Deception

Hanging upside down isn't as fun as everyone thinks.

Well, make that almost upside down. If I was left completely upside down for this long, the pressure from my blood would have burst the vessels in my head a long time ago.

But the sticky, stringy webbing coiled around me gave me no room to even wriggle, and the fact that my mouth had been smothered didn't help, either.

So, when I saw the head of flowing purple locks approach, you can say I couldn't thrash around to catch her attention, nor cry out to let her know I was there. All I could do was watch her approach the shadow on the floor. It was hunched over, sobbing in a voice that sounded identical to mine— And I hated the thought that she may be tricked by it.

There was even a pool of blood near it, though that actually was mine, and any authenticity it lent to the scheme was purely coincidental. Spider webs are supposed to be very proficient at staunching wounds, so I'm lucky in that aspect, at least.

"…Are you all right?" I heard Fury ask hesitantly, kneeling beside the shadow. Oh, I hope that she catches on in time…

The sobbing didn't lessen, but I heard my voice muffle, "It hurts— Please, make it stop hurting. Make it not hurt anymore…" Wow. Does the real me sound that convincing?

Fury's face softened, and she reached forth with a hand… The weeping died out a little, sounding more like small, strange chuckles than anything.

Her hand landed on what would be 'my' back, and it all went so fast from there.

The shadow whirled around, a semi-arachnid, humanoid form being shown from beneath. It had lunged at her in the same instant, but… With the same soft expression on her face, Fury lashed out with her arm, catching it around the neck with a whip of bright violet energy. It shrieked, and I was a little glad that at least that didn't sound like me, too.

I didn't even see her arm move. The creature was swung into a wall, creating a small crater upon impact. It wasn't given any reprieve, though; back and forth, back and forth it was smashed from the wall to the floor, wall to the floor, back and again… That crater wasn't so small by the time she'd dropped the… lump… to the floor. The weapon was put away with the same anticlimactic simplicity, and she pushed to her feet, scanning the room with her eyes…

She found me soon enough, and I tried sending a smile with my eyes in congratulations. It was pretty dark in this corner, so I know I wouldn't have seen me.

Not a muscle was tensed, when she leapt up to me, fingers grasping at the webbing and pulling, relentlessly… It stretched for quite a while, but even it couldn't stand up to the prolonged tension. There was a loud rip as the 'cocoon' around me split from one end to the other, and I nearly fell straight to the ground on my face.

An arm caught me around the belly, though, and I nearly hissed at the pressure against the wound. Once I was set onto my feet, I wobbled and leaned into the female Nephilim, holding my obviously-bloodstained side.

"Hey, watch," She cautioned me, prying my hand away so she could see it. Thin, strong brows furrowed as she peeled the ripped edge of my shirt away, and she glanced at the exit of the cave briefly. "Come, we must be quick. I can find somewhere safe to bind the wound, but I will need to call little brother to see to its healing."

I didn't need to know which 'little brother' she was talking about. "Nooo." I complained with a cracked voice, feeling woozy from the blood now given freedom to leave my body. It took me a second to recollect myself after she'd abruptly scooped me up. With that strength— She's her brothers' sister, all right… "Don't tell War. No telling War." I uselessly pawed at one of her cheeks with my fingertips. "Whenever I get hurt, he gets this stiff look on his face, and it makes me feel like it's all my fault…"

I was yanked into lucid thought for a moment or two at the shock of a slightly melodic laugh being let out into the air. "I believe I know which look you are talking about." She took up her conversational tone, evidently to keep me awake. Strangely enough, she was the most personable of the siblings… With the slight exception of Strife, who just has this thing with not being able to say what he really means. Or he words it in a very bad way. Which is why he and Death don't get along at all. Strife says harsh things, but doesn't mean them; Death means every word of everything he says… "Brother War doesn't blame you for events out of your hands." My thoughts were interrupted by her further reassurance. "It isn't in his nature to ply fault where it doesn't stick. That face…" She gave a brief hum of contemplation. "This is just my interpretation, but I believe that's just his displeasure over it. The rest of us can take a thrashing, but he fears your life to be fleeting more than anything else. A fear all of us share."

I watched her curiously, becoming slightly dizzy from the sway of walking. "You guys sure play it close to the chest, then." I mumbled. "I don't think I've seen any of you uncertain or afraid of anything. You especially. You're always so… Calm."

Fury made a funny face at me. "Do not mistake composure for serenity." She admonished gently. "Death and Strife are one thing, but you don't want War to lose his composure. The last time he shed it completely, he lost his arm. Though…" A small smile was given to me. "That was the deciding factor of you getting to be here with us today, isn't it?"

I ducked my head as far as I could, extremely embarrassed at the unusually fond tone she used. "…I just don't want to worry you anymore." I murmured.

She expelled a sigh, and pursed her lips. "No." Was suddenly spouted into the air. "No, keep worrying us." At my baffled look, she elaborated, "It keeps our heads in the game, and reminds us that we are still capable of caring, even if for things that are few in number. I'm not saying to deliberately dive into danger, but… Keep the boys guessing and worried, and I'll… Worry in my own way."

I could have laughed, if it wouldn't have left me in deep throes of pain. "So, in a nutshell," I reiterated wanly. "You're telling me to drive them crazy, and you'll go crazy on your own so it's okay?"

She thought for a long period of time. Then she nodded.

"Precisely."

I let my head fall against her shoulder, no longer able to keep it up. She lifted her arms to accommodate, and I could only say one thing before passing out.

"Got it."