Cyrus could only watch on in horror as the hulking porcelain amalgamation swiped its claws across Aspen’s face, immediately welling up with teal blood. Aspen stumbles as their skin turns paler, their eyes foggy and distant as they seem to look through Cyrus. The monster begins retreating after getting what it wanted, but Cyrus doesn’t give it a second glance as they race over to Aspen along with Adelaide.
Aspen begins wavering where they stand, and Cyrus gently lowers them to the ground, keeping them in their hold. “Shit, fuck, uh-” Cyrus says frantically, trying to figure out if there's anything they can do.
Aspen's voice is light and raspy as they speak, “It hurts”. Cyrus jumps a bit as he’s reminded of Adelaide’s presence as she holds out a hand and begins casting healing magic to close up the worst of their wounds. Aspen grabs onto her hand as she works, clutching it with what little strength they have.
“You’re gonna be okay, I promise. You’re gonna be okay. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe. I’m gonna get you home.” Cyrus continues to whisper reassurances to Aspen as an iridescent film covers the now scabbed-over slashes. Cyrus takes this time to take off his now ruined jacket and wipes away any blood still staining their face. He ignores the painful sticky tug at his shoulder when he takes it off, ‘I’ll get it fixed later, I’ve got other problems to deal with.’
He gently cleans the blood from their face without bumping into the scabs before tossing the now ruined jacket away. He quickly puts his cloak back on, hoping no one will pay any mind to his current predicament. Even just the arm movement to put the cloak back on while still holding Aspen hurts like hell, but he brushes it aside.
As Cyrus attempts to distract himself from the burning pain in his shoulder, he hears Adelaide telling Aspen it's going to be okay, and Aspen replies with a small nod. He holds Aspen closer, unshed tears blurring his vision slightly, “Thank you,” and he looks up to see Adelaide in a similar emotional state before turning his attention back to Aspen.
“See? You’re okay. You’re gonna be alright, I’m gonna get you home.” Cyrus can’t tell if he’s saying it for Aspen’s sake or his own, but he doesn’t care at this point. He knows something is going on behind him that Aspen and Adelaide are watching, but he can't bring himself to look anywhere but Aspen, fearing that if he looked away, they would disappear.
The rest of what happens goes by in a blur as Cyrus just focuses on Aspen and making sure they’ll be okay. He knows logically they’re okay and will just come out of this with just some scarring and the memory, but it seems like the rest of his brain and body haven't gotten that memo yet.
A woman kindly directs us to a nearby clinic and looks at them with recognition, but Cyrus can't place why she’d know them. He tries communicating his confusion without words, but is ushered into the clinic before he could get any real answer. Cyrus continues to hold Aspen up, both to keep them close and to steady them just in case. Aspen grips onto his cloak right over his own claw mark, and Cyrus sucks in a sharp breath before continuing forward.
‘This is all my fault. Fuck what am I going to do about this? I told them to hide. Why didn’t- no, no, it's not their fault. I should've been clearer and stood firm to make sure they listened. Fuck she’s gonna kill me. Okay, focus. First order of business: completely heal Aspen. Second, lecture. The best lecture I can pull out of my ass that will hopefully stick this time. Third, completely make sure Aspen is okay… and I guess everyone else… especially Adelaide… dammit. Why does she make it so hard not to fucking care when she pulls shit like that?! I can’t be mean to her anymore, she fucking saved Aspen… because I couldn’t… How can I even call myself their mentor or protector if I can't even do that simple thing for them.’
Cyrus can hear commotion and talking around him, but it sounds muffled, like he's underwater. His head continues to spin with doubts and insecurities.
‘Wow, who knew this is what it would take for me to wish I had healing magic… like I’m fucking supposed to. Why did it have to be Aspen? It should have been me. I mean- it was kind of me, but I can take a hit, they can't… It’s fine. I’ll fix it, and then I’ll go fucking sulk and heal my own damn wounds. I don’t need to be more of a fuck up and liability to the group than I already have been.’
His shoulder continued to radiate pain, most likely beginning to seep through his cloak, but he couldn’t muster up enough energy to care right now.