• I'm not going to ask what happened. Not yet. First let me fix what I can. lumine to lohen
And it burned there he rested, unwillingly, against the tree that had become somewhat of a makeshift refuge. Not from the burning sun and its lack of winds, no, but from himself and the surging side effects of that darn idea he had pursued so blindly. What had he thought back then, really? Indulging serum of a fallen god? Exposing himself of power he had stood face to face with in Nod-Krai, felt to the very core of his every bone to the point where he had – right, desperation. Such fickle, impulsive desperation. Not even Lohen was immune to that and now he found himself right back in the initial regret of it all, with the lingering aftertaste of abyss that he had sworn he had spat out the last of.
Unlucky, or perhaps simply long lasting karma. Either way, it had rendered him ruthless, merciless and in such state that he hadn't recognized himself – this had been different, for it had not been the eyes of the fallen angel that had seeped through him. This came from somewhere deeper and colder, yet carried the same gut-wrenching taste of iron and... defeat, grief. An overwhelmingly sickening taste at least, one that had him spitting something out. To the bare eyes, nothing, of course. To her, should Lumine find it in her to ask, it'd be something stuck in his mouth. Debris, dust, rock. Anything went.
Then again... a man with debris on his tongue didn't leave such destruction behind.
"Paimon... isn't around, right?" he questioned weakly from where he sat, drenched in residual blood of the enemy horde he had taken on. Blade or claw, at one point Lohen hadn't even seen what had come from him and his own gashes had simply bled into that of the foes that fell around him. Should the poor guide see this, then ...
... eyes trailed over to Lumine, peeking past damp locks that covered his face; " I don't want her to see me like this around you, Lumine."
There was just not enough bribes in the world to erase Paimon's concerns in regards to Lumine, and as much as Lohen could've scraped together of mora, delicacies and other treats, he was certain that the sight of his displayed frenzy would have her outrun every offer. Fairly so, of course, for the carnage around him in this very moment wasn't a work of art nor was it the usual masterpiece of a carefully constructed plan. No. What laid around Lohen and Lumine, here in this very moment, woven into a tale of desperate beasts at the tongue of the villagers, was pure slaughter. One orchestrated by such bloodstained hands that one could only truly describe it as pure, bleeding anguish. But whose anguish? Whose ruthless, merciless battle-stained wit had come through? Lohen's alone, or someone else, someone whose imprint had long been scorched out of history and left to freeze over elsewhere?
He didn't want to know, not in this moment, and certainly not as he made eye contact with Lumine. They, after all, had exchanged a similar glance before. Only then it had been her stopping him in his pursuit of the Rächer who had appeared as a memory. Here, she had only walked in on the aftermath and it tore something in Lohen. Carved itself into the deepest pits of his guts and twisted around.
How strange it was, to feel shame that is.
"Please," the vice captain stated gently as he, with aching hands, reached for the edge of his glove. One tug, then another, simply to remove the bloodstained fabric (it wasn't his) to uncover a seemingly untouched, unsoiled hand. He held it out to her from where he sat inviting her to hold onto it, if only to pause her for a moment. Should she grasp it, she'd find herself with the most delicate of touches, yet one offering a reassuring squeeze and an almost apologetic smile (what would people say, had they seen him in this moment? Damp, bloody and worn, almost covering in the carnage caused by himself. Would they have feared it, the calmness of the scene, or found themselves wondering who he truly was?
A gentle caress of her hand, and he'd simply hold onto her hand, eyes resting on hers"... this isn't your mess to fix for once... I've got it, Lumine, trust me – okay?"
