couldn't feel his breath on her face, no matter how close she pressed. His flesh was cool and clammy.
"NORTH!" She shrieked, desperate for help. The tears poured torrentially from her eyes, and in a last ditch effort, her palm found harsh contact with his face as she attempted to slap the life back into him. "PLEASE, KOZMOTIS!" She coughed out, sobbing over her words and pressing her forehead to his, whispering over and over again, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, please wake up..."
She heard rushed, heavy footsteps, and an expletive in Russian as the Cossak charged into the room, sliding partially on the slick tile.
North made his hurried approach just in time to see the General stir. First, his lips trembled, and his nostrils flared. Then his deep green eyes (dulled partially grey, inlaid by deep purple circles) blinked sluggishly open. His gaze found Tooth's, then North's, and he did not speak, nor did he frown, or grimace; Kozmotis made no mark of readable emotion. He simply nodded, head heavy and weak, as the former Thief lifted his gaunt figure into strong, warm arms, and carried him from the room, Toothiana following close behind with tears still falling heavily from her violet eyes, sickly red staining her incandescent feathers. His note was forgotten next to the tub, soaked in a deep red, black ink washing and diluting with his blood.
