Summary: It's preparation time! A wee bit dark like the last chapter was, I suppose.

Author's Note: I finally managed to fix my keyboard, so now the (,) and (.) keys function properly. I also got Pages' proofreader function to stop spitting out weird recommendations like capitalizing words in the middle of sentences and odd repeats to stop occurring when I transferred files to NeoOffice to upload them, so I'll probably be editing less in the future as it's not so much of a hassle anymore to fix typos and delete all the extra semicolons that I used when severely annoyed. Not really anything Author Notey about that, but I figured if anyone was getting emails on this they'd appreciate the fact that I'm not going to be flooding their inbox quite so much in the future.

Warnings: Talk of bodily harm, medical procedures and a few other minor things like Bowman and Claude's dirty minds. I almost didn't bother with the warning this time as this stuff is becoming par for the course, but there might be someone squeamish or seriously repressed out there, so here you go.

Disclaimer: The characters and world are property of Square-Enix, the only thing I'm getting out of this is a distraction from homework and studying.

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It hadn't taken long for everyone to realize that they had somehow managed to forget to take the straps that emerged from the chair into account in their run through last night. The hesitancy that the realization had provoked had been instantaneously palpable, so Dias had volunteered himself to rectify the situation. He seemed to be doing that a good deal lately. Still, it kept him busy enough and he knew now that none of the others would be trying to search out and actively engage Ashton; Celine had managed to cross paths with the man in the wee hours of the morning and given them a full report and passed on his wishes to them. He seemed to be coping better than expected judging from the description that the mage had provided less than an hour ago and Dias was honestly surprised that he had even bothered socializing at all, regardless of who it had been or Ashton's feelings for them. The Arlinian could imagine himself in the Elurian's situation easily enough and realized that under the same circumstances he would most likely have shut everyone out as completely as he had after his family had been slaughtered before his eyes.

He needed to stop thinking about this and get to work on finding a suitable solution for getting the straps in place quickly after Bowman cut the other brunet to keep him from involuntarily moving his limbs from either anxiety, pain or worse. They had already decided that they would be cutting the straps off and had found suitable knives for the job, each one easily sharp enough to cut through the thick leather. Claude had insisted on sharpening them further and that appeared to have become his busy work for the little time there was left before they would gather in the supply room and begin their work on the clay. His own laid here.

Situating himself in the reclining depression that their companion would be secured in, he came to the conclusion that the straps that would restrain the chest, stomach and hips could be safely secured at their leisure. He worked the line of restraints that ran over the his left forearm and up to the pit of his shoulder as tightly as he could before suddenly surging against them and found his arm completely immobile. That would work. He wondered vaguely whether Ashton would be coming out of this with a few broken bones; Bowman had said that he would most likely experience something called a tonic-clonic seizure if he had any at all, and they were apparently quite violent and disturbing to witness. Still, Rena's powers would easily heal them assuming the breaks were relatively clean and the bones didn't move too far out of their regular positions. They most likely wouldn't, he would be laying in a natural position and the force of any convulsions he suffered from would be met by the strength of the leather straps and held in place by the curves and grooves of the leg and armrests themselves. If he was wrong, though, any warped bones would need to be broken and reset to their natural positions before they could be healed properly, most likely once they removed him from the chair and while they worked on him. To make matters worse, Bowman was hesitant to introduce any hard substances into Ashton's body either before, during or afterwards as it would be stressed enough as it was. It seemed their companion would suffer from a rather rude awakening if his bones needed to be reset.

Undoing the buckles that ran the length of his trapped appendage, Dias turned his arm so that the bottom of his forearm was exposed and facing inwards before lifting it as far as he could without the straps coming free of the buckles and examined the amount of room that the pharmacist would have to work in. He wasn't certain whether the man would choose to be between the other brunet's legs or to the side for his work, but the extremities in question could be moved to a position that he could make the incisions easily either way as the straps were lengthy enough to provide plenty of room and Bowman would be holding a penlight in his teeth as he made the incisions, apparently. The leg restraints were most likely constructed in a similar manner but he still checked them as best he could, repeating the process that he had just completed on his left arm with his right before moving on to them as his estimation of the straps' strength might have been off due to him using his non-dominant side for the procedure. Finding confirmation of his original finding, he moved to his legs and repeated the process before examining their length and coming to the conclusion that there would be ample room for the pharmacist to complete his task no matter what position he chose.

His experimentation completed, he removed himself from the chair and studied it. Ashton would have to insert himself into the straps in a rather odd manner for what Dias was planning, but he was certain that the other man could accomplish it; even discarding the unusual center of gravity that the addition of the demons to his back had given him, the man was agile and flexible enough that it should present little difficulty for him. Still, he wanted to test it and he wouldn't request his assistance for that. Bowman would find himself roleplaying his patient again, it would be too distressing for Claude to ask him to do so. He would need something to bore a hole in the ends on the straps and a supply of thin but strong rope for what he was going to set up. If they couldn't find either of those then his task would be even more time consuming, especially the rope as he would need strong but flexible material that could be braided to reinforce it but still be slim enough to be secured through the holes he would make yet resist tearing when pulled quickly. Dias wasn't concerned about doing the actual buckling, he and Precis would be able to hold the arm and leg restraints in place while Celine or Claude handled their securement. Bowman would have other concerns and he firmly believed that Rena should be kept as far from Ashton as possible until she was called on to heal him.

It had been the shadow that crawled swiftly over the wall before falling down to the floor and disappearing that alerted him to the presence of another, the lack of accompanying noise indicating to him that whoever it was wore no shoes and was trying to be unobtrusive and stealthy. It would have to be Ashton. At least he was feeling well enough to wander the halls to such a degree; the room he had chosen for himself was located by the library and far from this area. Turning himself fully from the door, Dias focused his gaze back to the chair and went over his plans again, attempting to give him as much privacy as possible. The other man wasn't in the mood for that, it seemed, he could feel his presence hovering behind him by the entrance and could see his shadow stretching itself across the room again, its head resting to the side of his feet. He looked over at him then and found him staring down the hallway, his body shifted at an angle slightly towards the room. The swordsman descended the stairs of the platform, making his way to him slowly and coming to a stop several feet away to give him a wide berth. He doubted that he needed to be crowded by anyone at the moment.

He was relieved that Dias had noticed him, he wasn't sure if he could stand to look directly in the room for more than a few seconds at a time or if he would have been capable of calling his name at this point, he had barely been able to look at or speak to Bowman when they had crossed paths. The pharmacist wanted to weigh him, check his vitals and a few other things, apparently. It must be a combination of his frame, the robe and all the dark colors he wore and that Celine had selected for him, he knew that the pharmacist's estimates were off as far as his weight was concerned. Ashton supposed he needed a secretary, it seemed his schedule was going to be busy later in the day and he'd rather not be the one making the appointments. At least he was done with the letters and had completely exhausted himself mentally and emotionally from what he could tell, so he might finally be able to take a bath and go to sleep after everyone to locked themselves in the supply room. He didn't think he would be able to eat anything as he had let another meal go cold and didn't feel hungry at all, but the pharmacist was concerned and if word got out that he wasn't eating he might have to deal with the others more than he could stand. He'd let Gyoro and Ururun have a little something, it was practically the same thing and that way he wouldn't have to do the actual eating. Hopefully they could keep him calm enough to keep him from getting sick afterwards. He needed to get his thoughts back to where they needed to be, the emotions the dragons were sending him were keeping him stable, but if this kept up he might just ask Ururun to take over and make the request himself. "....Um, well...I wanted to see if...if I could ask you to meet with me later. I need to ask you something." This subject matter of the discussion was going to be too private to do out in the hallway and he'd rather just get everything over with at once. Dias was perceptive enough to know where their meeting was going to take place, there was no need to spell it out.

It was best to keep this short so far as Dias was concerned, the more time the other man spent in the presence of others the more unstable he might become if he hadn't dealt with everything yet. That's how he had been, at least. "When?" He was well aware of how different the two of them were, but even so he didn't look up to the task of socializing for long periods of time yet.

"Whenever you get the chance. I'm...I don't think I'll be back for an hour and a half, so....After that I'll probably be asleep. There's not a lock, so just come in and wake me up." It wasn't as though Dias would visit while Bowman or Celine or Rena were in the room and he trusted his judgement above his own when it came to certain things. At least it was Dias he was talking to, he was so used to controlling all of his nervous ticks around the man that he wasn't stuttering or fidgeting despite everything else.

Waking Ashton was a trial within itself most days so far as he was concerned but it wasn't as though there was much choice in the matter, it looked as though he hadn't slept since he woke up yesterday morning. Dias nodded, hoping that he wasn't planning on taking a long bath in the timeframe he had supplied before he returned to his room, the way he looked he might fall asleep and drown himself.

The dragons would either get him up and moving or talk him into letting one of them take him over before that happened, they had plenty of practice with it. He nodded his head and retreated, raising one hand in farewell as he went. Dias had little patience for being repeatedly thanked, especially for little things, so it was best to forgo politeness for now and save it for later when it really mattered.

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Claude didn't care how artistic Celine was, if he ever saw her sculpting again he would immediately run outside to check for additional signs of the coming apocalypse. Between the crests and mosaics everywhere and the clay, he was hoping that none of his and Rena's kids had so much as a sliver of artistic talent between them. He rolled the large chunk of clay in his hands against the wooden board before him and shaped it in to a ball before flattening and depositing it lightly on top of the pile that was forming beside Precis. If the circumstances were different he would have set about helping her catch up, but he needed to stretch himself out and deflate for a few minutes. Ashton was probably asleep in his room or hiding out somewhere, but that didn't change the fact that he was having to resist the urge to track him down and just stare at him or something. It wasn't even about Celine anymore, it was just a need to know that he was still there. At least Rena would need to see him later tonight to heal him, so maybe if he was subtle about it and quiet enough he could stand outside the doorway to peek in and make sure for himself, it wasn't as though Bowman, Celine or Dias were going to let him tag along for their respective assignments or tell him if Ashton wasn't taking this whole thing very well.

It just seemed to be happening too fast. He had thought that it would take at least a few days to prepare the clay, but with the assembly line they had going they had already completed half of the mixture if Bowman's estimates where to be believed. The pharmacist seemed to have noticed him stand and was looking at him in a considering manner. Claude raised an eyebrow questioningly at him even as he felt Precis' eyes on his back and came to the realization that neither he or Rena had called for a break yet and that he was the one with the watch. Shaking his head at himself he checked the time displayed there and mentally adjusted it to the current time zone they were in and double checked himself in surprise. He definitely needed to reset it and hand the time keeping duties to someone else, he was supposed to have called for a break half an hour ago. Maybe he was just too out of it, he could have sworn someone had asked for the time a few minutes ago. His calculations must had been off, it was either that or he was so distracted with his thoughts that he had zoned out and forgotten to check his watch for an entire hour. Either way, they had completed enough of the mixture to allow for a very long break, one that would give them time to prepare lunch, eat it and relax for about an hour afterwards. "Let's get out of here for awhile." At least everyone else seemed satisfied with that as they moved to stand and stretch themselves out from their positions. Claude undid the clasp of his wristband and handed it off to Bowman after adjusting the time on it, it would help him estimate his patient's heart rate later and the older man might enjoy the distraction of it.

He didn't need additional distractions, there were enough of those bouncing around inside his brain already. That didn't stop him from accepting the watch and following the blond from the room and keeping pace with him, waiting for his presence to register again. Claude needed to calm himself down. They all did, but Bowman's largest concerns at the moment outside of his patient were the young man beside him, his fiancée, and Celine. The mage wasn't displaying her distress as plainly, but that was due to her having known the longest out of all of them and the way she had been secluding herself as much as she was able to. She was probably in her room by now, she had left the last time Precis had asked Claude to check his watch and hadn't been back since. The male half of their leadership team didn't seem to be paying much attention at the moment, so the pharmacist cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Uh?" Oh, Bowman was still there. He normally appreciated the pharmacist's habit of acting as their group's resident therapist, but he wasn't feeling inclined to talk much about his current feelings or thoughts right now. Claude made a sudden turn away from the others at the next intersection they came to and looked back to the older man once he judged there was enough distance between them and the rest of their group.

"I need some help moving the scale Dias and I found to Ashton's room. The way we're going I need to know his actual weight before we get back to work." Judging by what little reaction the other man had shown when he had given him his rough estimate of his weight, he was convinced that he had been wrong. Besides, it wasn't healthy for his patient to be alone constantly given the situation and they needed to remind him that there were people around for him to fall back on. The pharmacist was reasonably unconcerned with the notion that Claude would become excessively emotional at the sight of their resident recluse, and even if he did it might get his patient to open up to someone. Bowman didn't have as deep of a relationship with the other brunet as the blond did, if he attempted to talk with him about this his reaction would most likely be dismissive and evasive or even outright hostile unless someone loosened him up for it first.

Great, he was being so obvious that Bowman had decided to take pity on him. Rena must have realized his intentions, otherwise she would have followed them to see what they were discussing. If the circumstances were different he might have taken the opportunity to get back at Ashton for the way he had woken him up in Mars, he was sure that by now that their friend was passed out. He was going to have the pharmacist drug him if he wasn't. "Might as well get it out of the way, then."

"Yeah, before Dias does his meal run to keep him from kicking us out." He was going to be about six hours early for his appointment and be bringing company along with him to boot, but the other brunet probably wouldn't take offense and he would get over it quickly enough if he did. Bowman was probably going to wind up mixing a sleeping aid for him considering how he had looked when he had last seen him.

That was accurate enough. Dias must have been a bouncer in a previous life, he was far too adept at keeping people from attempting to enter Ashton's room for there to be any other explanation. Claude fell in step behind the other man as he took the lead, following him to his room and watching him gather his medical bag before helping him lift the mechanical column scale onto the flat bed utility cart that Precis had made after breakfast and pushed it out and in the hallway. Maybe he should check to see if she had enough left over in her material kit to make a wheelchair of some sort, he had a feeling that Ashton wouldn't be able to walk very well for a few days after the ritual was completed. Even discounting the blood loss and weakness that it would cause his balance would be off just as it had been before he adapted to the weight of the dragons on his back. Yeah, definitely going to give Precis yet another assignment after this is over. She wouldn't mind being called on like that, especially if it got her out of the ceremonial storage room for awhile.

The younger man beside him might be lost in thought, but at least he remembered where he was going, Bowman was still having to wander the halls and keep an eye out for the glove that his patient had yet to pick up outside his door. Speaking of the glove, there it was. He hoped that his assessment of Celine's behavior earlier had been right, he didn't feel like walking in on anything and given the situation she might have decided to jump her paramour and make it official. And now he needed more brain bleach. Maybe one day he would learn his lesson and figure out how to tune himself out. His patient might be able to help him with that if he wasn't getting ready to scar him for life, he really would be insane by now if he hadn't figured out some way to ignore the dragons' thoughts. Given his own he wasn't altogether certain how he managed to open the door at all, let alone as quickly as he did, but the pharmacist had done it and forcibly restrained himself from sighing loudly in relief at the distinct lack of Celine in the room as Claude wheeled the scale in.

The blond would have started cheering the two of them on once the shock wore off it they had indeed walked in on that. Maybe that was what the two of them needed to release everything and relax, if he had known the pharmacist's thoughts he would have seriously considered asking him to mix a couple doses of aphrodisiac so that they could douse them with it and lock their friends in the room together for a few hours. Luckily for Ashton, Bowman and Celine he hadn't, so he and made his way over to the bed as the pharmacist sat his bag down on the desk and started removing his exam equipment. There was a trick to waking the sleeping man that none of the others knew about and he had kept secret for years, but at least it would be coming out now as it might not work after tomorrow or maybe even tonight if they were feeling masochistic enough once they were done with the preparations. Ashton was sleeping mostly on his side for once with his shoulder extended and the arm beneath him curled up under his pillow to make Gyoro comfortable, and Claude came to the conclusion that he really had been trying to give himself a cold the other night; it didn't look as though he had even bothered toweling off his hair before he went to bed. That hadn't stopped either of the demons though, the two of them were curled up and over their host protectively as if they thought that their presence could ward his troubles away. Both dragons were watching them now and refusing to move from their positions, so Claude went ahead and gave Ururun his signal and waited to see if he would comply with his request.

The blue dragon wanted to ignore the humans and return to the vigil that he and his other were engaged in as their host not yet reached a deep enough level of unconsciousness to gain any benefit from it and the pharmacist and his companion were exceedingly early by the demons' reckoning. Gyoro opined that he should spit fire at the older male and send them off, but Ururun disagreed as that would only serve to agitate their host further and he would likely awaken from the activity or the men's shouts of alarm. Ururun woke his host as gently as he was able considering the action he was preforming, exhaling lightly but directly against his back and startling him awake.

Bowman didn't know how he and the other men had never thought of that. He managed a small smile when his patient startled awake and gasped the offending dragon's name half in shock and half in anger as the dragon quickly shifted himself to his host's front to give him an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, but we're a little early."

We? Ashton turned his head as far as he could over his shoulder at that and found both Bowman and Claude behind him. His mind wasn't clear enough to form coherent thoughts yet, so he just blinked rapidly at the two men behind him before the dragons began shifting themselves as they normally would when he got out of bed from this position and he followed them automatically. That was one of the good things about having the two of them connected to him as they were now, at least one of the three of them were guaranteed to be clearheaded enough to direct the other two in any situation they found themselves in. "What time is it?" Did I hide the letters?

Yes.

Oh, good. It was a good thing that Gyoro was so confident and incisive, Ururun seemed to be taking a moment to remember exactly where they were hidden before responding. He shook his head, partially to clear it but also at the demon. So long as they were out of sight, he didn't care about their exact location.

"Ah," Claude had given up his watch privileges for the day, but that wasn't going to stop him from giving an estimate. "Half past noon, I think." He was probably so off it wasn't even funny, but he was too relieved to see the other man lucid and somewhat himself again to care. Openly staring at him would probably upset or destabilize him somehow, so the blond turned his attention to the scale and braced himself before lifting it and setting it down on the ground as gently as he could. Man, that thing was heavy. He should have waited for Bowman to stop studying his patient and help him with it.

Claude was an alien who was engaged to a woman from yet another advanced alien race that also happened to be blessed with innate healing magics, so Bowman wasn't too concerned about him hurting himself. If he had a history of pulled back muscles like their companion did, then he might have been worried. "Close enough. Like I said, sorry about being early, but we're running ahead of schedule and I want to figure out your actual weight." There was still some part of the pharmacist that wanted to say that his estimates were right now that he was looking at Ashton without a shirt on again, but he also knew that Dias had fooled him too when they had tested the scales. He couldn't believe their exceptionally tall friend weighed only eight pounds more than he did. "We'll take yours first then take care of those two and subtract theirs."

He wasn't altogether sure how he felt at the moment, he was emotionally numb enough that the demons on his back were't sending anything but he still didn't want to be around anyone for too long. At least the blond's presence would keep the shorter brunet from questioning him while he was in the room, but if either of them stayed afterwards and tried to talk to him he was afraid that he might break down again. They were both keeping their distance and only maintaining eye contact of a few seconds, so it might be okay so long as everything stayed casual. "Now?"

Claude tossed the taller man a 'duh' look as Bowman nodded his head slowly. Maybe he wasn't altogether lucid yet, it wasn't like they had brought the scale in because they thought it was the best thing ever and wanted to show it off to somebody. "How much do you think he weighs?" He had a feeling that the pharmacist's guess was wrong even if he hadn't heard it yet. The two brunets avoided being within arm's reach of each other out of habit thanks to Gyoro and the most contact he'd ever seen between the two of them was when they got in that shoving and shouting match that almost turned into a real fight after the red demon nearly set both Bowman and their hotel room on fire in Central City. It was a good thing Ashton had ducked that punch the other man had thrown at him at the last possible second and ran from the room, given the way the dragons had reacted to it Bowman might not have made it if he had connected instead of getting stuck in the wall like he had.

If they made it through this Gyoro was going to be on a very short leash; the last thing he needed was him attacking either Bowman or Dias. Ashton doubted he would do it unprovoked now as between his two most recent punishments the danger and inappropriateness of it seemed to have finally registered. He was certain that either of the two men could kill him easily enough if they wanted to and the three of them were still going to be connected after this, so unless the red demon had a death wish he would need to learn to control his temper. He wasn't thinking about that at the moment, though, he busy walking forward and glancing at Claude in a way designed to let him know that he knew it already and that their older friend was wrong. The expression the blond had shot his way before that was so familiar at this point it he didn't bother responding to it and it didn't look like his 'doctor' had noticed so he wasn't going to get embarrassed over it.

Bowman bounced his head from side to side swiftly as he looked to the ceiling and Ashton stepped on the scales. Judging by the tone of the blond's voice and the expression he had caught on the other brunet's face when he had asked that question, he had the feeling that he was off. Might as well admit to it. "Eh, I'd say about seventy kilos." Apparently if the University fair ever needed an attendant for the 'Guess My Weight' booth he should knock himself out of the running; he'd wind up giving away so many toys and souvenirs he'd bankrupt the entire town.

Claude caught the way Ashton had glanced at him and smiled conspiratorially in return before Bowman made his confession and he snorted in amusement. Now he was wondering how much the doctor thought that he weighed, considering the older man had just given a rough estimate of his own and he knew for a fact that Ashton was around twenty pounds heavier than him now even without Gyoro and Ururun's own weight taken into account. Claude was confident that the dragons weighed around fifteen pounds each, he had handled them enough in the past to get a feel for it. If Ashton and his passengers didn't come in somewhere around ninety kilos once Bowman was done playing around with the scale, he'd be shocked.

He was relieved Claude was here now, their exchange had managed to lift him out of his emotional stupor just enough that he could feel again and it was keeping him distracted from just how close to him Bowman was as he manipulating the weigh beam. The younger brunet didn't know his exact weight, but given how often he had needed to order new robes in the past three years due to the back, shoulder and side seams straining or ripping apart he knew that he had gained enough that it took him out of the pharmacist's estimates. If he had guessed his weight right after meeting him the lower estimate he had shared with him earlier would have been close, but the dragons had been on his back for so long that his upper body had changed so much in response to them that it was almost as if he had gone through a second puberty. Bowman seemed to have forgotten all about that one and Claude couldn't see one side of his face, so he raised the eyebrow that was out of his best friend's view at the other brunet.

Okay, so he was trying to save face and Anchors knew it. The younger man was being sure to keep his knowledge away from his blond friend and Bowman found himself slightly surprised by that, the two of them seemed to be going through their normal mental de-aging process right before his eyes and he'd almost expected him to call him out on it despite those ingrained manners of his. Moving the weights on the scale completely out of range of his lowest estimate, he minutely nodded his head at him in recognition of his mercy and sought out his and the dragons' combined weight.

Claude had to fight the urge to let out a victorious whoop when the scale stabilized at the ninety-three mark. He should have called time out to make a bet with the pharmacist before their friend had stepped on to it, he could have gotten something out of that. "Okay, so how do we figure out what's up with the dragons?" The blond was positive that they could just subtract thirty pounds and arrive at a ballpark figure, but Bowman was almost as curious as Ururun most of the time and probably wanted to know their exact weight just for the hell of it.

That was a little shocking, he hadn't expected the three of them to weigh that much. "Um, I think if I laid on the floor and leaned up on my elbows one of them could curl themselves on it." The dragons both tended to weigh the same amount as long as one of them hadn't eaten more than the other within the past few minutes, but if he mentioned that then Bowman's curiosity might take over and he wasn't sure what would come of that.

"Let's do it." Bowman stepped back slightly as Claude helped his patient get down on the ground and Gyoro glared at him warningly while his brother ignored him. The red demon started suddenly as his host shifted and gave him a threatening look over his shoulder and Ururun descended to rest on the platform of the scale and curled up on himself like a snake. The pharmacist rolled his eyes at the dragon's behavior, almost wishing that he and his brother were giving Dias the same treatment still and reset the scale to calculate their weight. Anchors was going to have to put a sign in his yard and a spiked collar with a very loud bell around Gyoro's neck, it might be the only way to give other people fair warning. Arriving at Ururun's weight, he calculated Ashton's and shook his head at himself for how much he had been off. The other brunet somehow managed to weigh a few more pounds than Bowman did himself. "We're going to have to mix about thirty more pounds of clay than I thought we would."

"Ah, sorry."

Claude almost rolled his eyes at Ashton as he helped him up off the floor and settled for shaking his head at him instead. "Trust me, it won't take that long to mix. It'll take an hour, tops." He needed to check with Bowman, but he was fairly certain that they had already mixed almost enough for one of the golems in the three hour session that they had just completed. It brought up an entire new set of questions, though. "When do you want to do this?" He was directing that mostly at the heraldic swordsman, but the pharmacist's opinion was just as crucial as his at this point. Maybe he should track down Rena and Celine, Ashton might not be able to handle that many people around him right now, but if they were going to discuss this then they would need to their input as well. Dias and Precis were important too, but Dias would handle it better than the rest of them no matter what was decided and Precis would most likely want this over with at the first available opportunity if she had her say. Not that he could blame her, some part of him felt the same way.

Bowman hoped that the Earthling knew what he was doing, he needed to get Ashton's resting heart rate and blood pressure and if he got so agitated he couldn't calm himself down in an hour or so he might need to drug him. The pharmacist was trying to avoid that, but he would do it if it came to it. Still, it might be easier if they did it tonight; the clay mixture needed to be moistened once every hour and he had a feeling that most of them wouldn't be getting much sleep until they had attempted to complete the ritual. They should probably skip supper if that was the case.

Maybe Claude being here wasn't a good thing after all. He couldn't tell what had stunned him more, his best friend's question or the sudden, intense flood of soothing emotions and thoughts that the dragons were sending him. They better not hug him, he would shut them out as completely as he had last night if they did.

The blond studied his reaction for a few long seconds as it slowly began to shift from shock to vehement indignation before he looked to Bowman and violently jerked his head at the entrance and waited for him to leave the room and shut the door behind him. The pharmacist didn't need to see or hear this, whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be something that he needed to witness. Ashton might be getting ready to fall apart and if that happened then Claude would follow and he would prefer that stay a private matter. It was that or they'd go in the opposite direction and they didn't need a referee getting in their way. "Look, I know it sucks and it's sudden, but we need to know." He couldn't wait for this to be over and resolved and have everything back to how it was supposed to be, because this definitely wasn't how he had envisioned their friend's eventual return.

If the dragons didn't stop thinking so loudly and sending emotions so intensely right now he was going to do to both of them what he had done to Gyoro in Clik. "I don't care." He couldn't hear himself think and neither could they at this point apparently, so he shut himself off from them and locked their minds down harshly and instantaneously, ignoring the dual jolts of intense mental pain that stabbed through him and the throbbing headache that formed in response immediately after as he turned his back to Claude and stalked to the other side of the room to put some space between them.

Oh, he really wanted to grab the brunet when he spat those words at him and walked away like that. "You don't care that we need to know or you don't care that we get to watch you bleed out for five minutes?" Ashton was right, it was a lot easier to be pissed off right now. If Bowman knew what was good for him he'd stay out of this and keep away from Rena and the others until they were done.

He almost laughed in disbelief at that as he turned to look at the blond behind him. They should have done this sooner, it was a great distraction from everything else going on. No wonder Claude had gotten so angry at him after they had watched the Ten Wise Men kill his father and everyone else on the Calnus. And look at that, they even had a timeframe, how cute. "...Either one." He dragged the back of his left hand under his nose at the sensation of something warm and wet trailing from one of his nostrils and didn't bother to look at it, he knew exactly what it was. If he hadn't done that to the dragons at the same time it wouldn't have happened, but he wasn't thinking clearly at the moment.

The blood and the casual way the other man had wiped it away almost startled him out of his anger completely. As it was it served as a reminder of just what was going to happen and that Ashton hadn't been informed yet of what they were planning. "Look, we're not gonna let you die. Bowman knows what to look for, the second we see anything we're going to pull you back whether the dragons are gone or not. You're not going anywhere."

He just had to say that, didn't he? He didn't want to hear that certainty in his voice, didn't want to be comforted or reassured; there was only one other way he could go at this point and he didn't want to do that again. He was tired of breaking down, he'd spent the past—what?—eighteen or so hours doing exactly that. He needed to turn the conversation away from this. "....He's a pharmacist, not a doctor. Don't parade him around like he actually knows what he's talking about."

It was way too late for that, the pause and the expression that had flashed across his face had given him away. Claude would guess that it had been the same one he'd worn when Ashton realized what was going on with him two years ago and started trying to talk him down. "If you pass out you're gonna wake up. If you don't and you're still awake then we'll be there when you fall asleep and when you open your eyes ag-"

"Shut up. Just shut up and get out." He wished he hadn't walked all the way across the room, if he'd stayed close by he would've been able to throw a punch at him and distract him from all of this.

If he really wanted to hit him he was about to get his chance. He stalked over towards him, talking all the while. He needed something that would shock him out of the state he was in and he was pretty sure he had exactly what was needed. Hopefully Rena wouldn't kill him when she found out. "No. You're gonna to be here. You're gonna be here because we won't let you be anywhere else. You've got an appointment in Arlia on the first day of spring and I'll make sure you're there for it if I have to kill myself and drag you back from wherever you end up."

He wasn't angry enough anymore to hit him without being properly provoked first, he was too busy retreating in confusion and wondering what was so important about Arlia of all places and the first day of spring and how he had somehow wound up with 'an appointment' that he wasn't even aware of making. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, I need a best man and guess whose name got pulled out of the hat." He couldn't help it, he had to laugh at the way the brunet before him froze and stared at him in stunned silence. "You get it now?"

It was too bad he didn't have something in his hands, he might not be able to talk or punch Claude thanks to the shock he had just delivered, but he might have been capable of throwing something at him. He collapsed backwards on the bed beside him, forgetting about the dragons and not bothering to move even at that pain the landing had caused or the insistent feeling of discomfort that emanated from them and his back afterwards.

Yeah, it looked like that had worked. He needed to lay down too at this point, so he followed Ashton's lead and laid himself down on his stomach before leaning over and whispering conspiratorially to him. "Don't let Rena know that I asked you, we were supposed to do it together after the ritual was over."

The realization that he was on a bed and that beds had pillows on them came to him while his friend spoke, so he slowly moved his hand to the closest one and grabbed ahold of it before whacking the man beside him halfheartedly and leaving it there on his back. "…Okay." Maybe he should look over at Claude, the ceiling didn't hold much interest for him anymore considering he'd already seen it a thousand times in the past five months. His nose hadn't stopped bleeding yet, so he sniffed loudly and tilted his throbbing head back to let it drain down his throat as he wiped at the new trail that had formed with his left hand again before licking his right thumb and rubbing at it. The blood wasn't dry enough to be scratched off despite its smeared condition, but at least if he moistened it enough he could wipe it on his pants without anyone else being wise to it. Thank Tria his pajama bottoms were black and that it was Claude he'd been an idiot in front of, the blond wouldn't judge him for it or ask how it happened considering everything else going on.

He assumed it was the brunet getting some sort of backlash from the dragons going by the way they had started reeling a few seconds before the blood had appeared. At least he wasn't licking it off directly, that had always turned his stomach for some reason. He would get up to look for a box of tissues or a handkerchief or something, but given Ashton's issues there probably wasn't anything suitable in the room. Claude figured that if this whole thing worked the man beside him would loosen up to a stupefying degree since he would have real privacy again and wouldn't feel the need to repress things so much or abstain from a certain activity. He'd be sneaking tissues and maybe some oil or lotion in here to encourage him once everyone was done hovering over him. The brunet would thank him for it one day. Like, say, maybe the morning after Celine finally had her way with him. "Was that an 'Okay, I'll be you're best man,' or an 'Okay, I won't tell Rena?'" It better be both, if he said 'no' to either one he would start tickling him until he agreed, nosebleed be damned.

Bowman and Claude both needed psychiatric evaluations, they thought about that stuff way too much. Then again, he had as well before Gyoro and Ururun came along. It was frighteningly easy after the first month or so, but it had been hell before he'd gotten used to it. Unless he was alone with Celine for any real amount of time, but at least that made sense now considering that he'd never had that problem around any other woman. "Uhm....Both." He managed to turn his head at that and absently wiped the back of his left hand on his pants, his expression confused as he studied the blond beside him. "How...how'd that happen?"

Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. "Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much they—" Claude halted mid-sentence as the door flew open suddenly and two blue-headed blurs entered the room just as the pillow that he could have sworn was still resting on his back whacked him forcefully on the back of the head.

Rena hadn't caught much of what her fiancé had said, but judging by the 'oh shit' look on both his and Ashton's faces she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew just how the two of them had gotten so cozy less than a minute after Bowman told them that the two of them might be fighting. "What are you two talking about?" If they didn't tell her she was going to stand over the brunet and make eye contact with him, she might have to strain to hear the disjointed words that were hidden underneath the laughter but she'd get her confession. Luckily for them Dias had taken off at the same time she had instead of trailing behind with the pharmacist and Celine; he'd be able to pull her away if the brunet was feeling tightlipped and their staring contest devolved into outright tickle torture.

"Um...f-f-funeral a-ar-arrangements." Well, that was what he was contemplating now. He wasn't psychic or anything, but Claude's thoughts had probably turned in that direction too. It was a good thing he hadn't lost his grip on the pillow, it meant that he could cover his face with it.

Coward. "Yeah, funeral arrangements." They might need to get Ashton checked out, he was considering the same thing at the moment. "He keeps going on about white lilies being traditional, but I think they're boring." A closed casket would probably be best option at this point.

He'd thought about that, but if Celine loved him as much as he claimed she did then she might take pity on him. Cremation didn't sound that bad and it would spare them the expenses of embalming and the casket and everything else. They could just dump him outside the temple once she was done.

It appeared that Ashton had decided to start exceeding his expectations again. Dias shifted his weight to one side and leaned against the door as he watched his fellow male Expellian for signs of agitation. He wasn't going to be getting involved in this, if he tried to diffuse the situation his surrogate little sister would start tickling him along with Ashton and then his big secret would be out. The younger men should know better than to be evasive, though, the Elurian was easily one of the top ten worst liars on the planet and the expressions that had been on their faces when their presences registered had already given the topic of their conversation away.

She didn't know why either of them were even attempting to lie to her, it wasn't as though they didn't know what she was going to do. Rena made her way over to the bed and began pulling on the pillow Ashton had covered his face with as Claude buried his head in the covers and the sound of rapid footfalls drifted to them from the hallway. Realizing that they would have company soon and not caring, she leaned over and tickled the man below her on the base of his ribs with one hand and pulled the pillow away from him with the other as he reacted, letting go of it to shield himself. Discarding the pillow quickly, she held him down to keep him from turning on his side or trying to get away. "What were you and Claude talking about?"

Oh, no. He shouldn't have opened his eyes or moved like that; now she had a hand on each of his shoulders and was giving him that impossibly sweet look of hers and staring right at him. Sorry, Claude. "Uh….Ahaha...haha-co-ahaha-congr-hahah-ongrat-aheheha–"

"That's good enough. Thanks, Ashton." Claude better have a very good reason for telling him when she wasn't around, otherwise he going to be in the doghouse for a very long time.

She'd forgive him once he told her, it had definitely been for a good cause. Besides, it wasn't as thought it wouldn't have come out during the ritual while he was babbling and trying to keep their friend's mind off what was happening to him. He looked up in time to see Bowman and Celine enter and found himself amazed by this whole situation, it looked like everybody that needed to be here for this was here. Hopefully Ashton had been reassured enough that he'd be able to handle the conversation they needed to have. If he wasn't then the pharmacist was going to be in trouble.

Ashton was too busy blinking up at the ceiling and trying to calm his breathing while ignoring the headache he had given himself to notice the additional presence of the pharmacist and the mage. He turned his head back to Claude as he nudged him with his shoulder and gave him a questioning look before cutting eyes his in the direction of the doorway. He almost wondered where Precis was when he saw Bowman and Celine studying them in front of Dias, but then he realized just what the blond had been asking him as he released the dragons from his mental hold and they helped him turn over to rest on his stomach. Shrugging lightly, he stared down at the covers below him and hoped that he was stable enough for the coming conversation; he didn't feel like having another dramatic mood swing. At least the nosebleed had plugged itself up, he didn't know how the rest of his visitors would react if they noticed it and Claude didn't need to be blamed for something that was his own fault.

He didn't seem too disconcerted by the notion of at least being present for the coming discussion, so Claude went ahead and fired the opening salvo. "We need to figure out when we're going to do this. I think we're almost done with half the clay at this point." He'd keep it brief, he doubted any of them felt the need to have a long, drawn out discussion about this.

Celine found herself blinking at the blond in disbelief. Really, it seemed as though neither she or Ashton were going to be allowed a chance to become stable for more than five minutes before they were sent spinning again. She realized that the others were experiencing something quite similar, but given the way the heraldic swordsman was looking and she was feeling at the moment it was much easier to sublimate and redirect her anxieties onto Claude. "I simply cannot believe that you honestly think that this is something that should be discussed here."

"No, he's right. We need to sort this out." It was easy enough to tell what Celine was doing. Bowman supposed that he and Dias could restrain her if she started to really lose her temper. That or maybe they could walk her over to the bed and let her pet Ashton. That type of affection would either calm the two of them down or break them at this point, though. "The clay'll be done within five or six hours if we get back on it after our break's over and I don't know about any you, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep all that well until this is done."

Dias felt no need to contribute to the conversation, he was focused solely on Ashton as he watched for signs that he needed to start forcibly ejecting the others from the room. If Celine's agitation increased further he would start splitting his attention between the two of them, but for now he was content to let her vent her frustration with their current circumstances on Claude.

Rena had narrowed her eyes and frowned disapprovingly at the older woman's reaction, almost responding to it before remembering the stress that they were all under and that she'd be just as snippy if she was in her situation. She sat herself between the two men laying on the bed and rubbed their backs anxiously as Bowman gave his timeframe and worried at her lip. "And if we do wait until morning that means we're going to have to take shifts moistening the clay every hour. But...." Shaking her head at herself she looked to her fiancé as he met her eyes before turning her gaze to her other prisoner. The brunet below her was tense under her hand and probably didn't appreciate the contact that she was giving him at the moment, but he still turned his head to meet her gaze briefly after a long pause. "I think Ashton needs to get some sleep first. It can't be good for him to...do this without being rested, right? He needs to get some sleep." She might need to ask Bowman to make something for her to lessen some of her anxiety, she didn't feel calm or controlled enough to wait until she was called on at this point.

He had the same concerns. Rena should seriously consider moving herself and Claude to Linga to attend the University; she had the proper instincts and would make an excellent doctor with the right knowledge, training and guidance. "She's right. Have you been able to sleep at all since yesterday or the day before that?" It hadn't taken but an instant for Bowman to notice Ashton's grogginess once he joined in on his and Dias' conversation before the ship docked in Tenue.

"Um." He had been hoping that they'd do him a favor and tune him out for this conversation, but apparently that wasn't to be. "Not really. I think I got a couple hours on the boat and....I don't think I've ever really slept since we've been here." He'd lost consciousness, but there'd always been some part of him that was aware of Gyoro and Ururun in the same way as he was when he was awake. The awareness was still there when he slept, but it was different then, and he hadn't felt that at all.

"Right." Bowman rubbed the back of his neck as he went over the herbs he had bought in Tenue and which sleeping compounds he could make from them. "I'll make something. It'll hit you hard but it'll clear out of your system completely after a few hours and you'll be able to wake up clearheaded. I'll leave an extra dose for you in case you wake up before we're ready and want to go back to sleep." If he was too difficult to wake up they could have Rena detoxify him and then make Ururun breath on him again. He needed to finish his exam and insert the cannulas as well, but he could do that last bit of preparation after he woke up, he wanted to practice on Dias first and show him how to do the insertion so that he could insert his for him. Rena was going to find herself on call quite a bit later in the day. It was a good thing they had stocked up on teas and blackberries before they left town.

Claude was nodding along as Bowman spoke. The man on the other side of Rena definitely needed to get some more sleep before the ritual, it would help him process the events of the past day and a half and maybe even help him keep himself together during it. Celine seemed to be calming herself down now that Ashton was cooperating and keeping himself calm, so he ventured to question her directly. "How long do you think it will take for you to get his crests done?" Hopefully it wouldn't take but an hour or two at most, the blond wanted the brunet to get at least six or eight hours in if he could.

She had to force her mind from the situation they were in to tabulate the total time needed for his crests to be completed. Looking down, she studied her nails as she made her mental estimations and tried to distance herself. "Well, it takes roughly ten minutes for the ink to be mixed properly and for the outlines to penetrate fully. Once that's done it will probably take about three hours to do the sections that still need to be completed."

That was way too long. "If you had help would it make it go faster, or does it have to be someone magically inclined?" He looked over Rena's lap when he felt Ashton shift on the other side of her and found him staring at him with an incredulous, shocked expression. Claude shook his head and rolled his eyes at him before pointing to himself forcefully. Like he didn't know that he would have a stroke or something if the other person doing it wasn't him.

Celine almost smiled as she looked up from her hand at the question and caught their exchange and the aftermath; Ashton sighing loudly in relief and burying his face in the sheets as Rena gave him one of her looks and ruffled his hair while Claude shook his head at him again and brought his attention back to her. "It would cut the time by at least a third, perhaps even half if we can find a way to work comfortably on both sides." She was going to have to demonstrate for him to see if he could tolerate what needed to be done, but so long as he was able to keep his hands steady and stay within the lines there would be no problems that she could foresee.

"Well, then I–" he stopped short as Ashton said something muffled into the blanket below him. "What?"

"Um...I-I need t-t-tape a-and s-safety p-p-pins or s-something like th-that first." He ignored his hot face as he lifted it from the mattress to be heard and made brief eye contact with Dias, it didn't look like he'd get another chance to hand the letters off once Celine and Claude were ready. At least he wasn't making something up to get the two of them out of the room. He had been planning on laying on his side while Celine worked, but if Claude was going to be working on him as well then he would probably be standing. He still had the scissors in the desk, so he'd need to figure out how to make a layered skirt out of it while keeping the holes straight and secured enough that he would stay covered. At least this way he wouldn't be able to make his big confession while she was working on him, it would have been the most awkward conversation ever if he had. Or maybe not. It was Celine after all, who knows what would have happened. He needed to stop thinking again. That was another thing that he didn't need to worry about now, at least. He didn't know who to be thanking more at the moment, Claude and Tria were stuck in a dead heat.

"Okay, fine. I'll go look for them while Celine gets ready." Now he wanted to know just what needed to be tattooed that it required so much preparation on Ashton's part and made him blush and stutter like that. Unless Celine had been handcuffing him to the bed or something to keep him from running away and he wanted to try to pick the locks or–Oh, hey. It looked like Bowman just had a similar thought judging by the way he was closing his eyes and shaking his head at himself. At least it wasn't just him this time. There might be something to that thought, though, Celine was looking a little uncomfortable now. Actually, the expression she wore was almost exactly the same as the one she had worn in Clik after....Oh, man. He better not have to tattoo Ashton's ass or have his head in his crotch, there were some lines that definitely didn't need to be crossed and that was one of them.

If they were going to finish Anchor's crests before they let him knock him out then he could finish his exam while they took care of the prep work. It should be over quickly enough, he was positive that he was clean and in excellent condition like the rest of them were once you excluded the problems that the dragons caused and it wasn't as if he was going to have him turn his head and cough or anything like that. Some tea might help all of them calm down, Rena could brew it and deliver it to them while he was getting his vitals. He would say that Dias would deliver it, but the blue-haired man still seemed to be playing at being Ashton's security guard, so he probably wouldn't be leaving. "I need to finish up with him real quick, so it'd be appreciated if everyone could clear out for a few minutes."

He wished that Bowman had forgotten about his physical, he didn't know how he had stood Rena touching him the way she had been and he still didn't want to have too much contact with anyone despite not feeling quite so raw and unbalanced thanks to Claude's reassurances. Shifting with the dragons to a sitting position, he tuned out the others as best he could as Celine, Claude and Rena made their way out of the room. It sounded as though Bowman and Rena had some sort of exchange about tea and he hoped that they weren't going to make him drink anything sweet, he had a feeling that it might make him sick after half an hour like the tea that he drank with Celine last night had despited the lemon juice he'd put in it. Maybe it had been the lemon and not the sweetness, he might as well be cautious and drink his straight if any was offered to him. Dias was staying to supervise apparently, so he cut his eyes back and forth from the taller swordsman to the desk that the pharmacist was standing at and subtly pointed as best he could to the lowest drawer by the door, which was where Ururun said they were and he trusted him enough to not second guess him. If Bowman took too long there might not be enough time to direct the other man orally or tell him what he wanted to. Dias wouldn't need to have his wishes explained to him after he saw the letters, but he had still wanted to talk to him as best he could before he left, he was the only person the he thought he might be able to talk to before being overwhelmed and he wanted to say a few things to him. He wouldn't read the letters beyond looking at the names written on their backs to determine whose was whose, so if he did make it he might just tell him to go on and read his if he didn't feel like talking afterwards.

Dias nodded subtly as he closed the door and Bowman turned back to his patient and motioned for him to sit in the chair by the desk, a blood pressure cuff in his other hand and a stethoscope hanging from around his neck. He'd try to hurry the pharmacist along and get him out quickly before he retrieved what he supposed might be letters to the various members of their group, it appeared that a stealthy retrieval would be impossible at the moment.

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Precis patted Bobot proudly as she carried him away from the ceremonial chamber and back towards the living quarters. He had done an amazing job and if she heard so much as one peep about that room not being perfect now she would scream or something, because seriously, Bobot was the best maid in the world. It was too bad there weren't competitions for stuff like that, they could totally take first place if there were. She'd get Celine to give the room an inspection. It'd be tough on her, yeah, but if she asked Rena then the other girl would start cleaning imaginary dust or something. Bowman would be a good choice too, but she didn't want to be around him unless she had to until Ashton was back on the mend, she was sure that he'd chill out a little after that and his ch'i was realigned or whatever. Besides, there was no way that Ashton and Urie and Gyoro weren't going to make it or something, it wasn't like they were going to let that happen. That mantra might not have kicked the nightmares out last night but at least it kept her social and herself, everyone else was acting weird enough without her adding to it. Well, except Dias. He didn't count, though, Dias was just Dias like that and she still didn't get him at all.

She wondered if Urie had any moves that she could program Bobot with once he was all humany like she had with Ashton after she'd finally managed to get him away from that barrel in Fun City, it had been fun programming Bobot and watching him to figure out exactly what he was doing underneath all of those blurs and afterimages. He moved way too fast sometimes, she'd made him do that one move over and over like a dozen times and she still hadn't gotten it right, but whatever, Bobot's version of it was close enough. Maybe she should have bugged Bowman or Claude for that, but Claude just sliced his sword up and down over and over and there was no way she would ever ask the pharmacist for something like that. It had been totally wrong of the three of them, though, one minute Claude was slicing and dicing monsters left and right and then Ashton had started doing it and they'd go around sandwiching the big guys between them and totally ruining their day before she got to have any fun and the next thing she knew after that, Bowman was doing it too. The whole 'boys club' mentality that they got in sometimes was really, really stupid though, so it was a good thing she had gone ahead and bashed her way in there before Dias, Ernest, Leon and maybe even Noel got in on it. Okay, maybe not Dias or Noel, but Ernest or Leon definitely would have joined in somehow eventually if she hadn't gotten her cooties or whatever all over it.

Anyway, it was kitchen time. Rena had to be stress cooking at this point or something, otherwise the smells that were slowly slithering their way down the halls would have a burnt edge to them. It didn't sound like anyone was in there, but she wasn't the type to leave stuff cooking unattended, so Precis figured that she was just being quiet again. Rounding the corner and entering the room, she noticed Rena at the pantry and Celine sitting at the table with her back to the doorway and took in the various ingredients strung about the counters and the mugs that were lined by the sink. "Hey!"

"Hi," Rena returned absentmindedly as she shifted herself before the pantry and subtly pushed the box of cookies she had bought for Bowman and Dias behind a box of rice. Precis didn't need to know about those provisions, if she saw them she might get a craving for sweets and the healer wanted the blood donors to have first dibs on them before they became available to everyone else. She'd make apple, banana and chocolate crepes for breakfast tomorrow to make it up to her. It was a little unusual to have dessert for breakfast, but they'd have earned it at that point. "We decided to do the ritual tonight. Are you okay with that?"

"Really?" Precis blinked and looked to the ceiling for a second before looking back to the Nedian, she hadn't expected it to happen that quickly. It was better to go on and get it over with, though, so…."Yeah, totally. What time?" At least this way they'd know that Ashton and the dragons were okay one way or the other and if she had nightmares again she would know that her brain was lying to her. Rena was talking so the next target was going to be Celine, they'd both been way too quiet so far today. Well, everybody had, but she was tired of babbling to fill the awkward silence and had completely depleted herself in the storage room.

Celine caught the unsure noise that their resident healer made and looked up from the inks and her other supplies in time to catch her inquisitive look. Well, now. Apparently she'd been promoted in Claude's absence, she hoped the blond didn't mind the schedule she was about to set. "I would say somewhere around midnight. Ashton needs his rest and we all need some time to ourselves, I believe." She needed to sleep as well. She might just disappear on them again and take a nap in her room once she was done with the crests and take care of the clay for them while they rested.

She just had to pick the creepiest time of day, didn't she? Precis guessed it was the whole mage thing at work, Celine wasn't dark or anything, but she definitely didn't seem to notice how some of that stuff could just get to people. The inventor envied her when it came to stuff like that sometimes, she just seemed unflappable and collected when everyone else was weirded out or confused and the only other people that Precis could think of that was like that was Dias and Noel and they didn't count so far as she was concerned. She had been acting really weird ever since this whole thing started, but Ashton had too, so it was probably just the crests and spending so much time around each other and rooming together all the time that did it. It still didn't explain the way that they'd been looking at and talking to and touching each other and the way everyone else had been acting around them lately. The only thing that Precis could explain it with was that they liked each other, but Ashton didn't really seem to be interested in that kind of relationship from what she could tell and she'd always seen Celine as a queen or the wife of some really rich dude for some reason, so she'd been pushing those thoughts out of her head when she had them. Anyway, standing in the entryway was stupid, so she went ahead and walked over to the table and sat down beside Celine as Rena nodded and closed the pantry before making her way over to the counter. "Are you going to do his crests again or something?" It looked like all the equipment was here, and Precis found herself hoping that Celine wasn't going to bring out those half dip pen, half flathead screwdriver-looking things in front of her again, they were way too sharp looking and the sight of them when the feeds were filled with ink really, really freaked her out.

Celine hummed lightly at the question as she mixed the inks in one of the inkwells, her expression going distant before she spoke. "That I am." It would be for the best if Claude returned from his scavenger hunt soon, the young man would be able to distract the inventor better than Rena would and she wasn't in the mood to satisfy Precis' curiosity at the moment, especially considering where her questions may lead.

She'd thought that they were all done considering that they were all the way down to his ankles now, but she guessed not. Maybe he had to have the soles of his feet done again. "You don't have to do his feet, do you?" That would be torture or something as far as she was concerned, even if he did already have them there, so she hoped it was somewhere else.

"Precis, could you come here and take care of the tea for me?" That was a little too personal in Rena's opinion. She was confident that while Celine would answer the question if forced to, it would still make her uncomfortable and Ashton doubly so if yet another woman were to know about it. It was bad enough for him that she knew exactly which areas had yet to be done, he had been blushing so fiercely when she healed him after the last few sessions that she'd almost thought that he had painted his face red before she'd entered the room. Not that knowing or seeing him stripped to his boxers made her uncomfortable, but just seeing him like that while the tattoos were still so fresh and raw looking made her sick to her stomach, especially when she knew that he had to stand the pain of leaving them untreated for half an hour before her heraldry could heal him without damaging the crests. He said it was better than putting the salve on, though, and they had all agreed that Bowman didn't need to be subjected to that again even if Gyoro now realized that the pain hadn't been intentional.

Precis got up and walked over to the stove, noting that the kettle didn't seem ready yet, but guessing that the other girl was thirsty and wanted it ready soon. "Yeah, okay." Rena must be making fried vegetables, there were lots of them on the counter and she was making some really loud chopping noises. It was a little odd for her to be doing so now as she'd been quiet about it until she said that, but maybe she'd moved on to one of the harder vegetables. She might be planning on dividing it up and using it for a side dish, there was a chicken on the counter. "The crests?" It was still too quiet in here.

While Celine appreciated Rena's efforts, she wasn't surprised in the least when the inventor stayed on her chosen topic. She resisted the urge to sigh as Rena chopped whatever she was working on forcefully a few times, apparently sharing her frustrations. "I'm going to be going over it with Claude once he's done with what he's doing. You're free to stay and listen in, of course."

Well, that hadn't worked. Precis guessed that the mage had a point, it wouldn't be something that she'd want to talk about over and over again either. She searched her mind for a new topic that might get them talking and eventually came up with something that might work. "How's all the wedding stuff and the house going? I haven't really heard anything about it lately." So far as she knew it was still a secret topic.

Now that was a subject that the two women were willing to engage in, if in a more subdued manner than they normally would. It was a relief to speak on something removed from the situation again, the ritual and the preparation for it had been the main topics of conversation since arriving in El. It kept them distracted until Claude made his appearance, Rena stopping mid-sentence to deliver the chicken to the table for Celine to demonstrate on. She didn't know if she would still use it; it wasn't toxic, but even if the skin and meat around and underneath the markings that were going to be implanted were removed she didn't know if she'd feel comfortable eating it herself, let alone serving it. Dias might have to go without his chicken skewers.

Claude sat down hesitantly and watched Celine ready herself, dimly wishing for a distraction before remembering the safety pins in his pocket and shoving his right hand in it to fiddle with them. He needed to ask Precis about making a wheelchair for Ashton, so that would serve as another distraction. "Hey, how much do you have left in the material kit? It's not empty yet, is it?"

Lifting the kettle as it finally began to whistle, Precis moved over beside Rena and started filling the mugs. It looked like they already had the teabags in them. "Uh, I think most of it's still there. It didn't take all that much to fix Bobot up for the wagon or make the cart." That was kinda sudden. Maybe she had another project on the way.

He had an idea, that much was obvious. Rena turned to look at him, hoping that he was going to ask Celine if they could use one of the more advanced types of tattooing implements he'd told her about if Precis could make it.

Claude had already asked her that, unfortunately. She'd asked the village elder, and his conclusion had been that as it was untested he wouldn't recommend it. Still, she listened in as she set the inkwell on the table. Claude needed to see exactly what it was that would be expected of him before he made his final decision on this. She would demonstrate on Ashton as well, but it would be much more disturbing and he needed to prepare himself for the sight and the actual experience of driving the ink in. She prayed that she was never made the elder of Mars, she would hate to do this on a regular basis.

"Well, I was wondering if you could make a wheelchair for Ashton to get around in. I think he'll be weak for a day or two afterwards and his balance'll probably be off again." He'd hate it, yeah, but he might need one and at least he'd be able to push himself around to go to the bathroom and anything else he wanted to do instead of calling on one of them to help him. The last thing they needed was him getting irritable or martyring himself because he got hung up on being dependent on them to get around for a couple days.

Rena blinked at that and made a skeptical noise. "I don't know, wouldn't something like a cane or a pair of crutches be better? I don't think he'll be that bad and we could ask Bowman if it would be okay to move him to his room, it's the closest to the bathroom, after all." The heraldic swordsman would probably do everything he could to avoid using it and might even get offended by the idea. Celine seemed to have the same opinion, she was shaking her head as she busied herself by positioning the chicken so that it sat on its hindquarters and making sure that it was stable.

Precis looked between the three of them before speaking. Rena had preempted her, but she was still going to answer. "I can do all that and have plenty left over if I modify one of the chairs around here," she answered quickly, an idea coming to her as she spoke. "I might be able to make a stretcher or something too, unless we're just going to carry him all the way to whatever room he's in." She'd have to destroy a bed to do it, but she figured that them being here was technically illegal, so they might as well vandalize the place a little while they were at it. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to be sleeping until the ritual was over.

Well, Precis didn't seem to think his idea was all that terrible and had definitely come up with a good one of her own. Thanks to her it was a tie, so at least the other two women wouldn't tag team him. "Sounds good to me. I know the wheelchair's a little extreme, but I'd rather be prepared on the off chance that he needs one." They'd never had to deal with major blood loss before since they'd always made sure to be stocked up and Rena was so watchful that nobody had ever lost enough to keep them out of the fray for more than a day.

Celine cleared her throat and brought the blond's attention back to her. Bowman would likely be done soon and Claude needed to deliver his supplies to Ashton's room before they began. "Are you ready, darling?"

He scratched the back of his head nervously and scooted his chair closer to the mage, nodding as he did so. It was a good thing she was going to demonstrate on the poultry, he'd been in front of the two of them the last time he saw the crests being put in and it had been disturbing enough just watching the handle of the instrument move, their reactions to it and the cloths that Celine had used to remove the excess ink and blood slowly becoming so stained and saturated that they had started to drip before she threw them away.

"We're going to be working on the sides of his hips and upper thighs, so our position is going to be a little unusual now that we'll both be working on him." It was best to get that information out of the way to satisfy Precis' curiosity and make plain just how intimate his contact with the other man would be. The face the inventor had made at that news registered faintly from the corner of her eye, but she was more interested in the blond's expression as it turned uncomfortable for a few seconds.

Well, that explained the tape and the safety pins. That type of contact was far beyond what normally went on between the two of them unless one of them had been injured in those areas and they had to stanch the wound before Rena could heal it, but it wouldn't be that bad once they got used to it. "Right." He nodded and leaned forward, his arms crossing on the table to support his weight as he studied the chicken and Celine removed herself from her chair and kneeled down before it to demonstrate.

They might need to take regular breaks as their hands were going to be positioned rather oddly for this now that Ashton would likely be standing for the procedure. Celine worked her wrist briefly to loosen it before settling the edge of the implement to the skin of the chicken's wing; it wasn't the best spot for it but she'd rather not waste the entire thing and it would still serve to give him an impression of the type of pressure he would need to exert to drive the ink in. "Now, then. Enough pressure needs to be exerted to scrape off the epidermis and roughly half of the dermis below it. The skin in the areas we'll be working in is a bit variable, so we'll have to adjust the strength of our stroke as we go. I'll go first as we move to demonstrate." He was looking a little worried at this point, Celine would hazard to guess that he was worried about driving the ink into the wrong layers of skin or scraping too far down. "It's easy enough to tell when you're down far enough, the tissue itself is white and you'll occasionally hit a capillary. The important thing is to go in slowly at a severely acute angle and take off a little at a time before dipping the pen in the ink and inserting it in the skin." She began her demonstration at that, steadying it with one hand and scraping the skin off the back of its wing slowly. The chicken was the best that Rena had been able to come up with, but it was still a poor substitute for human flesh.

Precis made a brief disgusted noise before she moved over and bent down behind the mage to watch her demonstration. The tea was almost done steeping and she'd be volunteering herself to deliver it to the others, wherever they were. Ashton would be easy enough to find, but they wouldn't be able fix his tea for him like they could the others as he tended prepare his to suit whatever frame of mind he was in. It was a little weird, but it was an easy way to tell whether he was in a good mood or not since he didn't like anything sweet when he was depressed or stressed out and he almost put as much honey in his as she did when he was really happy. She retreated to the tea and started to prepare it for distribution among those gathered here as Celine finished her demonstration and motioned for Claude to practice. This was going to be long, long day.

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Dias wasn't Ashton's keeper despite his recent behavior, so when Precis came by and delivered their tea to them and the Elurian didn't move to prepare his own cup he made no comment on it. She had left the tray on the desk for them, the lemon slices and honey making rather odd companions out of a pile of safety pins and a roll of tape. He sipped at his own as Bowman prepared his distractedly and talked his patient through the catheter insertion process and just what they were planning. The pharmacist wasn't making any moves to insert them, even as he brought one out to demonstrate where they would be placed, laying it against the interior of his elbow and explaining that it would be splinted and heavily padded as he didn't want it to be irritated by the grooves of the armrests. The swordsman would be ejecting the Lingan from the room soon if he didn't remove himself of his own accord, Ashton was becoming increasingly distant as the man spoke despite his apparent focus on the man's words and actions.

He'd be quizzing Celine or Claude on whether he had drank his tea by the time they were done with his crests, the other brunet needed to stay hydrated and he would already be sending Rena in with a pitcher of water and maybe even waking him up early to force a few glasses down his throat if he came to check on him and didn't see it depleted to his liking. His patient still needed to talk to someone about this so far as Bowman was concerned, but he knew that the other brunet wouldn't open up to him and that his security force was becoming impatient with his lingering presence. It was better for Ashton to know their plans for this, though, so he threw the large-bore peripheral cannula in the trash as he'd removed it from its sterile wrapping for his demonstration. He was thankful that he had raided the supply closets in the university's medical labs, he had seven more of them and almost a dozen smaller ones which would be used to deliver the saline solution still tucked safely inside his bag. His patient was going to have several new holes in his body once he was done with him; Bowman had decided to use the medicarpal veins on the back of his hands to administer the saline solution and the cephalic veins in the curve of his elbows for the transfusions. He'd have to see if Rena's magics would force the cannulas out of their position or even drive them out completely, he didn't think they would once inserted properly but he didn't know what they would do if they did. Leaning back, he poked his tongue in the inside of his cheek and pulled himself from his thoughts as he cast about for the proper way to introduce his next topic. "How much of last night do you remember?"

It was better for him to be as removed as he could be for this, the pharmacist's explanations were hammering the reality of the situation even further into his mind and the only other options were to become angry like he had with Claude or start crying and wailing again. Gyoro and Ururun were helping him at least, their undeserved punishment both accepted and forgotten now, their reassurances whispering through him whenever he thought about it. Like many things, they didn't comprehend his reasons for it fully but they did realize that he was emotionally unstable and that it was affecting his behavior and judgement. Still, he almost wished that one of them would consent to taking him over or that he could do whatever it was that he had done last night in the ceremony room, it would make this whole thing easier for him but it had apparently been a one time performance. He leaned back and wrapped his arms about his midsection, trying to keep his discomfort from registering on his face. "Ah, all of it. Why?"

Bowman noted the defensive body language and strained to hear whether Dias had begun shifting from his position by the door as he spoke. He needed to leave soon, but this was something that the other man needed to know about ahead of time so that he could come to terms with it. "Well, it's not just going to be him, Rena and me in there with you. I know you probably don't want all of us watching, but Precis is going to need to help me out with the transfusions and Claude and Celine want to stay as well. She's going to be in front of you the whole time and Claude's going to get down there too once he helps me get back up once I'm done getting you ready." The knowledge he'd just provided made the other brunet exhale forcefully and rub at his face as he looked away, his dislike of the situation evident. Not that Bowman had even entertained the notion that he would be pleased with the information, but his reaction was fairly mild considering the alternatives. "Celine's going to strip a couple beds and bring their blankets with her for those two, so you don't need to worry about anyone seeing you like that." He shared a look at the dragons as they blinked at him and then looked down to their host before nodding their understanding of the situation at him and Bowman wondered if they truly comprehended the reason for the blankets; the demons seemed incapable of understanding certain social mores and customs from what he had gathered.

That was a relief. Claude might be used to the sight and Celine had gotten an eyeful of her own thanks to Gyoro, but that didn't mean that Rena or Precis needed to see everything. He wasn't comfortable with Bowman or Dias witnessing that either as they'd never seen him completely undressed before but he supposed that it didn't matter at this point. It would have been different if the situation wasn't what it was, but it was, so it couldn't be helped. "Okay. What about me? Do I need to cut up a pair of pants?" He hoped that he would be wearing pants, he'd feel too vulnerable and uncomfortable if he was just going to be sitting there in his underwear. It was bad enough that Rena had seen him stripped down to them as many times as she had over the past few days.

Bowman shook his head at that, standing up straight and gathering his supplies. He didn't need to be escorted out by Dias and Ashton needed to get ready for Celine and Claude. "Naw. I think you'll be good enough just rolling your pant legs up past your knee." The sleeping pants he had on now would work, they were loose enough that they would roll that far up without cutting off his circulation or causing discomfort. "I'll go over the rest with you later. Is there anything else you want to ask?" He'd almost said 'talk about,' but that implied that he was seeking to counsel him and would get him kicked out even as he made to leave.

"No. Thank you, though." He looked up at the man at that to make eye contact with him as he spoke, hoping as he did so that Bowman understood the meaning of that as he couldn't get out everything he wanted to thank him for at the moment. They were going to do everything they could to make sure he didn't die, though, so maybe he'd be able to personally thank him and apologize for the rather long list of things that had accumulated over the past week and a half after it was over. The pharmacist was carrying the heaviest burden of all thanks to him even though they weren't that close. He didn't know how he'd ever repay any of them for everything they'd done for him, he had a feeling that he'd be spending the rest of his life trying to pay them back.

The pharmacist nodded and patted his patient on the shoulder briefly before he lifted his bag from the desk and collected his tea. He'd received the message well enough, and if Ashton hadn't been in the state he was in he would have responded to it more directly. "S'okay. I'll give the pills I'm going to make to Rena so that you'll be able to get some sleep. There's going to be four of them, but only take two at a time." The last thing that they needed at the moment was for him to take all four of them and overdose. Ashton would already be taking the maximum recommended dosage, but the medicine was gentle enough that he wouldn't harm himself by doing so and the pharmacist wanted to be sure that whatever sleep he managed to get was deep and prolonged enough for him to be well rested. He probably wouldn't be conscious for long if he didn't pass out during the ritual, so he'd be able to make up the rest of it while he recovered.

Dias watched as Bowman made his exit before looking back to the heraldic swordsman and observing him as he removed a notebook from the drawer he had indicated earlier. He seemed to becoming slightly more tense as he flipped through it, apparently steeling himself for whatever he was about to say. It looked as though he might have to wait for the wake, funeral or even Claude and Rena's wedding to deliver a few of them if Ashton didn't make it, he had counted eleven letters of varying page length folded throughout the still attached pages and he didn't know if he was willing to call Ernest and Opera to inform them of their existence provided they weren't able to make it before then. Coming forward slightly as the sitting man looked back up at him, Dias shut the door to insure their privacy for this conversation, however brief it may be.

"Um, I wasn't able to get any envelopes, so don't bother with it if you don't want to." He wished he could manage a smile if only to let Dias know how much he appreciated the thoughtfulness of his actions, but all he found himself capable of was nodding at him in acknowledgement. "There's not really any order to them, so you might need to go through it to find them, but they've got names on the backs." He was going to start rambling if he kept holding the notebook, so he held it out for the taller man to take and tried to keep his gaze steady as he watched him.

Taking the proffered item, Dias nodded and decided to breach a subject that while uncomfortable, was necessary at this point. "Is there any family we need to notify?" He was fairly certain that there wasn't. The bridge before Eluria Tower was now preceded by two long walls of black granite, carved and inlaid in silver with the names of those that had fallen or gone missing in the defense of the country during the invasion of the Ten Wise Men and their demons. He had almost passed it by unthinkingly until the other man's surname caught his eye and he took in the number of Anchors that had apparently perished during that time.

Ashton had been avoiding Eluria due to that monument, he'd visited the capital once and that had been enough. He'd only stayed long enough to have an audience with the newly coronated Queen and inform her that while he had returned to his homeland to help with the rebuilding efforts, he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to serve his country like the rest of his family had. It was a good thing that he was possessed, if it wasn't for Gyoro and Ururun she might have tried to coerce or even force him to enter the military since he'd technically completed his formal training. Being a fully recognized Crest Knight had never been something that he truly desired, though. He'd mostly done it due to tradition and so that he could say that his family had something to be proud of him for as he'd always considered himself something of a stain on their House due to his awkwardness, bad luck and outcast status among his peers despite their protests and support. "No, they're all…on the monument and the Queen said that I was the only one whose body hadn't been…." It was obvious where he was going with that, so he didn't bother to finish that thought. At least it didn't hurt as much as it used to, by the time he'd heard of the chaos the Sorcery Globe had created passage to El had been all but forbidden in both Cross and Lacour and he hadn't been able to persuade either of the Kings to let him return. He'd been able to hold out hope for a while, but he'd accepted the fact that all of his acquaintances, family, instructors and peers were gone before they'd even boarded the ship with Leon and the Lacour Hope and set sail.

There wasn't anything to say to that, so Dias busied himself by hiding the notebook underneath his shirt as the shorter man stood slowly. "Is there anything else?" He was assuming that there was, the brunet wasn't moving from his new position and had adopted a generally nervous air as he stood before him.

Even discounting the fact that he was one of his blood donors it was still a good thing that Dias was here, it meant that he could tell somebody what he wanted to even if it wasn't all of it or as eloquent or in depth as it was in the letters. "I just, um….I want to thank you for everything." If he said it more than once or started in on the litany of things he was grateful to him for it would irritate the taller man so it was in his best interest to move on. "...I'm glad I met you and that we traveled together like we did. I know I try your patience sometimes, but you've never really judged me for anything and...I respect you. I look up to you, to tell the truth. And…I might need some time to adjust with these two off me, but if I make it, I….I'd like to spar with you sometime." If the ritual didn't kill him then Dias might; he was leagues ahead of him when it came to skill and talent so far as the brunet was concerned. He didn't expect him to say anything to that as the other man simply wasn't the type to speak of things of such a nature. He showed it through his actions and he'd already done that by being here and running interference for him ever since he started to crack last night. Being a friend of Dias' was an interesting experience, the man pushed where most people pulled and tended to become aggressive, cold and distant when someone became close enough that he started to worry about their wellbeing. Ashton would guess that he'd go back to making threats interlaced with hidden meanings against him at odd times once all of this was over. Assuming he survived, anyway.

Ashton was correct in his assumptions, he'd been far too kind to him as of late and would need to remind the Elurian of just how things worked between them once he was on the mend. Dias supposed that he would warm him up for it by outright ignoring his presence for a day or two before he began to redraw their old lines. The only person that didn't receive such treatment was Rena, and that was due to their bond being formed long before he had cut himself off from everyone else. "And you always surprise me." He wasn't sure how that had slipped out even as nodded his head in recognition of the brunet's admission and the acceptance of his challenge, but it was the truth. If Dias were to give one word to describe the shorter swordsman it would be 'surprising' or 'unpredictable' as he had never been able to accurately analyze him or predict his behavior to the degree that he could with most people.

That almost made him smile through his shock as he blinked it out of his system and Dias used his stunned state to his advantage to leave the room, shutting the door behind him as he went. It would probably be for the best if he never spoke about what had just happened to him or anyone else for however long he had to live, Dias would flay him alive if he ever heard it mentioned. Thinking about it wasn't a good idea either, so he turned his attention back to the desk and removed the scissors before lifting his tea from the tray and taking a drink before setting it aside and moving to the bed. Knowing his luck Celine and Claude were already on their way and he hadn't even started on the sheet yet. If he didn't hurry they might walk in on him while he was getting ready and the last thing he needed was either of them offering to help him with it, the crest branding was going to be awkward enough.

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Claude did the best he could to ignore the soft hiss Ashton let out as he dug the sharp edge of the instrument he was holding down the inside of the outline and traced it slowly to the finished crests that it would join with before running it up the other side to finish the outline. Glancing to the other side of the brunet, he saw Celine putting her utensils away and restrained himself from asking if she would finish the last section that he was working on. He could handle doing this for a few more minutes, especially considering that she had done the same thing so many times for hours on end already. Turning his attention back to the crest he was completing, he blotted at the small drops of crimson the welled up from the cuts he had just created, finding himself praying again that he hadn't cut too deeply. Returning the cloth to the top of the desk beside Ashton's hand, he laid his left hand against the other man's back and adjusted his grip, the edge of the blade almost horizontal to the skin of his thigh as he scraped downwards slowly and methodically, watching then natural color slowly give way to white and continuing on until the furrow he had created was level with the crests that he had already placed. Retrieving the cloth again, he dabbed at blood that beaded up from the capillaries that had been damaged by the blade and dipped the instrument in the inkwell by his side. "Last one." He swallowed as Ashton nodded tightly above him and removed the cloth, replacing it with the inked tip and running it down the exposed flesh, watching the already pink skin around it become increasingly inflamed and the muscles beneath it twitch as the ink penetrated. Sighing forcefully, he resisted the urge to throw the tattooing blade across the room as he finished and dabbed the excess ink and newly risen blood from the now completed crest before sitting fully on the ground and running a hand over his face. "Done." This had been the most exhausting hour and a half of his life, he felt like he could sleep for the rest of today and tomorrow as well. He needed to get out of here.

Celine got on all fours at that and leaned over to inspect the blond's work, pleased to see that he had done an admirable job of not only placing the crests, but working through his distress as well. "It looks splendid, darling. Thank you ever so much for your help." She adjusted herself so that she was sitting to his side and patted his knee in consolation as Ashton inhaled deeply and straightened himself from his leaning position before the desk. Claude needed to leave the room soon, it was all too obvious just how disturbing the crest branding had been for him. It was still disturbing for her as well, but she had become quite talented at hiding how deeply it affected her. From most of the others at least, Ashton was far too sensitive to her moods and it was useless to try to hide it from him. The mage needed to leave soon as well, the heraldic swordsman might push himself through his own pain to comfort her as he normally did despite his current state and given the circumstances she was frightened as to where it would lead. "Could you tell Rena that we're finished? I'll pack all the supplies back up." It would leave her alone with Ashton, but she couldn't give Claude the support that he needed at the moment and neither could his best friend, Rena was the only one that was capable of that now.

Ashton rolled his neck and shoulders to work the tightness out of them and looked down to Claude and Celine, instantly regretting it. He always felt horrible before, during and after the crest branding due to what it did to the periwinkle-haired mage, but now that he was looking at the blond the trauma that he had willingly subjected himself to was all too evident and it only served to increase his guilt. He was the worst person on Expel. He had to be, there was no way there was another person on the planet that came anywhere close to hurting the people that they loved and that loved them in return like he did. "Claude, I…." His left hand flew to his face to rub at his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose as he cursed himself internally and Gyoro and Ururun began to flood him with soothing emotions again. He shouldn't have said that, he shouldn't have even attempted to speak; his voice had broken on the blond's name and the tears had decided to come with it and he didn't know if he'd be able to stop even with the two of them sitting beside him and the dragons flooding him.

He better not be getting ready to do what Claude thought he was getting ready to do, if Ashton started then he would too and Celine might follow or go get Rena. Either way they'd wind up with at least three people crying all over each other, maybe four if Celine didn't leave and his fiancée stumbled on the three of them or the mage broke down once she brought Rena back. "Hey, it's okay. I'm just a little worn out." The brunet wasn't sniffling or anything yet, but he was still forcing the tip of his thumb and the side of his index finger into his eyes. "Don't do this, okay? You don't want to ruin your skirt or anything, do you?" Please let that joke work, even if it did suck.

Celine bent her head as far back as she could to prevent tears from sliding down her face, wincing internally at the joke before the brunet standing before them let out a strangled laugh at the blond's attempt at humor. Her waterworks suppression tactic failed even as the laughter became more natural and continued, Claude joining in as she bent her head down to wipe them from the sides of her face as subtly as she could and shook her head at the two of them. She joined in as well, still shaking her head but this time at herself as she removed her hands and studied the smeared tears found there. "Bowman's right, the two of you are absolutely terrible when you're together."

Ashton made a dismissive noise and sighed once he finally wound down and removed his hand from his face, the dragons still flooding him in an attempt to keep him stable. He couldn't come up with anything to say to that at the moment, but Claude wouldn't let something like that fly even on his worst days.

"Whatever," he giggled, "he's just jealous that he's never known true love like we do." Claude looked up to the brunet, the smile he found there and the silent laughter that shook the other man's body egging him on and increasing his own. His voice became increasing high pitched as he continued, his throat tightening as he suppressed his laughter to be understood. "He wants our bromance so bad, but we won't give him any." If they were going to cry it could be from laughter, at least.

That made absolutely no sense. She did have to wonder about the two of them sometimes, she suspected that if polygamy was legal the blond would have proposed to the brunet by now. "You're mad." Smiling through the words, she looked up at the heraldic swordsman to let him know that he was included in that. "Completely insane."

The brunet shook his head at the crest mage, hoping to distance himself from the blond's insanity as he wound down and looked at her. He had no idea what a 'bromance' was, but apparently he was involved in one and didn't even know it. Claude's vocabulary threw him for a loop at times, but he guessed it was to be expected what with him being from a different planet and all. It was a good thing he had learned to speak their language before he lost his communicator or whatever he had called it in Eluria Tower after being transported back from the Calnus, otherwise he might have even more communication issues with people. "Don't include me in that, I didn't do anything." Thank Tria for Celine, Claude, Gyoro and Ururun, between the four of them they'd backed him away from the ledge he'd been standing on. Of course, now he found himself on a completely different one. He hoped Claude didn't leave the two of them alone, her smile was slowly morphing into that one as he looked at her for some reason and he was still unstable enough that he might react to it.

It took a few seconds for Claude to realize that Ashton wasn't laughing anymore, but when he did he look up he found him in a staring contest with the mage beside him. Okay, he'd missed something somewhere and turned into a third wheel somehow. He had no idea how it had happened, but he knew well enough what that type of eye contact meant. He decided that a quiet retreat was his best option, so he stood as silently as he could, winking and smiling at the other man as his movements drew his attention and he looked over at him quickly. Claude decided to ignore the expression on Ashton's face as he realized that he was indeed leaving the room to give them their privacy, turning and making his escape and being sure to shut the door behind him. If the smile that he'd caught on the mage's face meant what he thought it did then the brunet might go through this not only being kissed, but also no longer a virgin. He'd have to hold Rena off until he got wind that the mage was out of the room, she didn't need to be walking in on anything.

Claude's imagination was running as wildly as Bowman's did, there was no way that would be happening while the dragons were still present even if they did their best to stay as unobtrusive as they were able. They would undoubtably do something eventually to draw the mage's attention away from their host and ruin the mood for her if not him as well. Celine hadn't caught the desperate, pleading look that the brunet had sent the blond or seen his end of the exchange as she'd looked away once he'd done so, choosing to focus her gaze on the inks, spent cloths and tattooing utensils strung about the floor, but she had detected his nervousness. She prayed that he wasn't going to do or say anything, if something happened now she didn't know if she'd be able to handle watching the ritual unfold.

He wished he could walk or turn easily at the moment, but thanks to the crests his hips and thighs were so tight and sore that a similar retreat was virtually impossible. He needed to do something, though, so he turned around as best he could and lifted himself into a sitting position on the desk behind him. At least he was sitting now even if his nerves were screaming at him in retaliation for the movement and the dragons were sending it back at him out of instinct, the flood of emotions ceasing in its wake. "Um." It was a good thing he'd made the skirt as long as it was, the mage sitting below him wouldn't be able to see anything if she ever raised her eyes from the floor to look at him. His vantage point gave him a larger variety of things to focus himself on, so he searched the room for something to distract himself with and decided to study the mosaic on the far left side of the room as she gathered her supplies and placed them back in their container. "At least that's over with." The crest branding, that is. Claude really shouldn't have winked and smiled at him like he had, now he was blushing again.

She was going to enjoy destroying the tattooing supplies, her next destination would be the public entrance to the temple so that she could vent her frustrations on them in peace. It was a pity that so much of it was metal and glass as she would dearly love to see them burn, but the wind was rather strong at such a high elevation, so she supposed that beating and throwing them against the mountain would suffice. Celine nodded and hummed lightly in agreement, not knowing what to say or if she should say anything at all. Knowing Claude he would do his best to keep Rena from the room and Ashton needed his rest, he didn't need to be kept waiting and time had slowed to a crawl for her suddenly so she might not be able to give the Nedian an accurate guess as to how much time had elapsed if she stayed here for long. Her packing completed, she stood slowly and found herself unable to move as her gaze settled on him again. What could possibly be said or done at the moment that wouldn't make this harder than it already was? Nothing. No matter where this went it would be bad for both of them, they were both exhausted, drained, fearful and on edge and there wasn't any way to pretend or forget anymore. She wished it hadn't happened like this, that they had found a way to remove the dragons in a less dangerous manner or hadn't bothered with it at all, that he had returned to them under different circumstances. Even if she hadn't been able to work past the dragons eventually at the very least whatever passed between them would have been easier to deal with than this, would have been less stressful and void of competing fearful urgency and hesitancy.

The weight of her gaze forced his eyes back to her and he cut himself off from the dragons, not understanding why he did so even as he did it. Her eyes hadn't had a chance to stop swimming yet and neither had his despite the levity of the situation they had been in only minutes ago. He lost the battle with his need to blink after long seconds passed and didn't bother to wipe them away as they traveled, he had barely noticed it as his mouth worked silently until he tasted the salt of them as they fell to the curve of his mouth. "Celine, I–"

"Don't." She didn't know why she said that when she was already closing the space between them to hug him as best he could over his closed legs and started shedding her own tears once she touched him and buried her face as best she could against him. "I know." It had been obvious enough from the way his lips had moved, they had formed so many disjointed words as he searched for his voice that she knew that he was either going to confess or apologize again and she didn't think that she could handle either of those two options at the moment.

He shook his head at both himself and her, unable speak at all as his throat tightened and he moved his legs apart to increase their contact. It was a good thing that he had situated himself on the desk the way he had, it meant that he could bury his face in her hair as his arms closed around her to bring her forward. He didn't know why he needed this now when he had spent so much of the past two days avoiding such contact and fighting the urge to run whenever someone touched him, but he did and was relieved finally have it again.

Neither of them knew or understood anything at the moment, apparently. Celine certainly wouldn't have been able to explain either to herself or anyone else why she ducked her head out from underneath his and craned her head to kiss his cheek after long moments passed, tasting the tears to be found there as he brought her closer, one of his hands running slowly up her back. She repeated her actions as he returned the affection, blinking her eyes open in surprise and exhaling as his lips slid across her own cheek, his breath unsteady before he kissed her chastely and unsure and she closed her eyes in response.

Gyoro shook his head forcefully, opening and closing his mouth rapidly to dislodge the foreign sensation as it traveled to him and his other as Ururun blinked repeatedly and cocked his head consideringly. They could not ask their host for confirmation as he had shut himself away from them again, but that didn't stop the two of them from debating whether these actions meant that the two humans' courtship had been completed. Either way, they were both curious enough at this point that they curled themselves around their host's side to observe the happenings before them at a better angle, doing their best to stay out of the way.

Ashton wasn't paying attention to them at the moment, he was still too caught up what was happening for them or that part of himself that was stunned that he had managed to do what he'd just done to register. The dragons were bouncing the sensations back at him again, he knew that much because there was no way this could be as intense as it felt as she responded. It overloaded him enough that he drew back to gasp for breath as she followed him, taking the lead and kissing him again and that faint part of him that was still capable of thinking was relieved that she hadn't deepened it; this experience was proving to be overwhelming as it was.

Celine pulled away from him suddenly to press her face to his neck, unable to ignore the demons as they drew closer in curiosity and their breaths registered against her skin, alternately too hot and cold to be human. The stares she could have ignored, but that had been far beyond what she could stand and she restrained herself from pulling away from him to glare at them for intruding by hugging him to her as tightly as she could and focusing on the feel of him pressed against her and the hands on the small of her back and the nape of her neck. She hadn't moved her own hands for fear of touching the dragons, but now she was rubbing at his back in short stokes in silent apology.

He shook his head at the dragons, almost thankful to them for the way they had interrupted them before he buried his face in her hair again. At least the sensations were still intermingled with the pain of the crests, it kept his body from responding to what had just happened even if it seemed to be taking just as much time as his mind was to process everything. She hadn't moved away from him and he was thankful for that, the pressure of her body and the hands traveling over his back was keeping him grounded. "I'm sorry." It was all that he could think to say now, there were so many things he needed to apologize for that he didn't even know where to begin anymore.

Removing one of her hands from his back to wipe the tears from her face, she drew back enough to shake her head at him before letting it fall to the arm that encircled her back. "Don't be silly." The dragons were retreating to their normal positions and looking away from the two of them in an obviously deliberate manner, and she decided that the first thing she was going to do when they were in their new forms was smack them upside the head for everything that they'd done since this had started. She came forward again to hug him as he removed the arm that she wasn't holding in place to rub at his own before he wrapped it around her again and sighed heavily.

He'd been tired all day, but with how draining recent events had been and her body pressed against him he was finally feeling like he could get some actual sleep. It was too bad that he had to wait for Rena to heal him and Celine would have to help him to the bed or be stuck here holding him up, otherwise he might have given in. She looked as worn out as he probably did at this point, it wasn't fair for him to keep her here if it meant that she could get some rest of her own. "You...you don't have to stay. You look tired."

That was the pot calling the kettle black. Still, as much as Celine didn't want to now, she did need to inform Rena that the crests were done, Claude certainly wouldn't be doing it. Besides, she still had a bit of aggression to work out on the tattooing supplies and she couldn't do that here. She did her best to smile at him as she pulled away, her hands coming up to frame his face as his settled at her waist. "You best take care of yourself, I'd hate to have to wake you up and force you to eat whatever Rena's cooked up."

He had a feeling that he would've had to do that anyway, Rena seemed worried enough that she might hover over him to make sure that he did exactly that before she let him take the sleeping compound that Bowman was making. "I'll try." She seemed pleased enough with that as she hugged him and kissed his cheek again before separating herself and hesitantly collecting the cresting equipment and making her way out of the room, leaving the door open behind her. Ashton sighed and rubbed at his face once she was gone, still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened and refusing to open himself to the demons on his back again.

It was mostly because they'd ask too many questions.

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Author's Notes: The metric system isn't that big in the U.S. and I'm not sure how common avoirdupois (pounds, ounces) is in other English speaking countries, so here's the rough math for Ashton's weight just on the off chance that someone is confused or curious as I never came out and stated it. Metric: Ashton+Dragons= 93 kg (Ashton= 79.4 kg, Dragons= 6.8 kg each) Avoirdupois: A+Ds= 205 lbs. (A=175 lbs., Ds= 15 lbs. each) I figured I'd keep his weight consistent with the old game guide that I have, but I thought that unless the dragons had no true physical forms they had to weigh something and I'm too much of a realist to say that they would have no physical effects on him; hence the back issues, weight and muscle gain. These calculations would place him at 145 lbs. or 65.8 kg when he first joined the party if his total weight was 175 lbs., by the way. I considered ignoring the guide stats altogether, but I got fed up with all the calculations I was doing and figured it was acceptable enough given his odd situation and stopped fussing over it. In other words: I think too much.

EXTRA SPECIAL PRE NEXT UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT: I grew up watching operation shows like they were Saturday morning cartoon marathons, have done a shit load of research and my stepdad was a combat medic for the army and an ER nurse before he retired. In other words, the ritual and the preparation for it is going to be graphic and as true to life as possible. IF BLOOD, THE EFFECTS OF RAPID BLOOD LOSS ON THE BODY AND MIND AND/OR MEDICAL PROCEDURES FREAK YOU THE FUCK OUT DO NOT READ ANYTHING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER THAT IS ITALICIZED AND PRECEDED BY THIS: ~****~ Seriously folks, you're getting fair warning here, I've even bolded the damn thing. The chapter in question will be posted with the text preceding this as well as a precaution as it might take a week or two for me to complete writing out the ritual itself given the subject matter and I don't need anyone forgetting this little warning.