Watery Grave Ch.2 Assessment

-Same warnings as previously stated. I do not own Thief Lord nor the characters, I am merely borrowing them for the time being.

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The next minutes were crucial, a flurry of movement and confusion with only one thought prevailing through the madness- time is of the essence. The young girl seemed to fly through the air, stumbling as she did so in her haste to reach the floor below. Thoughts of yelling to the others did not reach the surface of her mind as the thought of moving quickly and returning with either adult the only cognizant one.

Her side collided with the once gilded banister which ran parallel to the stairs, crying out at the pain such a jolt racked through her. However she continued to move, not forgetting the panicked expression that seemed livid on Prosper's face. She leaped down the last few steps, landing at the bottom, stumbling but persevering, easily getting to her feet once more, the pain in her side and leg, which she had jarred when she landed, forgotten.

"Ida! Victor!" The words seemed slurred, in her panic, breathing unnaturally shallow as she ran to the two adults who were still looking for their lost charge, having not yet been informed that the little boy had been found upstairs. "Ida! Ida!" She cried, causing the blonde photographer to turn, fear and confusion flashing through her hazel eyes.

"What's wrong with Bo? Did you find him? Is he alright?" Although the pretty signora was usually the most level headed out of the bunch next to Prosper- unless it concerned his brother- but with the situation with Bo never explained and the look of terror etched into Hornet's usually calm face did nothing for the photographer's frayed nerves. Already the young signora was thinking of a hundred and one scenarios, all of which ended in heartbreaking vividness of death or worse.

Seeing the effect of her words Hornet tried to compose herself, trying to breathe so that she could explain to Ida what had happened. She was about to explain when she found her repreive from words extending as Victor soon moved toward the two of them, shortly followed by Riccio and Mosca, all of them most likely drawn to her yells. The only good thing she could find about the larger audience was that she would only have to explain herself once.

Taking a deep breath the brunette began, "Prop and I were upstairs, looking for Bo when we found him. He's alright," She added the last part quickly, wanting to assure them that that was not the problem "But when we found him we found someone else." She continued, she herself confused as well as they were. "But it doesn't matter! We have to go!" She cried in somewhat exasperation, only knowing that Prosper had told her to get help and she had promised she would. She grabbed on to Ida's hand and began to drag the woman with her, though she soon did not have to as the others seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and moved quickly up the flight of stairs to the next floor while the young girl explained as best she could.

"When we found Bo he was telling us to be quiet or we would wake him up, whoever he may be. We had asked him who he was and he had pointed into the room that Prosper and Bo used to stay in and there was someone lying on the bed. Prop told me and Bo to stay outside while he went to see this person. And when he saw him he yelled at me to get help."

By the time she finished explaining what she could they had reached the barren hallway leading toward the enclosures they had turned into rooms. When they approached the doorway indicated they were left peering into the darkness, the room not being lighted, trying to discern the three figures they knew to be in the room.

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- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord- the thief lord-

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It seemed that the room had suddenly become airless, oxygen becoming more evasive, lungs suffering from the prolonged oxygen deprivation. The teen had to steel himself as he tried to assess what he could about the figure lying before him. He looks so vulnerable. He thought as he stared at the brunette whose face seemed depleted entirely of color, going far beyond pale ivory, seeming grey and translucent, blue veins visible along the surface. The only color cast by the obvious darkness under the boy's eyelids and his blue stained lips. He looked dead. In fact, if Prosper did not have his fingers placed against the other's pulse point, feeling the weak, yet unwavering beats he would have thought otherwise.

From what he could see of the figure before him was foreboding to say the least. It seemed that he had gone several days without eating, looking even worse than he and Bo had when they were first brought to the Stella which seemed a life time ago.

The dark locks were completely askew, parts of it matted to his scalp, with what, Prosper did not want to guess. Little tremors ran through the almost broken looking frame, causing the concerned teen to fret even more. The boy looked so damaged. It was a wonder that he was even alive.

So lost in his thoughts that the teen did not notice movement near him until the blonde locks of his brother came into view. Prosper looked up quickly, worrying his bottom lip, staring at his little brother who looked up as well before indicating the bundle of blankets he was holding.

"Good idea Bo." He told the little boy as he helped him pull more blankets over the shivering figure. How could he not have thought of that? The other's teeth chattering seemed a fairly obvious indication that the other felt cold, even in the warm autumn conditions of Venice. The brunette continued to chastise himself as he rested his hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder, rubbing gentle circles into it, hoping to offer some comfort to the boy who continued to whimper, teeth still chattering, heart beats still weak, breath seeming near nonexistent.

"God Scip. What happened to you?"

"What are you saying Scip? Are you trying to tell us what happened? I want to know. God Scip I want to know. Where did you go all this time?" Prosper asked quietly, a small catch forming in his throat as tears welled up in the corners of his usually so warm eyes.

The small hand resting on his own made Prosper look up, a heartbroken smile pasted across his features. "What do you think he is saying Bo?" He asked the little boy with a watery smile, his eyes stinging with repressed tears.

Bo focused his attention of the fallen thief lord, staring at the boy's moving lips, a small frown gracing his cherub face as he leaned closer, tilting his head to one side so his ear was closer, a flicker of panic evident as he stared imploringly at his older brother. "I don't think he's saying something Prop…" The way he said this caused Prosper to jerk foreword, all other thought abandoned as he gazed back and forth between the ashen, anguished painted face and the scared expression of his brother.

"I think he's screaming…"