[Closed] Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down...

[unyieldingmarch]

Who: Edelgard, Hubert, Corrin, and possibly others later
When: Mid Feoveuer
Where: Edelgard's home
What: Edelgard's vampiric death
Warnings: Death, blood, potential mention of human experimentation, war and scarification.




Edelgard knew it was happening the moment the pains started. It was hardly unexpected, with how her changes had been progressing. This was simply the last thing, the final nail in her literal coffin, the actual death. It was early evening, she'd risen and bathed, dressed and eaten as per her normal routine. She was preparing to leave for a time, head out into the streets when the first stab of pain struck.

A great, wracking pulse of sheer agony ripped through her and she barked out a short cry that was quickly cut off as more pain tore through her. She staggered and dropped to the floor of her bedroom, clutching her chest and clawing at her shirt in a wordless scream ripped itself from her lips. Everything hurt, everything felt like it was on fire, and words failed her as panic set in.

She didn't want to die.

It was worse than all the nightmares she ever had. There was no creeping dread to her emotions now, no recognition of terror as some weakness that could be ignored, no melancholy. There was simply the sudden, desperate clawing for survival. War had failed to kill her, her many enemies had failed to kill her, a self-styled deity has failed to kill her, but random chance was a foe not even her tenacity and unyielding nature could overcome. Even knowing that she would rise again couldn't stop the blast of mind-numbing panic that shattered the calm composure of her thoughts. As her panic mounted, she thought of so many things, but everything flitted too quickly. Images of friends, of dreams, of a sun she'd never see again, but nothing made sense, it was all a jumble save for one thing.

It was selfish of her, maybe, but the only cogent thought she had as she writhed on the floor was a mental shriek to her Bonded.

Don't let me die alone...please...not alone...

Comments

[unyieldingmarch]

"I am also well aware that he is a Turnskin. And I think that I will be able to blunt his urges and keep the truce."

She had not told him this, but she had commissioned him a blade for his birthday, which is soon. She has no intention of telling him that, though, her thoughts on the matter glossed over entirely even within the bond. It was such a trifling detail.

"He's been quite reasonable with me. I've given him my notes on the Cwyld and impressed upon him it's dangers. Turning him towards more productive ends by diverting him towards the Wall. He just wants things to fight. Though if he comes after you, I'll deal with him."

She has that silver blade for a reason.

[bloodypath]

Surely Hubert would've been impressed with the fairplay and irony of the situation, had he been aware.

"Your efforts to redirect him must have been successful. I haven't received a threat upon my life in some time," he drawls back. "It's almost like he hasn't been here at all."

Almost uneventful, even. It was worse than playing with fire, taunting Felix, but there was something undeniably satisfying about it. Hubert really oughtn't miss it.

No matter. Edelgard hasn't touched the bowl in her lap; if she's held it this long without the pressing need to do so, that was probably another good omen.

Too many good omens. Hubert could feel it lurking just beyond the fringes of his mental dam, not yet reaching him, but threatening to crumble the whole thing: relief.

"If you want the residence to remain locked down, there is a certain amount of it you will have to do yourself. For a short time. Do you feel trustworthy enough for that, or need you call someone else?"

Hubert expected he'd be able to feel it, in her answer, whether Edelgard believed it or some aspect of the predator's instincts encouraging her to lie.

[unyieldingmarch]

Edelgard looked down at the bowl, raised it, took a sip. Not a gulp, just a sip.

"I believe so," she replied in a steady voice.

Could she handle it? Certainly. She didn't trust herself to be around Corrin right now, or anyone that might offer her blood and enable bad behavior, but she could handle closing up the house. There was no lie in her thoughts at least, she was as certain as she could be that given the amount of food in the house, she'd be safe enough for the next few hours, until she needed to rest again.

"I've certainly got no shortage of food. And a day's worth of work to catch up on."

[bloodypath]

Hubert examines that feeling closely, the sincerity and what certainty there was, picking it slowly apart in his mind. Edelgard held his trust in all things, utterly; even with his skill sets, forcing himself to do the opposite had challenges. That trust tried to come fluttering back at every little good sign, making it difficult to determine what exactly was enough. That calculating, iron-edged, tense focus from his end of the Bond drew even sharper.

"Lady Edelgard."

Spoken in away to prompt her to look up. Hubert wanted to look her in the eye, one more time. Edelgard was certainly skilled enough to hide the look of a predator if she wanted to—or of the Monster's instincts drove her to—but he was willing to contend against that with his own skill. He'd grown very good at spotting it, after years of picking out would-be assassins.

[unyieldingmarch]

The ploy works. Edelgard's gaze snaps up, a steady violet without any trace of hunger in it meeting Hubert's gaze without flinching. She is not acting. She's not even close to acting.

"Yes, I am myself."

Lifting the bowl, she finishes it off with a sigh and sets it aside. Reaching for her watch, she flips it open, turning her attention down to it.

"If you want further proof, prick your finger."

[bloodypath]

Good. Those were the eyes of the Edelgard he knew. Hubert shakes his head slowly.

"I don't think that's necessary. I believe you."

He can't stop the way that relief flashes through his mind like miniature lightning, and his focus snaps. The tension hidden in his conspicuously too-relaxed posture turns to lead all at once and he positively sags in his chair. That dam around his heart was buckling, threatening to all come down through the fault left by his great relief.

He really ought to excuse himself, while he was still able to.

"I should retire—a few hours will do good for my strength," he mumbles. "I'll continue resting after sunrise."

Hubert moves to stand—but despite how he stood and stretched periodically, the chair hadn't been kind. His vision briefly goes dark with spots as he stands too quickly, and the mage sways just slightly. Between his combined exhaustion, stress, and fluctuating blood pressure, his pulse flutters unevenly.

[unyieldingmarch]

She's up, moving across the room in a flash, catching him before he can fall. There's no predatory gleam in her eye as she crosses, putting a steadying hand out to keep him upright.

"Easy. You've been up for a full day or more, I suspect."

There's nothing more obvious than that, but she feels the need to state it anyway.

"I think you are going to need a full night's rest, and tomorrow as well. Adrenaline and coffee are not helping you any. I'll handle the house, and call Corrin to help me if I need it. For now, let us get you to bed."

[bloodypath]

The dancing fade after a second. Had he been more alert, Hubert might've even had the decency to be startled by her speed. As it is, he merely blinks; his eyes no longer want to stay focused. He'll neither confirm nor deny how long he's been awake.

Worry, needling and nearly anxious, answers her before his words do. "I've done more with less. I do not need much hold you to keeping about the house. I..." A second as words temporarily escape him. "Just enough to steady myself."

Weak protests; even Hubert knows it. He's fraying at the edges without urgency to hold him together. It's strange being caught between the need to stay near Edelgard and the need to flee before he unravels completely.

Hubert means to take a step, but his body refuses to relay the command. Instead, he just stands there, gently supported by her hand when his balance threatens to sway.

[unyieldingmarch]

An arm slips around his, catching him and supporting him easily enough. She knows how to do this, she's been on the battlefield, they both have. This is no different.

"To bed," she says, firmly, moving towards the door. "I will manage the house and you will sleep. If I must, I'll brew an herbal tea for you."

She will also get a damn funnel to pour it down your throat.

[bloodypath]

Her deceptive (immense, humbling) strength easily supports his weight despite their respective statures, and Hubert's weight sinks further into that offered support after a couple steps.

"...fine."

He lacked the willpower for their usual locking of horns between her resolve and his patience, so the command in her tone and the Bond quiets him immediately. But the loss of verbal momentum is hard for him; it allows the waters of that crumbling dam to catch up with him, and try as he might to slow it, threads of grief begin to weave in with that sharp relief.

"...Thank you. For returning to me," he mumbles.

And a ghost of surprise follows it, like the words slipped out of their own volition. No, it didn't even remotely make sense to thank her for that, like Edelgard had a choice in any of this. Still, those threads of grief didn't head the protests of his rational mind.

"I... do not think I could bear to lose you a third time."

[unyieldingmarch]

Edelgard is surprised to hear it, as well. She's not unhappy, though. It makes her feel...loved? Cared for? It's hard to put into words, though the bond makes it clear that she's grateful for the simple words.

"Thank you for being here to keep me sane, Hubert."

That's the only thing that she can even begin to think to reply with. Nothing else has quite enough meaning, or quite conveys the depth of her appreciation for his presence this night. For his presence most night, but this one in particular.

"I would be lost without you to guide me home."

[bloodypath]

Her gratitude joins in the tumult of his other emotions, morphing his relief into a thing of warmth and his grief into an old ache.

"I never could allow you to be lost," he mutters back. Everything was beginning to feel surreal, exhaustion physical and mental smothering his mind, and Hubert was sure that if he opened his eyes, his vision wouldn't be steady. "You lit the way for me. I only wish... If I can..."

His voice trails off. Hubert's presence in the Bond flickers as his consciousness frays at the edges. His weight sags into Edelgard's grip, though Hubert manages to keep his feet under him; he's not out entirely.

[unyieldingmarch]

"...anything."

It's said low, Edelgard's voice as quiet as she can make it, not wishing to wake him from his half-slumber. She moves deliberately, slowly pulling him through the halls to his room, ready to make sure he gets proper rest.

Whenever she reaches his rooms, she pushes in.

"But for now, rest."

[bloodypath]

His room is a predictably, painfully spartan affair; there was a neat arrangement of books and the Arrow of Indra propped up in a stand in the corner, and everything else tucked away in the wardrobe or its proper drawer.

He grumbles something as they trudge in, but it's difficult to tell if it's an honest protest, or just the cadence of his voice. And in spite of the maybe-protest, Hubert provides no resistance as Edelgard guides him to his bed.

His eyes flutter open, briefly focusing on Edelgard in time with another spark of relief before they close again.