Lily’s head barely moved to look up as she heard Alma struggle to lift herself up from the bed, her eye followed her across the room until the door closed behind her. Leaving Lily alone with the quickly cooling form of Finntello beneath her palm.

–

Callisto’s eyes flashed with delight as he spotted Xevon’s form, just as he had called out the man had turned around. Joy rose in his chest despite the wooziness that was beginning to take over his mind, until he watched Xevon’s hand lift up to his head and the broken voice that followed. His stomach flipped and the happiness was washed away by guilt, his lips pulled into a grimace about to speak when Alma had appeared out of nowhere.

He threw her a quick look, calculating if Finn had in fact given himself over to death or was only injured. Judging only from her expression and words he couldn’t tell, Alma had been on work mode this entire time. Short terms directed to who she wanted to be doing it. For a second, he allowed his attention to drift back up to the room above him. The quiet crying, hardly noticeable, was enough to confirm the worst outcome had in fact occurred.

His eyes focused back on Xevon, watching as he struggled to understand what was going on. He was still far away, if he wasn’t hurt it would take him seconds to reach him, but dragging himself along the wall took time.

“We came back for you. Please.” He attempted to sound light, to not encourage attention to the broken and bloodied forms of himself and Alma. Callisto couldn’t help the panicked uptick in his voice, if Xevon couldn’t return to his usual self then was any of this worth it? The others should not have come if that was the case.

–

Lily’s torso finally lifted up straight and with a lazy tip of her head to the side she caught sight of Veles laying on the floor with a dagger protruding from his chest. It took the woman a mere moment to be on top of the god, hands replaced by gigantic paws that were ripping into the flesh. Flinging bone and fur across the room, slashes of black blood coating her forelimbs and face.

Her eyes blazed with fury, lips curled back and snarling loudly, pounding away at the body. Behind her, her tail lashed wildly. Soon enough, Lily began tearing with her teeth, thrashing at the unholy amalgamation.

Callisto stopped in his tracks as he watched the more familiar version of Xevon slide back into place, his eyes creased slightly with the beginnings of a smile. He didn’t move as the ghost made his approach, tilting his head to look up at Xevon. Now that Callisto couldn’t float himself to be at a level height with him, he had to incline his head slightly. He wanted to feel that grazed touch, then Alma spoke and his head flicked to the side to look at her.

He wanted to spit a retort at her, but she was right. They didn’t have the time. He fumbled as Xevon rose skywards, trying to turn back around for the staircase. Suddenly, the blood loss felt a lot more real, the adrenaline of the fight and Xevon removed.

–

Lily’s attention didn’t falter as Xevon rose up from the floor, she was too preoccupied with making sure Veles’s body was diminished to nothing more than a dark stain on the floorboards. Her ministrations did not stop until she heard the familiar voice from across the room. She froze, one paw buried into the chest of Veles.

Her ears pricked up and slowly her head followed to stare across the room as Finntello lifted himself up from the bed. Her dark eye blinked in disbelief. Then all of a sudden, Lily began to scramble across the room, mid-stride her bone cracked back into her human form, ignoring the pain that ricocheted through her. With her eye still ruined and stride hindered by injury, Lily almost collided with Finn.

But she didn’t embrace him. Instead, Lily smacked her hand against his shoulder as tears of relief came down and soaked her face.

“I told you not to do anything stupid!” She sobbed out, but her lips were fighting to hold back a grin.

Her form crumpled into his arms, forehead pressed against his chest, convincing herself that she wasn’t hallucinating. That she could indeed hear his heart beating beneath his ribcage. Lily didn’t care about the fact she was smearing Finntello’s torso with a mixture of her own blood and Veles’s, he could winge if he wanted to but she wasn’t going to move just yet.

“You were dead.” Her words were muffled by her position, eventually tipping her head back to look up at him. He was still a murky image, her good eye was working but it was difficult to make out the details.

Callisto had gratefully taken Alma’s help when she had offered it, waiting patiently for her to rest between steps. He certainly didn’t blame her, he felt just as exhausted and crippled. He pushed his hand into the door and wiggled them both through the narrow frame without one of them falling over. It took some effort, but he managed it.

His gaze lifted up as he saw the pair near the bed, blinking in surprise to see Finn upright and the lack of blood coming from his now scarred over wound. What he most certainly had not been prepared for as the physical thumping of Xevon’s wings as he staggered in the space before them. Callisto’s body froze for a moment, not wanting to leave Alma limping behind him. He kept his pace with her and restrained himself from running, or rather fumbling, towards Xevon.

Once they were close enough, Callisto’s lips had widened into a bright smile, no remnants of effort behind it. He was just genuinely smiling. A ghost of a laugh came from his sore throat, haphazardly moving to Xevon’s side and offering his unbloodied hand as an aid. He kept his other hand pressed into his wound, he felt tingly now but he could make it. What was a little blood loss after killing a god?

“You thought you could get rid of me that easily?” Callisto’s voice was gentle as his chest bloomed with warmth at being able to bring Xevon this freedom from the hotel. Only exacerbated by the apparent revival of Finn, the entire group was alive. Impossible odds, he had predicted at least one would be killed if not all of them.

Finn shook his head lightly, holding the sobbing young woman in his arms, supporting her full weight until she looked upward at him.

"I--yeah, I very much was dead. No... no need to worry on that one. I... got quite the butt-whooping from my dad..."

He winced ever so slightly at the thought. That man had not been happy to see him. Strange but not unexpected. He had questioned what had happened and then, after learning it, proceeded to chew him out *and* beat the living daylights outta him for reckless behavior, abandoning his group and going back to the cult, attacking Veles--knowingly.

He had gotten an earful of a lifetime.

But his eyes dimmed slightly, lifting his hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing beside her ruined eye. "Oh, Lily," he whispered quietly, a small touch of pain in his voice.

Xevon glanced up, spotting Callisto. A swirl of emotion crossed through his chest at the sight of the man. "... I thought you'd be smarter--" he protested and struggled to stand up, rising to his full height before--gently--shaking his shoulders. "I thought you'd get outta here and go! Live your life! Be... y'know... free? What are you doing back here?"

While the ghostly man had hovered only a few inches above his natural height, Alma was quick to note that the man had a firm and broad shouldered build. There was an evident sense of strength beneath his skin, the height to match--standing a good four inches taller than Finn and added were the dark pair of feathered wings.

She could understand now why this man had been the one to thrash Veles the first time. It was a wonder that he had been killed at all--but then again, Veles had fought hard and dirty.

The woman winced. "We need to find an exit--"
"The cellar doors," Xevon responded and glanced around the group. "Are any of you going to make it that far?"
"Well, I--"
"Are any of the injured going to make it that far?"

Tazette had spoken to him? She didn’t want to imagine what kind of conversation that had been, Lily still wasn’t entirely sure if she was confident in her feelings towards Finntello’s father. Why had he wanted to go back to the cult? It still bothered a small little piece of her mind.

Her thoughts were sidetracked when Finn’s hand grazed her skin, a sharp wince before she blinked to look down at his hand for a moment then her gaze rose back up to him. She offered a warm, sad smile to him. “It’s nothing, I’ll be alright.” In truth she would be, the reforming of her bones during her back and forthing between forms had benefited her. She no longer felt the crunch of fractures, but her muscles and organs were definitely bruised.

Callisto tipped his head back to look up at Xevon and found himself feeling rather, well small by comparison. He was far closer to Lily’s height than this giant in front of him, he hadn’t really made much of an effort to think about it considering they had both just floated around the halls before.

“What are we doing back here?” He repeated with a strained laugh that made him wince as his side squeezed. “We came to get you.” Callisto tilted his head to the side, still giving Xevon a bright smile despite the colour that was draining from his face. His fingers were getting a little cold now that he thought about it.

His head twisted to look over at Alma and he felt a flicker of worry ignite within him, she didn’t look good. “We have to try to make it there.” He tried, giving Xevon a pleading look. “We can help her.” He neglected to point out that he was also on the verge of collapsing. “You, Finn and Lily can help us, right?” Callisto pressed, eyebrows inching together slightly.

The concern for his own wellbeing was overshadowed by the fact that the older woman was struggling for air, he could hear her lungs rasping with each intake. He had brought her back to this world after she had evaded it for so long and she had not judged him once.

Lily scrunched her eyebrows slightly, the one above her injured eye hurt with the movement, the slash running through the hair. She lifted her hand briefly, letting it settle on his wrist that was close to her face. Only when she pulled away at the sound of Xevon’s voice commanding their attention, she twisted around and stepped back from Finntello to allow him some personal space. Well, at least a little, she kept close to his side.

If he wasn’t actively dying, maybe Callisto would have felt some type of offence to the fact that Xevon had passed him off to Finn. He couldn’t find the energy to complain as the arm was offered to him. He stared after Xevon as he began to lead the way out of the cavernous room.

“He does sound..different.” Callisto kept his voice quiet, letting himself be led down the hallway and eventually to the main staircase. He never wanted to see these cursed halls again. However there was the smallest inkling of fear that still seeped into him, a fear that returning Xevon to his former living status had somehow changed him. Callisto didn’t feel..changed, he felt alive but he was still himself.

Lily kept a close post next to the two men, her eye flicking from side to side just in case Veles was miraculously going to jump back out at them. “This door,” She raised her voice for Xevon to hear ahead of them, her mouth still tasted of blood. “It’s going to take us back home?” Lily questioned, the rasp in her voice coming out as she elevated the volume.