Nephri: Take Care of Business
(( Technically happened in the past, but I felt like writing it! ))
You’ve absolutely had your fill of everything that’s been happening, and three sweeps has been far too long for it to go on. You honestly can’t believe you’ve let it go on THIS long! You’re an awful moirail, aren’t you?
Your beautiful, hardworking, and lovely moirail has fallen asleep on the couch for her between-job nap, and you’ve made sure to tuck her in and gently smooch her forehead, hoping that it’s a good one. Now it’s time to take care of something that’s been bothering you and slowly driving her to her overworked stress-induced death.
You take your spiked bat and shuffle outside, heading up the stairs to the next floor. The steps creak under your feet and here and there you knock the end of the bat into the wall, since you’re not trying to be careful. The noise might be a bit spooky if you hadn’t become accustomed to it.
Arriving at the correct door, you knock. You don’t expect an answer, and of course, no answer comes. You stand in that silent hallway for a minute or two before knocking again, to confirm that you won’t receive an answer. You look to either side, making sure no one will see you, before you kick the door open yourself.
The apartment was practically empty - it’s not like he had that many possessions to begin with, but you didn’t really care. You were incensed. You were ready to take action.
You reach down and yank the blanket off of the couch, revealing the source of all your hatred - Hestil. With another quick yank, you’ve got him off the couch and sprawling across the floor in front of you. He groans and complains, but you barely hear him, delivering a swift kick into his side to shut him up fast.
“How long did you think you could get away with this?”
He questions. You kick him again.
“How long did you think you could just sit up here, doing nothing? Do you know how hard Nidria works to keep a roof over your head? Do you know how many sacrifices she’s made?”
He starts to push himself up. You can’t have that. You press the end of that spiked, rusty-nail-filled bat into his chest.
“I’m going to take a guess and say you don’t care. You’re fucking killing her, Hestil, and you don’t even give a shit. It’s not fucking fair, and it’s high time I solved this little problem. I’m going to take care of her, like you never even cared to.”
“I’m kicking you out. I don’t care what you do or where you go, but you are no longer welcome here. If you show your face around me again I will fucking kill you with my bare hands.”
At that, Hestil scoffs. He’s only known you as a sick little weakling, and only seen you cry and run away from adversity. Things had changed for you now, though, and you were about to show him.
“Oh, really?” Hestil says, a challenging look in his eyes. “Make me.”
That was the switch. You raised your bat and swung it down, hard. What you didn’t expect, though, was that he’d actually defend himself. The nails in your bat dig into his arm and splatter blood on the floor. He grabs your leg and pulls harder than you expect him to, forcing you onto the floor with him.
You roll for a few seconds, trading blows with him in a blur. You’ve dropped your bat, but you don’t care. eventually you shove him away and struggle to your feet, feeling pain starting to spread in your chest and blood drip down your upper lip. He staggers up too, and you reach for the nearest object to throw at his face.
The half-empty glass of some rancid liquid shatters against the opposite wall as Hestil sidesteps it. He doesn’t expect you to come barreling in right afterward, slamming into his chest and knocking him back against the wall. He staggers, the wind knocked out of him. You get an awful idea.
You throw another punch at his face, roughing him up even worse and making his head spin even more. Then you grab him by the shirt and rear back before you give him a nice, hard shove at the window. The sound of shattering glass is utterly satisfying to you, more so now that the weight in your hands is gone, and you watch him tumble out into the alleyway below.
You barely hear the sound of his body hitting the concrete over your heavy gasps for air. You did it. You took care of everything for her... Nidria would be so surprised when she heard--
“NEPHRI?!”
Her voice makes you jump, and you spin around to see your moirail standing in the doorway, aghast at the amount of destruction you’ve wreaked.
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
She stares at you, blankly. She looks so tired. It’s no wonder she can’t process what’s happened.
“I kicked him out.”
“You... you what.”
“I kicked him out. You don’t have to pay for this apartment anymore.”
She still seems absolutely dumbfounded. You reach down to pick up your bat, and shuffle over to her. You’re pretty tired yourself.
“Come on, let’s go back downstairs. You need your rest.”
She protests, still utterly confused. You gently usher her out of the apartment, making sure to shut the door before you head back to your own. You don’t explain much more after that - you’re too tired, and you’re sure she’ll figure it out soon.
You did this for her. Now she could rest easy, and she wouldn’t have to work herself to death anymore...
