The Star, The Demon, and The God - 17. Rest Needed

Tobias

“What the hell!”

I step back and see the weird grey stains on Luno’s clothes. They are all over his arms and legs. The stains continue to grow as if it is some kind of liquid.

“What is that?” I frown and carefully run my fingers over his jacket sleeve.

He gives me a dazed look before looking down at his arms.

“Oh,” He says in a monotone voice, “I’m bleeding.”

“Bleeding?” I exclaim.

At that, his eyes rollback and he collapses. I catch him before he reaches the ground.

“Help,” I shout. “Someone help me get him out of here!”

The two soldiers who were assigned to us come running towards me and help me escort Luno through the city.

As we carry him away, I swear I hear a faint singing voice. It sounds like children singing nearby.

Frowning to myself, I shake my head and put all my focus on Luno.

What the hell happened to him? What happened in that building he came from? Did something do this to him?

Oh gods.

He was out of my sight for a few hours and he almost died!

I am going to kill that fucking soldier when I get the chance. She may be helping me bring him to the campsite, but because of how useless she is, Luno almost died and all hopes of saving these humans would have been lost!

Fucking humans.

What is the point of this? What good is it with having to save them? Obviously they are the absolute worst. They almost allowed their own savior to die, why do they deserve to live any longer?

My head feels like it is burning. I so badly want to punch something. The only thing stopping me from massacring these stupid soldier is Luno’s body in my arms.

He will be fine. I am sure of it.

Luno is a Star! He cannot die that easily; or at least I think so. I know that is true for Demons and Gods. I would assume it works the same with Stars, even if he looks all pure and innocent.

I have known for a long time that nobody is safe. Not the most powerful, and not even the nicest people in the world.

The fact that something or someone who actually attacked Luno feels like it is the most shocking thing I have ever seen!

Who could ever want to hurt him?

The only one I can think of is Morgoren. Maybe he is angry that the Gatekeeper is dead? Surely not. He most likely is relieved by that. Plus, he definitely would not have felt the need to attack Luno for that.

So what did this?

You know what? Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe he just hurt himself in the ruins. It was dangerous and I should have known not to let him go off on his own.

Actually I did know that. It is why I had made the soldier follow him. But of course, humans can’t be trusted to do anything as simple as shadowing one person.

Since I do not want their useless hands touching him, I push the soldiers away and carry him myself.

I am pretty certain that Luno would be cross with me for how I am treating them, but I could care less! They did this to him.

Oh gods!

I made the mistake of looking down at him. His skin has gone a bit pale and the strange grey blood stains in his clothes have soaked through his sleeves. He is losing too much blood right now.

Once I finally make it out of the ruins, I jog for the camp.

“I need a doctor,” I shout.

At first, nobody moves. They stare in shock at Luno, most likely because of the strange blood color in his clothes.

“Now!” I growl.

That immediately make a group, of what I assume are doctors, run over and lead me to a small tent nearby.

Inside the tent, there is a table that is being cleared up.

Carefully, I set Luno down on the table and look to the doctors.

They immediately get to work.

First they turn his over so that he is laying on his stomach. When I wonder why, I see the shards of stone that are sticking out of his back. Just seeing it makes me feel instant guilt at having laid him on his back.

Next, two doctors pull out scissors and start cutting off Luno’s pants, jacket, and shirt.

I have to pull myself from punching them all out for doing such a thing, but I know they are trying to help my friend. It would be dumb to stop them now.

When all the clothes have been cut to pieces and lay underneath him, I finally see the weird blood.

It looks like silver paint. It is a bit shiny but still, it is strange. I swear it could not be real but based on how some blood continues to spill, I see that Luno does indeed have silver blood in his veins.

Gods just seeing it makes something in me angry; or angrier.

There are shards of stone that are not only embedded into his back. But also the sides of his arms and legs. The doctors are careful when they pull each of the tiny rocks out.

What did this to him? Did a wall or something collapse when he was down here? Was it some kind of stone monster? Surely not. All creatures love him.

Something happened down there and I have to wait for him to tell me. That is...if he wakes up.

As soon as I think it, the thought starts to grow in the back of my head until it is all I can think about.

He can’t die! He has no choice in the matter. He better stay here and save the world. I swear to all the Gods he better not leave me here alone with these humans. He has to stay with me. I will not allow it.

Once all the stones are removed, the doctors get to cleaning his wounds. They wash all the silver blood away until they stop bleeding. As soon as they finish, they start bandaging his wounds.

Apparently none of the scars were big enough to require stitches.

That is a hidden blessing I guess.

Before they leave, the Doctors tell me that he should be alright; that he only needs rest.

For some reason, none of them mention the silver blood. Their faces do not show much emotion at all really.

No that’s a lie. They did look slightly worried for him. Perhaps that is a good thing. These humans understand just how important he is to them. Obviously the soldier from before does not.

Speaking of which, she actually was brave enough to show up right after the doctors leave. I block her off, refusing her any chance of getting close to the Star again.

“Is he okay?” She asks, her voice filled with worry. “Will he recover?”

Glaring at her, it takes everything in my not to kill her then and there.

“Go away,” I say. “Consider this my warning. The next time you ever get near him again, I will personally have your soul rot in a cell in Raiyo’s palace!”

Her eyes bug out of her face and her face pales. She steps back, clearly afraid of me.

Without another word, she is off and gone; hopefully to somewhere I never have to see her again.

It was probably dumb to say such things to a human; especially when Vlad had told me that I was to try and keep my being a demon secret, but some of these humans need to know that they are not at all worthy to be in Luno’s presence. Even if he were to think otherwise.

Closing the tent flap, I walk over and sit in a chair next to Luno’s body.

Seeing how still he is makes my mind end up in awful conclusions. Most keep telling me that he is going to die before we even reach past midnight.

The only small relief from this is seeing his body breathe. The slight inhale and exhale is the only way I can tell that he is still alive.

I can’t believe I almost lost him.

He was almost gone without me even knowing! What kind of friend am I? Obviously one that does not deserve to be Luno’s friend. That much I can agree with.

Reaching for his hand, I hold onto it to feel his warmth. Another sign that tells me he will be okay.

Brushing some of his curls of his face, I lean down to talk into his ear.

“You better not die on me. You have a job to do. Nobody else can do what you can; nobody that is willing that is. There is only you, so don’t go dying on me.”

Shaking my head at him, I lean back with a sigh.

“It is not just the humans you need to live for. You have the Sanctuary to look after. Who will look after them when you are gone? Obviously it won’t be me. I actually hate animals. Especially the cute ones. Nothing cute should be trusted.”

I chuckle and rub my thumb over his hand.

“Not even you, even if you think I should trust you. Sure, you don’t really have anyone to talk to about me, but I feel like you would not understand me, you know? I feel all alone. Nobody cares about the same stuff that I do. Most think I am a fool for caring about my past.”

Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose with my free hand.

“Yet you have never once told me such a thing. You’re just an idiot who is too nice to me for no reason at all.”

Scoffing to myself, I think about when we first properly met.

“The first thing I did when we met was break your trust. You thought I was something else and most other people would curse me and never want to talk to me again. Perhaps forever living with a grudge. Not you of course. You’re different. You did not let such a thing get the better of you.”

“Sure, you were mad about for a few moments, but in the end, you wanted to become my friend. You joined me even though I was a complete stranger. I mean who does that? Idiots do!”

Smirking to myself, I stare down at his face.

“It isn’t your fault that you’re so dumb of course. We can blame the Gatekeeper for that. Still, even then, I wonder how most things just go over that pretty head of yours. I have kissed you a few times and you do not even talk about it! Is it not obvious that I-that I...damn. Maybe I am more the fool than you.”

Letting go of his hand, I use mine to hold my head up on the arm rest.

“I know we pretty much did a reset on that,” I say. “But really...I think I did not fully reset on that. Call me stupid if you wish, but it is kind of hard to just forget about all those feelings. If anything, I think they may have gotten worse!”

“Constantly seeing how sweet and kind you are in a world full of shit...I guess it really gets to me. Sure, you can be irritating at times, but it is not in the same way that others do. Not at all. It is a nicer irritating. If that makes sense.”

Groaning to myself, I facepalm.

“Gods I am so stupid; and you’re stupid too! Stupid for not seeing my feeling for you! How could I not be any more obvious?”

I stop and think.

“Am I obvious? Have I not been sending the right signals? It is not like I have done this with anyone in years! How would I know what to do?”

Another groan.

“I wish I hated you,” I glare at his stupid, cute face. “I hate that I don’t hate you like everyone else. It is usually easy to do, so why is it so hard to hate you? Stop being so kind to me dammit! It not only makes it harder, but it also leaves me all confused! I should not be...liking you!”

I stop talking then. I did enough. It was good to do this though. It feels like a weight off my shoulders.

Somewhat.

Saying it to his face was nice, but I do not think I could ever do it when he was conscious. That sounds fucking dreadful.

Not knowing what else to do, I sit here in silence, thinking of hopeful times where Luno could read my mind and understand everything for me. Maybe even like what he finds.

Gods isn’t that wishful thinking!

By chance, I look down at the grass below the table. I see the familiar winged, blue serpent.

Kulu looks up at me, blinks one eye, and then his tongue falls out of his mouth.

There is a small stare off between the both of us, but then he all of a sudden decides to fly up and onto my leg.

He quickly turns to face Luno and then flies up again and lands next to Luno’s face.

The tiny serpent curls up, even hiding his own face. He soon makes a small hole for his face and tongue to stick through.

I can’t help but smirk at the creature. Somehow the thing has fallen off of Luno’s neck and traced him back all the way here.

That must be one loyal friend.

Speaking of loyal friends, where is Enfi? She was freaking out to me when the soldier told me she lost Luno.

Stepping out of the tent, I quickly close the tent flap to make sure the moonlight does not seep through for long.

Looking up at the night sky, I do not see any dark shadows moving that would tell me that Enfi was flying about. Maybe she just went somewhere else to rest?

A chirp behind me changes my mind however.

On a tree next to the tent, the phoenix has made it so that she is no bigger than my hand.

She quickly flies onto my shoulder and I bring her inside the tent.

Once she sees Luno on the table, she quickly flies over and curls against the back of his neck. Now Luno has two magical creatures on either side.

Let us hope that nobody decides to visit tonight.

~~~
~~~

Luno

When I wake, I find myself in a tent.

Did Tobias bring me here? All I remember is feeling light headed and then nothing. I swear that was only moments ago as well.

Enfi and Kulu both look up at me when I push myself up with a groan.

Gentle hands stop me from standing however.

“You need to stay and rest,” Tobias says. “You bled out a lot. You should sleep.”

Frowning, I wince at the pain in my limbs and back.

“It’s cold,” I whine. “I want a blanket.”

He nods and disappears from my sight.

Not even a minute later, I hear the tent flap pushed aside and he carefully spreads the blanket out on top of me.

“Thank you,” I say, already feeling a bit sleepy.

Gods I am tired. Why? I just woke up!

“How long was I out?” I ask, a bit worried for the answer.

Tobias sits in a chair next to me, an open book sits on the arm rest.

With a shrug, he says, “maybe, six or seven hours? Maybe less.”

Sighing to myself, I try and sit once again.

“Hey!” He exclaims. “You lay back down right now. You need to heal!”

“I am going to,” I groan. “Help me get these bandages off.”

At first he is rather reluctant about listening to me, but when I plead with my eyes, he ends up cursing to himself before helping me remove the wraps.

While I and a bit careless with them, Tobias is beyond careful.

I am just pulling them off, not at all caring for the soreness I get from doing so. Tobias is using his fingers to slowly unwrap the ones around my legs. He barely even touches my actual skin! The only times he does is when he brushes his fingers close to the weird cuts and holes.

He has a frown on his face as he stares at them.

“Hey,” I say, reaching out to touch his hand. “I am alright! Just a few bumps and bruises.”

He scoffs at me and shakes his head, pulling out his famous glare.

“‘Bumps and bruises’ my ass! What the hell did this to you? What happened in there?”

I cross my arms over my chest in a pout. “Don’t get mad at me! I did not do this to myself! Well...I guess I kind of did, but still! Not my fault!”

He only gives me a confused look. Well it is more of a mix between his glare and also a confused look.

Either way, he looks angry as always.

With a sigh, I tell him about all that happened down there. How I heard the singing from the necklace, how it was the only source of light down here, and how it goes away when you touch it.

When I tell him about Raiyo’s Automatons, his anger turns into something I cannot tell. It looks like a mixture of sadness and defeat.

I choose now not to push on that. Instead I decide to focus on the necklace.

I have to dig through my destroyed jacket to pull it out of my pocket.

Holding it up for Tobias to see, he stares at it in awe. I hand it to him for him to inspect better.

Honestly, it is not that impressive. Sure, it can float, glow, and send out creepy singing voices, but it looks like a regular old necklace to me.

I guess it is pretty in a way. The details of the flowers on the moon are nice, but other than that, not entirely impressive.

“It is missing a piece,” Tobias says as he pulls it closer to his eye. “See this?”

There are two strings of metal that connect the crescent moon ends together. There is a strange dent in the middle of the strings. I thought it was supposed to look like that honestly, thought I supposed it did not fit at all.

“What could it be?” I ask.

He shrugs and keeps staring at the pendant.

“Maybe a stone? A jewel perhaps,” he says. “I hope it is not important. They never mentioned a second piece of the necklace needing to be found.”

I huff a laugh. “Yeah, I doubt we would ever find something that small. Look how small that hole is!”

He only nods in agreement, he continues to stare at the pendant.

“Tobi?” I ask. He ignores me and continues to stare at the necklace.

Frowning, I reach out and touch his arm. At that, he blinks and looks up at me.

“You okay?” I frown. “You looked a little like you were somewhere else.”

He nods and hands the necklace back to me.

“Uh, yeah I’m fine,” He says. “Was only thinking about where the stone was.”

Raising an eyebrow at him, I let his little lie pass by.

Bringing my hand over my arm, I slowly begin to slide it upwards, the palm of my hand glows yellow and I feel the magics tickling at my wounds, they begin to seal themselves.

Once I finish the first arm, I do the next, and then both of my legs. For my back, I have a bit of trouble reaching some places, but in the end, I do not feel any pain anywhere.

It was all a quick five minute process that leaves me rather hungry.

Tobias is busy daydreaming in his chair still, his book still in his hands. It is a copy of The Tragedy of Yinx.

Since I do not want to bother him, I decide to go and find something to eat.

I am sure Enfi and Kulu are hungry too.

Hopping off the table, I move for the tent flap, thinking about possible getting cheese and bread or maybe a potato soup.

I freeze when I look and see the moon shining bright in the sky.

It feels like an evil eye staring down at me. I swear it burns, but of course it doesn’t.

A hand grabs my shoulder and then I am pulled back into the tent.

Tobias looks down at me with wide eyes. I am starting to feel light headed again.

“I-I did not know!” I whisper. “Tobias!”

He brings a finger to my mouth to hush me.

We both wait in silence for whatever could come next.