An apocalypse, except with demons.

Warning for violence, near-death, blood, and mild swearing.

They had been ambushed. Again.

Remus grunted as claws swiped towards him, grazing his cheek and leaving shallow cuts. They stung like hell, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't fight through. The demon's claws were mostly harmless, in comparison with their fangs, which were laced with lethal venom. Even a graze could mean excruciating pain, spasms, and eventual death. The demons intended to make death as slow and painful as possible.

"You okay?" Sirius glanced at him briefly, concerned.

"I'll be fine," replied Remus, slashing his sword at the offending demon. It connected, and he neatly sliced the demon in half. It crumpled and erupted into blue flames — flames that were only fed by demon matter, and couldn't spread.

"Five!" James declared, and Remus rolled his eyes as he turned to face another demon tushing towards him. Of course, James and Sirius had turned this into a competition. That's how easy this fight was.

Whatever the demons' strategy was, it wasn't very effective. For some bizarre reason, only one or two out of the group charged, and the four fighters slew them with ease. One or two was nothing, they'd fought as many as six or seven at once. Remus stepped back as one demon tried to take a chunk out of his face, scarlet eyes burning with the fires of hell, and his claws went wide. Thinking fast, he brought his sword and cut through the demon's swinging arm. This was met by an enraged snarl, and Remus allowed himself a smile.

"Puny human," it hissed, clutching the bloodless stump of its former arm, just as Sirius stepped into earshot, battling another demon.

"These puny humans are kicking your arses!" he shouted, triumphantly beheading his demon. "Seven!" he announced, just as James yelled, "Nine!"

"Oi, mate, I call bullshit," Sirius snapped, standing still as another pair of demons raced towards him. "There's no way that you killed four in two minutes."

"Believe it not, it's true." Remus briefly glanced over his shoulder to see four smoking heaps. His attention was refocused as the demon he'd been fighting, now hissing expletives had another go.

"I'm just that good," James continued arrogantly. "Me and my sword." The euphemism was missed by no one, and Remus stifled a groan.

Suddenly, just as Remus put his demon to bed, Sirius screamed. High-pitched. It would've been funny if another demon hadn't been clinging onto his back and trying to bite him. Remus's heart pounded in his chest, and he took a wild swing at the demon. His aim was true, he cut into the demon's back, and howling with pain, it released Sirius.

"Oi, Black! Was that a scream?"

"No, it was a very manly yell."

Peter sidled up to Remus, keeping an eye on the demon he was fighting with, and muttered with amusement, "Yeah, that's what he says."

Remus smirked.

And suddenly, he wasn't smirking anymore as white-hot pain shot through his body, and his legs buckled beneath him.

"Remus!" someone yelled, but he didn't know who, everything was distorted and spinning. He heard a roar in the distance and the clanging of swords, and then someone was kneeling next to him.

"Remus," said the voice; it was a calm voice, but as Remus looked up, he found grey eyes fraught with fear. "Just hold on, okay? James is taking care of the rest of them, and Peter's gone to get the kit. You're going to be fine."

Remus couldn't answer. Everything was on fire.

"You weren't bitten," Sirius spoke rapidly as if he's trying to cover his panic. "You were just...clawed."

Everything burned.

"Look, James has got his eleventh — or is that his twelfth? Either way, he's kicking their arses." He's rambling now.

Go help him, Remus wanted to say, but the words halted on his tongue and tasted ashy. He couldn't speak; it hurt too much to talk.

"Remember when we fought our first demons? We were so young. Peter was such a shit fighter, and James was even more of a cocky arsehole than he is now. I was cool and collected, of course, but then you came along and upstaged me."

The burning seems to lessen, just a tad.

"When I laid eyes on you at first, I thought you were beautiful, but you couldn't be much. I thought that even though I could beat you in a spar, I could never scar your face. And then, you picked up a sword, looked me in the eye, and challenged me to a fight."

The world was fuzzy around the edges.

"Hey, Remus, you still with me?" Sirius murmured as Remus's upper body swayed, his eyes glazing over. But he clung onto Sirius's voice like it was an anchor.

"You won that day. Even though I won the fight, I'd knew I really hadn't won, but you'd been the better fighter. It had just been luck, me getting that hit. It was a move I'd seen on a kids' show, and I thought it would never work, but I guess you weren't expecting it or something. And then I realized that I'm not supposed to learn from television because it is nothing like the real thing."

He heard a sword fall and James stumbled over to them, breathing hard.

"How is he?"

Sirius's reply was too low to decipher, but Remus didn't care. He knew exactly what shape he was in.

"Pete!" James's voice carried, clear, loud, and relieved. "Bring it here, I don't know how much longer —" He cut himself off, or perhaps Remus briefly blacked out.

He heard murmuring, some rustling, something cold and sticky being applied to his back, and then something being pressed against it. He wasn't sure what it is, but just as pressure was applied, darkness fell.

Something warm was wrapped around his body, and it took Remus a few moments to realize that that something was breathing, a chest rising and falling and soft, slow breathing. Once he opened his eyes and his vision focused, he saw Sirius, curled up next to him. Not around; that was just from his proximity. It felt nice.

Remus tried to move and his back protested, stinging uncomfortably. He accidentally let a moan slip, and Sirius stirred immediately, his grey eyes opening and flaring with alarm. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Remus hissed. "Just tried to move."

"Ah." Sirius moved closer to him — lucky bastard — and peered into his eyes. "Usually, I'd prefer if you moan under different circumstances."

Remus blew out a breath, amused as Sirius smirked. "Is there a reason for your being here, or are you just being my body pillow?"

"You know I love being your body pillow," Sirius said, sultry, batting his eyelashes. He looked so ridiculous Remus wanted to laugh, but he could barely command his chest to let him talk. "I came to keep an eye on you."

"How sweet," Remus mumbled.

"Just for you."

Remus smiled, wishing he could express how much he loved this man, but he had to settle for saying, "Sirius, thank you."

"For what? I'd do anything for you, no thanks required."

Remus opened his mouth, but James's voice came from the other side of the room, irritable. "Yes, yes, we're all thrilled that Remus is awake, but do you two have to be so sickeningly cute?"

"Just getting payback for what you do with Lily."

This set off a round of bickering, with Peter occasionally inserting his opinion, and Remus's smile grew.

Some things would never change.

1259 words

Fantasy February - Day 8 - Chasing demons away seems to be so much more fun on TV.

Assignment 3, First Aid Task 3 - Write about waiting with someone.