"... Jesse's been hurt, then. Is that a correct statement?"
Ivor took a while to speak up, but when he did, his voice was unsteady and thoughtful. Deeply thoughtful.
And deeply worried.
Harper nodded almost instantly, her brow creasing. "Badly."
She looked back up at him, her red-and-gray eyes gleaming in concern. "Mentally. Violated."
(Petra noticed that Harper's vocalization skills had regressed to one-word sentences; she supposed anxiety or worry might be the culprit in this case along with her simply being uncomfortable with talking to people.)
"So they're mentally in bad shape... and they've also been physically violated," Isa translated, with a glum kind of confirming nod from Harper.
Aiden frowned, brow creasing deeply. "If they're mentally in bad shape... are you worrying that they might snap or something and lose their mind? Is that the main concern here?"
Gill frowned. The idea of losing Jesse– happy, cheerful, innocent Jesse– to that dark place again, or worse...
The nurse eased closer, steps quiet and low and calculated, to avoid creating much noise. She moved like a ghost across the floor, lifting the syringe. The empty glass tube glistened as well as the metal needle.
It was the sharpest thing that made sense for a nurse to carry, after all.
Reuben snuffled and lifted his little head sleepily.
She paused, then dismissed the little pig as a threat, slowly easing closer on gentle steps. As long as the pig didn't squeal, or suspect what she was doing... it would be a quick kill.
Easy in, easy out. No heart, but...
Still a tasty treat, even without it.
Reuben lifted his head more, blinking big sleepy eyes at the nurse and taking in more details. He snuffled, as if wondering what kind of important thing a nurse had to do at this time of night.
The nurse picked him up with scarily gentle hands, shushing the tiny animal and setting him on the floor. The little pig ended up on the floor, whining softly.
She flicked up the syringe into a reverse grip– as if gripping a knife and preparing to stab down.
Reuben gave a little sound of alarm, big brow eyes widening as if in realization.
Ivor was frowning, and he shook his head. "No, no. That's not what I'm worried about."
At everyone's completely confused looks, he quickly decided to clarify. "I'd have to ask Romeo... but if he was holding their heart before it was in Reuben, and he couldn't actually make contact with it... then there's a chance Reuben's a lot more dangerous than he actually appears."
"Reuben? The pig?" Gill looked confused.
Ivor nodded. "Yes. See, when hearts that gain vessel creatures have a barrier, it means that they have walls. Like, walls they've put up around themselves, to protect themselves."
Lukas frowned slightly, as if that somewhat registered with him, but stayed silent.
"Sometimes it's a wall that means they don't trust people, a wall meaning they try to pull back so they don't get hurt, or a wall that means that they lash out at people.
"And those hearts have the most vicious vessel creatures."
Reuben squealed– except right as the first sound exited Reuben's mouth, the nurse kicked the little pig away. Reuben rolled across the floor, ending up near the door, far from Jesse.
His little heartbeat pounded quicker, and Jesse rolled, murmuring in their sleep.
The nurse– or whoever this person was, this attacker– twirled the syringe in her fingers, absently licking her lips, as if she was ready to bite down.
Too far.
He was too far from Jesse.
His heart– Jesse's heart– pounded faster. Even without their heart in their body, if she aimed for their eye or their neck...
They'd die.
Aiden's brow creased. "... I don't think a pig counts as a really vicious vessel creature, Ivor."
Ivor shook his head. "They don't look dangerous. It's like Jesse– Isa said their reflexes and agility are extremely good, right?"
Mevia nodded. "It's almost superhuman– but there's still a human quality to it. It's not quite quick enough for a demon whose level of agility is high, especially with us mostly going easy on them, but they have enough speed, tactics, and force to take out low-level demons."
"Right. They look like the weak link, but I suspect if backed into a corner or having their loved ones in true danger, they might turn into a force to really be reckoned with," Ivor suggested helpfully.
Killer. There was a killer in the room, what did he do...
A little panicked, Reuben paced the floor, squealing quietly, trying to wake Jesse up, but they were deeply entrenched in sleep because they didn't wake up, they had to wake up but they weren't waking up...
There was no time. No time at all, no time, nobody anywhere near enough to help.
A small chuckle escaped the nurse's throat as she lifted the syringe. "You're lucky I don't like my prey squirming," she said to a sleeping Jesse's little body as the syringe glimmered like... like a...
Knife.
In a small panic, the little pig began to run in little circles, whining weakly.
Reuben might not die without their heart, but Jesse...
A hit to anything– their throat, their eye– could still kill them. He had to do something, he had to get help, but if he left Jesse would die and then what was the little pig...?
Useless.
What did he do, what did he do, he couldn't run and get help, not while the syringe lifted above Jesse's silent, sleeping body...
A moment later, the little pig came to a halt, lifting his little head to stare at the nurse.
"So... what does that mean for Reuben, if that's how Jesse is?" Petra asked, frowning and crossing her arms as she leaned forward on the table.
"He is the same way. He might try anything to get help first, or to get Jesse to safety... but if he's backed into a corner, he will attack, and he will be vicious. I suspect that might not even be Reuben's real form..."
Aiden frowned. "I don't know, Ivor... the pig seems pretty harmless."
There was abruptly tremendous squeal– almost a piglet's scream.
Reuben.
Harper nearly catapulted herself out of her chair, already tearing off back towards the infirmary. Aiden was right on her heels, surprisingly, fast enough that he actually beat Lukas out of his chair. Everyone tore out of the chairs– Ivor knocked his over– and shot towards the infirmary.
Harper threw the door open– and froze in her steps.
"Harper? What? Is everything okay? Dammit, move, would y–" Aiden pushed past her a little roughly and froze himself.
The nurse– or the intruder, though they were certainly dressed as a nurse– was lying flat on her back on the ground, deader than a doornail. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, once-red irises now dull and soulless.
There was blood oozing around the massive gash in her thigh, and the hole through her stomach, pumping steadily out and perfuming the air with the smell of copper.
Bloody-covered, smearing the demon's blood onto the blanket, was Reuben, quietly curled up against Jesse's chest.
If he was backed into a corner, he would come out fighting.
"Do you still think Reuben's harmless?" Ivor murmured.
A/N: There is a part in the chapter where you might be able to figure out exactly what Reuben is– try to see if you can find it!
If enough people guess, I'll put up another hint tomorrow.
I have a Discord where you can talk to me about stories and stuff now! The link is... a bit butchered by FFN, but if you paste this in and get rid of the spaces, you get to... I don't know, say hi to me. xD
discord . gg / U9jAuAa
I may or may not talk about October Children there ;3
Responses to reviews!
bungaMawar001: Indeed. / Who knows? :) / Not sure what you mean by if Jesse knows what happened to them... yes, they know what happened to themselves very clearly. They just don't vocalize it in public.
Syra Nyth: Yes, the sleeping is a nice benefit. xD / Who knows? They'll probably be more careful around Jesse... though Hadrian is hard to tell. / Nope, sneak preview. xD
Darkbeast Dend: I hope you get better soon. Glad you enjoyed the chapters!
Northern Goshawk: Yep. / Well, the difference was that in the forest, Jesse meandered off, whereas here, they feel like it would be a lot more safe, since there are guards outside the buildings where Ivor lives and the infirmary is deep within, so they figured an intruder wouldn't be able to sneak in. / I have no clue who you're referring to xD
That's all for now! See ya, so long, and enjoy!
x.X. A.L. X.x
"I can't believe Jesse just kicked an incubus's dick in," Maya mumbled to Gill, Petra still carrying Jesse up ahead from where they'd been shivering since the fight.
Well, it was less of a fight and more of a slaughter-fest.
Gill ignored their usual bantering... and by bantering, he meant cussing at Maya like there was no tomorrow... in favor of instead snickering slightly. "I mean, I know we shouldn't be laughing, but... did you hear him squeak?"
Aiden proceeded to slam his fist down full-force on top of Maya's head, almost knocking her flat into the floor from where she was standing. "Quit talking about it, would you? Lukas is going to murder you two in a minute if you don't hush up about how Jesse kicked an incubus in the balls."
"I'll murder you too, Aiden," Lukas shot at him without turning around.
"See?"
