All That's Left [Kari, Nat, Satra]

[carcinoGeneticist]

Every night since his father had died, Vaska had cried himself to sleep. He just couldn't accept that Seth was dead. Seth was a Queen. Seth could pick up Falks under one arm, Vaska under the other, and spin them both around like they weighed nothing at all. Seth was strong and funny and had a laugh that could fill up a room. He was Seth's favorite son, he knew it, he could see it in the man's eyes. He was the pure Bat, after all, and a Solandrian, too! Just like Seth.

But now Seth was dead. Vaska's father, the center of his world, was dead.

Seth was dead and all that was left of him, all anyone seemed to be able to talk about, all that anyone paid any attention to... Were those other children. Some part of the little bat knew that they were his half-siblings, like Rhi-Rhi had been before the Suit-thief had gotten to her, like Xiven and Eldy. But he couldn't look at them, not without thinking about his father. All he knew was that those babies had come, and Seth had died. Somehow, they'd drained his lifeforce.

He hated them, soul-sucking monsters that they were.

Right now, he was hunched outside of Heilyn's room, one radar-dish ear pressed against the wall as he listened. He'd made Ben and Falks come too, just in case something weird happened. Heilyn wasn't his mom, that was for damn sure, but she had to spend so much time around the little chupathingies that he was sure her own soul was at risk of being sucked right out, and that would be terrible!

The beasties needed to be stopped. He shot his brother a glance, brows furrowing. "They're crying, Falksie," he said in a low tone, almost a hiss. "I bet they're hungry for Miss Lyn's soul, too. We'll protect her though, right?"

When it came down to it, Vaska had no idea how he'd protect Heilyn against anything, let alone a bunch of demon-monsters, but he'd give it his all! Bernard was there too for now, which was somewhat reassuring, since he had some awesome magic, but... What about later? He turned to his brother, tossing a scraggle of hair out of his face. "When they leave, we'll follow 'em. That way when Bernard goes back to his room we can be there."

[Kari Muffin]

Seth was all the little hybrid could really think about. His father wasn't supposed to be dead. That isn't how it was supposed to work at all. But something impossible and horrible happened, and now he was gone. Gone.

It didn't really make much sense. And now those babies... monsters... were getting so much attention. Even if they were the cause of their Father's demise. Falkenhayn just wanted to curl up in a ball and pretend none of it was happening. Maybe it was all just some bad dream?

When his brother spoke his head jerked to look at him. "Huh?" He said after a minute. He hadn't been paying attention like he should have. The boy's ears twitched back as he pressed against the wall. He had only caught the last statement and was rather confused as to what Vaska was saying.

Benedict was besides himself and at a complete and utter loss. And now he found himself being forced to play to Vaska's wonderfully crazy whims because the brother who had the body wasn't brave enough to speak up for himself. All Benedict wanted to do was to be left alone to think. Not like that would ever happen.

He had remained completely silent as Vaska spoke. This was just utterly ridiculous. "Vaska..." the skull began. He stopped when he looked at the bat's face. No, he wasn't going to listen. "Never mind."

[Satra]

[CURSE YOU, Xenon, and your ability to make my muses crawl out of the depths of nothing. >: ]

Dark circles hung in bags under her bloodshot eyes. When had she last slept? She couldn't quite remember. She remembered crying in bed then some time later opening her eyes to find that more time then she'd expected had passed. Had she slept then? She rubbed her eyes with the hand that wasn't holding the half-empty bottle of scotch. She stood, leaning against foot of the bed, too wobbly to stand still on her own. She lifted her head to look up at the large crib that held the five crying infants. They were so close together that when one of them started, they all did. She took another swig from the bottle in her right hand, trying to ease down the bitterness she felt every time she looked at them and replace it with the love she tried to force herself to feel.

She turned so her bottom leaned against the foot board of the bed, propping her up. She stared up at the ceiling with eyes half-lidded, lost in thought. Her pony tail was disheveled. Strands of misplaced hair hung heavily, draping themselves around her face gracelessly.

"Yanno, I still'aven't named 'em," she slurred in a somewhat wilted voice. She smiled and shook her head, bringing it down. Her empty hand came up to her face, hiding half of it. A high pitched noise escaped her as she inhaled sharply, a sob following directly after. Her fingers clenched against her face, knuckles turning white under her gloves. Tears began to stream down her face, soaking the fabric of the glove under her ring.

[Nathalia]

((I hope you don't mind the liberties taken, Satra, m'dear. In my defense, he would have...))

Bernard twitched back to life awkwardly as he heard something shift to his left.

He was...lying on the floor. No. No, not the floor, a floor.
Whose floor?
He slowly picked himself up, his head beginning to pound and the base of his neck aching from awkward positioning and exhaustion. Then sound began to filter properly through his head again.
Crying.
That was what had woken him, vibrations through the floor and crying.

Now he remembered where he was. He must have fallen off the bed...he checked himself over briefly, and felt damn lucky that nothing was broken.
Hills, being old was hell.

Especially when the people who were supposed to outlive you died.
The people who'd promised to sing bar songs at your funeral, and pour vodka on your casket.

Now, he remembered coming in, he'd knocked for awhile before an obviously drunk Heilyn had answered the door and stared blankly at him for a disconcerting amount of time. He had forced his way in, it hadn't been hard, and tried to do for her what she had done for him so long ago.

He wasn't very good at it. Especially not when whatever she was drinking was stronger than what he was used to.

Especially not when what was killing her was killing him too. He wondered if she even remembered letting him in. His elbows cracked as he hefted himself into a sitting position, just as that question seemingly answered itself as Heilyn's voice seemed to float into existence.

"Yanno, I still'aven't named 'em,"

He turned his head in her direction, ponytail falling out and something sticky spilled down his front.

"Heilyn?" He mumbled, his voice coming out thick, and dry. "Are- are you ok?" Why was this so hard? His spine protested as he levered his body off the floor and back onto the bed with a grunt and a twist he wished he hadn't preformed.
"Heilyn..." Everything hurt, inside, outside, everything.

Damn it all, Seth. It couldn't have been worth it for them to grow up with this. What did they have to look forward to? Why couldn't they have found a surrogate? Why weren't any available...that were willing to carry Bog children...that were willing to possibly poison themselves. He knew why. Fuck, he knew.

The noise the woman made jarred his senses, and he began scooting across the bed toward her. He had to touch her, she was tactile, it was the only thing he could think of to do that might actually help... "Heilyn..."

He wished there were words to say.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The noises that Vaska could hear coming from out of the room were confusing ones. Mostly, there was just the sound of babies. Crying babies. Terrible, soul-eating, life-stealing, alien babies.

He wished he knew who to blame for them. He didn't dislike Miss Heilyn, but he knew it couldn't have been Seth's fault that they turned out the way they did. He shook his head, pressed his ear more firmly against the wall, screwed up his face. It was dumb. Everything was dumb, because nothing was right. His daddy was dead and there was no bringing him back. That's what everyone had told him.

Maybe he just couldn't accept it. As Vaska saw it, he didn't want to accept it. What was it that daddy had always said? Right. He could remember it. He'd asked him when he'd been sitting on his knee, rubbing his big round belly. He'd been nervous then. He'd overheard talk about babies.

"A Real Man never dies, not even when he is killed," the little bat muttered under his breath, creeping for the open door. He wanted to peek inside. "He only dies when he is forgotten." He pawed at his eyes, feeling the sting of tears there. He hated crying. It made his eyes feel all swollen and they got redder than normal, too. Almost like they were gonna pop right out of his head. Then he'd be as blind as people told him he should be. "But me and Falksie won't forget. Not like everyone else."

He knew he couldn't go in, not yet. He was too afraid. So he pressed his ear to the wall again. This time, he heard talking, and he narrowed his eyes. It was hard to understand people, but Heilyn said something in a slurry voice, and then he could hear Bernard too, but his voice just sounded sad and confused. "Miss Heilyn is drunk again." He remarked, turning his attention back to his brother. "Maybe she'll shake them to make them stop crying and they'll get shaken baby symptom and they'll die."

[Kari Muffin]

The cat mix's ears pressed against his skull as he watched his brother. The words were what daddy had said... a small whimper escaped the feline. Daddy. Daddy wasn't coming back, ever. Why? Because of those things! Those things had killed him! The tears burned in his eyes

The taller biped shifted closer to his brother when he started to move away. He had a brief moment of panic as the idea of being left alone in the dark suddenly popped into his head. His panic subsided when he realized the other boy wasn't going to go inside.

He frowned at the next statement. "B-but wouldn't that be bad? I mean... it would be... like Daddy died for no reason."

Benedict peered over Falk's shoulder as he moved closer to Vaska. He would have been frowning the entire time if he was capable. "He's right, you know. Don't say something like that... anyway we should probably leave them alone." Commented the skull as he rested on Falks' shoulder in such an awkward manner.

[Satra]

[D8 It's my turn already lkajsdfzkdjfsdflk damndamndamn!]

She was getting so sick of crying, but what else was there to do? She gasped quietly at the touch, being brought back. She turned her head to look back at Bernard. He was here. The remembered, vaguely, letting him in last night. She also remembered how last night was a repeat of every night since Seth died: a blur of alcohol and tears, except this time Bernard was there to share it with her.

Her hand lowered slowly from her face, revealing the redness and puffiness, to touch Bernard's hand. He was still here. Not for long, her bitterness reminded her, but at least for sometime.

She just shared back at him with a lost expression, tears streaked down her face and her nose beginning to run. She walked around to the side of the bed, leaning very dependently on the bed post for support, and clumsily climbed up onto the bed with Bernard. Somewhere in the process, she dropped the bottle she was holding. She pulled him into a hug. He felt so real, his thin frame familiar in her arms. It was a wonderful change from having to hold herself. She held him tightly, fingers weaving through his thin, silky hair. After a moment, she spoke in a shaky voice.

"I... I shou'go quiet th'm. They migh' be 'ungry ...I can' rember when I last fed 'em... hongover meds're in there..." she pointed vaguely at the drawer of the nightstand before slowly attempting to get off the bed.

[Nathalia]

Bernard leaned forward as best he could and brushed her hair back, only leaning away when she moved forward to collapse on the bed as well, though he continued to grip her hand.
He was almost afraid of what would happen if he let go.
She looked no better than she had after first receiving the news.

She probably never would, he had certainly never gotten any better.
Knowing Heilyn, she might eventually hide it better than he had...but it would never go away.

The clumsiness in her movements was alien, she had always been so graceful, especially compared to himself and Seth. He heard the bottle hit the floor with a thud that made the soft wailing grow slightly louder, almost hopeful that attention would be paid.
The damn things could wait.
He felt a monster for thinking it, but how could he not?

He pressed himself tightly into her hug, returning it as strongly as his body would allow. Her skin, overheated compared to his chill, made them feel oddly clammy together, but still he cherished it.
She was all he had left now.
His Lyn.
Lin...
Lyn.
Heilyn.
Everything was falling apart.

Her fingers weaved shakily through his hair, and he leaned his head on her shoulder, feeling his cheek press against the bone and relaxing slightly. "Stay here, I'll get them." he muttered, digging his fingers into her back gently and then releasing her to move over to the edge of the bed and slowly ease himself off. He wasn't as far gone as she was. Even if she protested he, ironically, could move faster than she right now. He reached for the medicine first, he'd need it if he was hoping to be of any help over the course of the next hour, and he did want to be helpful.
He wanted to make things easier for her.

Then he looked down at the children.

They weren't bad children, they all looked perfectly fine.
No monsters, some weird ones but...really, overall. Perfectly healthy and good kids...nothing on poor little Falks and his brother Ben.
He winced slightly as he choked down the pills dry, he'd have to wake up more...he'd promised to see Ben later that day. Wanted to see if he could do anything for the poor child's state of existence.

The King brushed these thoughts aside as he gazed about the crib and the surrounding area.
The few bottles he'd brought up with him last night were empty, there was nothing to feed them...and he and Heilyn should really get some water anyway... he tunred his head and gave her a wan smile.

"Looks like you and I need to take a trip to the kitchens." He muttered, reaching a hand down to gently stroke the side of the Human girl's face...Hills so rare... "We've nothing for them, and you and I need something to keep us from both turning into dried out husks. We'll hobble right back up here, I promise."
He moved away from the children and back over to the bed, first running his fingers tenatively over her hair, then wrapping an arm around hers to help her up. "Come on, we can probably even get Betsy up here, she'll take the kids out for awhile, you know how much she loves them when they're this tiny."

He leaned in and gently pressed his nose to her cheek.

"We'll come right back up here, I promise. Just you and me, I'll tell anyone else to scram...and so will your expression." He let the smile flit across his face for a second before placing a very brief kiss in her hair. "I promise."

[carcinoGeneticist]

When Ben and Falks were both quiet, and Vaska focused hard, he could hear more of the conversation. It didn't sound like a good one. They were talking about the monsters, he knew that much simply from the tone of voice that they used when they did. It was soft and sad and it had a little bit of anger mixed in. It had taken him a while to figure that last bit out, but when he did, the little bat felt justified. Everyone else knew what they were. Everyone else knew that it was their fault.

He whirled on his brother, fur standing on end, eyes wide and horrified. What the biped had said finally sunk in, and Vaska didn't like it, not one bit.

"Dad did die for no reason." He growled, getting up in his brother's face, his eyes narrowing as the trembling began all over again. How could his own brother not understand? Seth was his father, too! He should know! He should... "Dad shouldn't have died. He wouldn't have died. They killed him. They ate his life and now they're gonna eat Miss Heilyn's and Highness Bernard's, too. You can't hear it, Falksie, but I can. I can see it, too. They're demons. That's why - that's why it's so bad. That's why I want them to die. That's why I can't just leave them alone, Ben. Sometimes you have to stay close to protect someone."

He was shaking hard.

He didn't understand everything, he knew that much. But what he did understand was that Seth had been a mother before, in place of Bernard. Bernard would have died if he'd given birth to those children, but Seth had done something and had the babies instead. He hadn't died. All of that stuff - that wasn't what had killed him. Someone had worked some terrible black magic, and that...

That was why his daddy was gone.

The voices shifted, and Vaska's attention was rather abruptly torn back to spying. They were leaving the room? A panic gripped him for a moment until the perfect plan settled in his mind. He didn't want them to know that he'd been spying on them, because that might make them angry. But he wanted to see if they were alright, so... "They're going to the kitchen. Come on, Falksie, Ben. We'll meet them by the stairs."

Without waiting for a reply, the little bat bounded off, hiding behind a statue near the staircase.

((...sorry about Vaska's weird.))

[Kari Muffin]

The bipedal boy's ears flipped back as he watched his brother. Oh no. He shouldn't have opened his mouth. A fine tremor ran down his body as the bat spoke. He wanted to cry again. Daddy had died because of the babies, yes. It had been an accident. He really shouldn't have died but nothing could change that fact. So why should they want those babies dead? They hadn't done it on purpose....

He sniffed as he tried to choke back the tears. "B-but Vaska!" he whimpered. His brother never did listen when it came down to it. "I don't think they're going to eat anyone...."

Benedict gave an unamused snort at his brother's response. "Sometimes you need to let the people you love rest. It's not like it's been easy for Heilyn or Bernard. That's why they drink. I don't think we should bother them when they're like this, it can only cause more problems that they don't need."

But he wasn't listening. Falks made a rather pathetic noise as he shot Benedict a glance. Oh well.

When Vaska delivered the news that they could possibly get caught out here spying, Falks made a panicked squeak. Benedict would have rolled his eyes as the bipedal stumbled for a few minutes before he chased after his brother.