Lily’s eyes squinted a little at the directed comment of this thing coming specifically for her, bringing her focus towards Finn. She wasn’t too keen on the direction this was heading. If this god had requested a bride specifically, by whatever communication method it had used to reach the people who sent them here, then it was looking like she was the bait. Terrific news when she had yet to even see the creature, and going off of Finntello’s reaction, it couldn’t be pretty.

“Would us finding this cellar door escape route be enough to make him come out?” She questioned, deciding she would rather not be the bait. Lily looked between the two remaining people in the room as Xevon had fluttered up into the ceiling.

Callisto’s shoulder had tensed up, the muscles freezing as he felt Xevon’s hand settle there. He took a small glance towards the other man, taking a moment to register the words coming from his mouth. For a second, he felt himself about to tell him not to go and do something stupid, but he stopped himself. He couldn’t control what Xevon wanted to do, even if it made his chest feel like someone had thrown a stone at it.

“Be careful.” He kept his voice in a matched quietness to Xevon, the lowered tone bringing out a little of the harsher notes to his cadence. Callisto tipped his head to watch as Xevon vanished through the ceiling as Lily spoke to him. Looking back down, he switched back a more stern look rather than one of fleeting care.

“It would, but it depends on how riled up you want him. If you find the door, he will be deadlier that is for certain. Yet, I think he would be more impulsive, which would mean mistakes are to be made.” Callisto contemplated the options in his own head, not that he particularly wanted to meet this creature again let alone kill it. Alas, here they were.

In the darkened halls of the fourth floor, the god shuffled along one of the hallways. Its head hung low, silent other than the sound of its movements. Pacing its favourite area with a repetitive motion, swaying down to one end of the hallway, turning and returning the way it had come.

At the sound of a voice in its home, it paused. Immediately still, statue-esque. Listening to the voice, he knew who it was. Without a delay, it went back to its shambling in the halls as the voice continued to call out.

Callisto’s eyes followed Finn as he began to pace back and forth across the room, he kept himself planted exactly where Xevon had left him. Though, for once he was actually paying proper attention to what was spilling out of Finn’s mouth. Meanwhile, Lily stood away from him looking a hint more concerned about the jabbering. She was clearly thinking what he was.

He waited for Finntello to locate something to write on; there were usually notebooks and pens in the untouched rooms. Though this could have housed another pair, he was unsure, there had been too many to recall.

“Xevon is more in tune with its aggressiveness.” Callisto began, leaning favour towards his friend. “The key thing is that lantern. You get close enough and he can drag your soul into it, all he requires is you to be at death’s door for it to work.” Callisto gave a sort of morbid smile. “As you have seen from Xevon and myself,” He took a second to gesture to the slowly closing gaping whole in the side of his ribcage. “He can kill both of you rather easily.” Callisto took a few steps towards the pair of them, standing where he could look between them easily.

“Xevon and I can be careless. You both need to be cautious. Only take hits on him when you know for certain you cannot be harmed in return. Otherwise.” He sucked in a breath between his teeth and tilted his head. “Otherwise, you will be joining the others in that lantern.”

The creature was returning from its walk down one of the hallways, that incessant voice continuing to chatter away. Except this time it was closer, in fact with each step it shuffled it was growing louder.

It tilted its head up slowly and caught sight of that winged pest, leaning against the doorway at the end of the hall. A cocky look smeared across his face. With a clicking of bones, its neck rose up on the exposed vertebrae. Tatters of fur hanging on by a thread along the back. He had seen enough of these irritating spectres for the day.

“Women enjoy you?” It almost spat out towards the wretched creature, the mere idea was a joke in itself. “I do not think women enjoy rotten corpses crushed beyond repair.” Its voice was one of many, blended of men and women but all dripping with malice.

Callisto blinked slowly as Finn dove into his next set of questions, he was certainly determined to kill this thing. Though, he wasn’t so sure it was the best idea in the world. Simply leaving would be most sensible.

“If you are asking if you can surprise him, then yes. You can.” His answer only just left his lips when Lily had jostled back to the land of the living and Finn made his way over towards her. She looked like a deer in headlights at his question, flickers of emotion passing over her as she tried to formulate a response she was happy with.

“I’m okay.” She started with, looking between Finntello and Callisto quickly. “I’m just not good at plans, you two seem to be better at it already.” She offered her excuse and gave a small look towards Callisto again. Lily still wasn’t sure if she was simply trying to fit this man into her memories for things to make sense or if she actually remembered him. Which seemed virtually impossible given their ages.

But Callisto caught that look. “Why do you keep looking at me like I am going to pounce on you?” He asked bluntly, eyes trained solely on her. To which, Lily’s brows swept together and her nose scrunched up.

“I’m not!” She defended, almost too quickly. “I’m just looking at you.”

A low guttural clicking started at the back of the creature’s throat, its shoulders still slumped lower. The gall of this creature. The fact that he could not rid it from his realm only made it all the more irritating. Then a sharp crack of laughter left it.

“Love? You think that is what I desire.” The god shook its head dramatically. “That may be what you seek, to give yourself a pitiful reason to carry on. I am adored. That woman shall bear me offspring.” It lowered its head back down, the smallest glimmer of light catching the sunken eyes.

“Then they shall create realms akin to this. Drawing in more insignificant souls, exactly like you and that pale coward.”

Callisto flattened his lips into a line as Finntello’s silent command to be quiet, his eyes shadowed by his bunched up eyebrows.

Lily felt her heart beat in her ears as her hand was brought into Finn’s, she didn’t plan on letting her thoughts see the light of day but apparently she was going to have come up with a mighty good lie or tell them.

“I just-” She started, looking over to where Callisto was standing. He was looking down at her with his usual sharp gaze, but it wasn’t that look that made her scrunch up her face but what she was about to say. “I know you.” She blustered out, training her eyes upon Callisto as she did so. “I recognise you. How you look, what you say. I know who you are but I don’t know why.” Lily flinched her shoulders down a little, unsure what the coming comments would be. Perhaps they would think she was mad.

The creature took a long moment to decide upon its reply. Why was this pest here? Normally, when it laid its beady eyes upon him they were in an entanglement within seconds. Ripping at each others forms. But now he was patiently waiting and taunting. On occasion, they would spit at each other like this. Yet, this interaction was going on for far too long. It did not matter whether or not these ghosts liked what he was doing, they couldn’t stop him. Why should he explain how all of this would work with that woman.

“Why are you talking so much, are you not going to throw yourself at me?” He began to take steps towards Xevon, its head cocked to the side at an unnatural angle. “Why should it matter my plans for them, I will devour or use them.”

Callisto stared back at her, bewildered by what had just come out of her mouth. She knew him? That was quite literally impossible. He was over a hundred years old at this point, she was what? 20? He tilted his head a little before he spoke.

“You know me.” He repeated rather simply. “That is impossible. I have been deceased for well over your lifetime, there is no way you could know who I am.” Callisto raised a hand in dismissal, she had to be confusing him with someone else from her scrambled memories. There was no other explanation.

Lily shook her head and lifted her hands to her face to rub down it, a small huff of air coming from her. She knew she sounded nuts and now they were looking at her like she was. Tipping her head back up she looked over to where Finn was standing. The time in this place was so confusing, when was day or night. How long had they even been in this place? Hours or days, she had no idea. But maybe sleep would bring more memories. Possibly memories of him. With a sharp look over towards Callisto, which earned her a just as cold look back, Lily gave a small nod.

“If they’re still working on this theory of theirs, if we can sleep and get any memories back..that would probably be helpful.” She stepped around her words carefully, but Callisto was still staring down at her.

The creature kept its steady pace as it walked down the hallway towards Xevon, there was no rush to its amble. Eager to listen to the words that poured out of his mouth, at least these pests were entertaining sometimes.

When the comment regarding Callisto came up, the creature stopped in its tracks and some semblance of a grin rose to its features. As much of a grin as it could manage with its deformed figure. Its head rose back up and eyes brightened in amusement.

“It is funny you should say that.” He mused, taking a moment to ponder on his words. “That friend of yours,” He spat out the word friend with as much sarcasm as he could manage. “You should ask him why you are here.” He continued, clearly knowing the twisting past of both the ghosts, yet blatantly not revealing anything further.

“He may be a coward now, but he was once a very powerful man.” His laugh that accompanied his words was slathered in sick amusement.