Callisto had dished himself another serving and had decided to stand in the kitchen in order to consume it and ready himself for another plate full. He was quietly chewing on his meal when Finntello had emerged, giving barely a glance over at him.

Lily nodded her head gently to Alma with a soft hum of agreement, Finn seemed normal. Well, apart from his wings and strength - she looked up as she heard his voice. A smile sliding onto her lips as she twisted her neck to see him only to immediately make a small noise and look away. She hadn’t known what she expected other than exactly what she saw, but a shirtless and dripping man was still a surprise. Instead she stared down at her plate with her arms tucked in close to herself. A gentle warmth in her face, but she did her best to battle it away.

Her head perked up as she heard Alma call her forwards, cautiously she picked herself up along with the shirt and placed her plate on the kitchen counter as she passed. Lily dared another small peek at Finn as she passed by, catching mostly his wings and a hint of some skin before she slipped into the bathroom after Alma. She hoped she wasn’t as obviously flustered as Finntello appeared in those situations, she avoided looking in the mirror above the sink, she didn’t want to find out.

She bent to see what Alma was doing and nodded her head slowly as she watched, concentrating so that she didn’t embarrass herself by having to call the kind woman back.

“Thank you again, Alma. You’re too kind.” Lily tilted her head to one side, her lips pulled in a warm smile. Only once she heard Alma making her way back to the men, did she turn and set about cleaning herself up. One glance at the mirror was enough to tell her that she looked gaunt and dirty, frankly rather disgusting.

Callisto had stood in silence mostly as Finn organised his meal, flickering his eyes down to the plate and back up again. For a second, he wondered how Finn had fit in the shower with those wings.

“Are you doing okay?” He finally asked softly, bringing his eyes back to his own now empty plate. He wasn’t entirely sure what kind of answer he would get from Finn, if he had asked Lily he knew she would have all but bitten his head off and thrown it across the trailer.

Callisto flinched, , he’d looked up hopefully to Finn as he first started to talk and then when it took a turn he cringed back. Sliding his empty plate on top of Lily’s empty one are carefully as he could. He could hear the shower starting to run in the other room, at least he only had to handle one of them.

“Sorry I asked.” He murmured softly and kept himself standing in the kitchen to avoid being too close to Fintello. He did feel awful, remembering what he had started but it hadn’t been like this. Not this new version of Veles. No, he had brought people together in worship to please Veles and the egotistical man had loved it, but soon it wasn’t enough and he began to demand more and more.

Callisto had paid bounty hunters to find murderers, real dirty and horrid people to send to Veles, but they were running out of options when Callisto had sent himself. Clearly after he did not return, his followers had turned to pleasing Veles with whomever they could locate. Though, he doubted these pair would believe him.

“Your friend is nice.” He kept his comments short, fearful of saying something wrong and being kicked out to sleep outside. “I am sorry you both had to go through what you did.” Callisto dared a glance up towards Finn, almost jumping out of his skin as he heard movement behind him. Alma must be back there, still he didn’t look back.

Callisto scrunched together his eyebrows gently at the reply, he supposed he could have been a little more precise with his words. They all felt terrible, mostly for different reasons but terrible all the same. He didn’t have to reply as Alma had appeared from the other rooms and was walking up to Finn, measuring whatever she required.

He stood in silence as they spoke, watching the affection between the pair and felt a pang of longing in his chest. A feeling he quickly scolded himself for having, he didn’t deserve anything like that after his track record. Callisto’s eyes snapped up to Finn as he began to talk about Xevon, watching like a hawk as the conversation continued until he couldn’t help but interject.

“His name is Xevon.” He started and stepped closer to them, strides long. “He is the only reason Finntello and Lily were able to leave with their lives, in fact they did not even have to clash with Veles in their escape. Xevon traded himself somehow, I do not know exactly, but he traded himself for their release.” Callisto’s words were remarkably more confident now that he was talking about Xevon, a steel solidness to his gaze as he looked between the two of them.

“He does not deserve to rot in there. I should be there, out of all those who have suffered in those halls, I should be the only one there.” He swallowed thickly, squaring his shoulders in preparation for any barbed words that were about to be shot his way.

Callisto creased his eyebrows together before he lifted a hand to push back his hair, which stayed flipped backwards.

“Veles..well.” He began to looked off to the side, his lips pulling back as he tried to search for the right words. “When I first learned about him, I stumbled across this book. A huge thing, written in latin and portions of translated areas on loose paper.” Callisto turned back to them and began to mime a book in his hands for a second. “Veles is some sort of death incarnate, but he is more than that, he does not simply collect the dead. It is as though he gains his existence from consuming them, in that lantern,” He paused to gesture at Finn, he knew what he was talking about. “I think he is able to rule over life itself, death simply seems to be his favourite part.” He shook his head. “I truly do not know his exact reason for existing, just that he does.” Callisto peeked back over his shoulder towards the area Lily had vanished down before drawing his attention back to the pair before him, he had heard the water shut off.

“Why I am now alive, I cannot tell you. But if I am standing here then it would not be wrong to assume Xevon can be brought back here, he should have this second chance not me.” He now focused on Alma, he only hoped she wouldn’t convince Finntello to stay here, leaving him to attempt this alone.

“Veles came to me when I found that book and I was young and stupid,” He spat out the insult to himself. “I believed the lies he fed me, that he could make me what I was not. Someone to be looked up to, someone people would like.” Callisto’s shameful excuse for his endeavour fell from his lips and his shoulders sank towards the ground. He knew how selfish it was, he knew. That didn’t change the fact that it had happened.

Callisto felt an odd sense of comfort at Alma’s words, there was some truth to what she was saying but had this nagging voice in his head back then. Coaxing him that he needed to be more, to lead, to guide. Idiotic. Idiotic and it caused the death and torment of so many that it made his stomach turn at the mere thought.

Lily had managed to tug her jeans back on, the shirt fit for the most part. It was a little long and the neckline too wide to sit properly, but it was miles better than the tattered tank top she was sporting before. She scooped up the shirt and her shoes in one hand and was carefully stepping along the hallway, she had left both her and Finntello’s towels neatly folded up on the bathroom counter.

As she peeked her head back into the main room, she scanned around before her eyes landed on Finn and hum of relief moved through her. For some reason, she had a persistent fear that when she came out he was going to be gone. But no, there is sat waiting for his shirt.

“You will need more of a plan than driving a dagger through his skull. Veles is a lot stronger than you seem to realise.” Callisto had commented softly as he heard Lily just before she stepped up beside him. She had washed her hair, but had dried it as best as she could and felt so much better now that the grime had been removed from her skin.

“Whatever the plan, I’m breaking his neck.” She quipped, almost too nonchalantly for the nature of the comment. Slipping past Finn towards the couch once again, she felt heavy and wanted to sit down. The calming warmth of the water had begun to lull her to tiredness that she had been fighting off since they had taken off into the sky. With the adrenaline of flying dissipated, she was left with the exhaustion on her shoulders.

From where she sat, Lily offered a gentle smile towards Finntello, making sure she only peered up at him from the shoulders up.

“After a shower, you scrub up nicely.” She teased light-heartedly.