Lily watched with tired eyes as the feathers ruffled slightly as her finger relented its touch, the smallest movement from Finn accompanying it. “I prefer them like this as well.” Her voice remained quiet. “I don’t know if I could have stopped the chicken jokes from leaving my lips if they had stayed like that.” A small purr of laughter drawn from her, subdued and calm. Her breathing had been brought back under control, now all that was left was the lingering dread in her bones that ached for her to run.

She didn’t want to think about it. Her hand curled a single finger once more, brushing the feathers again, a slightly longer stroke with her knuckle. “I still think it’s strange that you just popped out with them.” She spoke as she moved her finger, her eyes trailing the movement. It was calming, not far removed from the same soothing feeling as a cat might bring with its rhythmic purring.

A small hum before she spoke. “They’re soft.” A comment she made more to herself than to the man the feathers were attached too. Her focus on distracting her mind from its inner workings.

Callisto saw a vague shape begin to lurk towards him, at first he felt the hair on his arms stand up. Unsure if it was in fact Xevon, but the glowing red eyes brought comfort to him as they pierced out from the darkness. He knew already, Callisto supposed his slightly panicked name calling was a give away. His head dipped in agreement to his question.

“She’s remembering how she was sent here.” His eyes distraught, a trickle of her emotions had flooded Callisto himself, it wasn’t a pretty sight to see some one in distress like that. Yet, Xevon had changed their course of conversation.

Callisto’s eyes widened a little as he watched a hand gesture to the black from which Xevon had emerged from. “You want me to see?” His words came out carefully, he did not want to spook his friend into a sudden refusal, a withdrawal of his invitation.

“If you desire me to come with you, I will.” Callisto’s small lick of a more historical language leaked through sometimes. He had learnt more common and modern terminology from the living that had been sent here over the years, but he was an ancient man at heart.

Her eyes lifted from her hand as the feathers beneath it began to slide away, revealing the light of the hotel room ahead of them. For a second, a bleat of panic caught her, a momentary pause in her breathing before she managed to cool herself off. It was only the two of them in the room, she assured herself.

Lily’s hand slowly fell to sit limply on the sheets beside her as she listened to Finn. “Callisto.” She pronounced each syllable of his name clearly, sounding it out for the first time. “He mentioned a blessing too. I would not call a blood explosion a blessing.” Her head turned to look back up at him briefly as the light of the room entered their little cocoon.

“What if each time I sleep, I see those memories again?” She worded her question carefully, he wouldn’t have a real answer, but she needed to voice her concern. “I’ll never be able to get any rest.” A defeated look crossed over her features, the light from the room catching her eyes now that his wings had unfurled far enough.

Shield from the truth? Callisto’s brows knitted together in concern, whatever it was that Xevon was about to show him, it was clearly difficult for him to allow Callisto to see it. He trailed after him, into the darkness that he didn’t dare to venture into before. Making sure to keep his pale figure close to Xevon’s darker one, as to not lose him in the dimmed area.

“Thank you.” Callisto’s voice was low, a hand lifting to gently touch his companion’s shoulder. His head ducked down a little, the smallest play of a smile on his lips. “I am sure it will be fine.” His reassurance meant not only to soothe the winged man, but to wrangle his own concern.

His eyes drifted back towards the door, a beat of silence moved between them before Callisto took in a deep breath and moved through the door. His eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light. Or rather the lack of it. A few shadowy shapes on the floor came into focus. Clothing, battered drawers from beside the bed, it looked like a tornado had ripped through the room. A tight grimace pulled at his lips, a rough pull from the scar tissue on the left causing it to be lopsided.

His head tilted up, to survey the rest of the room. Callisto felt cold, impossibly so considering he was already dead. There were almost black streaks around the room, a spray on almost each corner of the room. The low light still allowing the red undertone to be visible to his slightly enhanced eyesight. A soft gasp spilled from his lips, gentle eyes widening as he pieced things together. Why would Xevon ever want to return to this space? It was a horrific sight, let alone a comforting place to spend time alone.

His form twisted quickly to look for Xevon, once he found him, his expression wilting into a mixture of shock, sorrow and guilt. “This is not…” He started but from the look on his friend’s face, it was indeed what he suspected. “I am so sorry.” Callisto’s voice was deepened, he drew close to Xevon. As he started to move, he flickered with indecisiveness, unsure if what he was about to do would be met with a snarl or not. He had little time to retract his action anyway, he’d bore the brunt of the man’s irritation before. He pulled Xevon into his chest, albeit a little roughly, offering a tight hug. “I am so sorry, I did not know this is where you would go.”

Each delicate feather twitched just slightly with her gentle touch. As much as he would've loved to keep the cocoon of safety, it turned out that new muscles for wings ... were not used to keeping them in that position for long. She said that the other ghost's name was Callisto. At least he had a name to a voice now. Whether or not he would be able to see him eventually, Finn wasn't sure.

"I mean, wings are. I don't think there was really any way to prepare for the ... sudden expanse," Finn chuckled loosely, shaking his head. "But they're here now. They're nice and pretty and hopefully they'll actually help us do something."

Otherwise, that would suck. A lot.

As she mentioned dreams, Finn's eyebrows furrowed for a moment or two. "I mean, you haven't yet. We came back and slept for a bit and you didn't have a dream then. But... but..." his lip turned in a thinking frown. "No--wait. I have feathers. I just need twine. I can make a dreamcatcher. If I can have wings and whatever, then a dreamcatcher will definitely work."

He bobbed his head. "Easy."

--

Xevon's eyes scanned along the room. Callisto said it would be fine. He knew otherwise. There was no being fine when seeing the state of the room. Ever. Everything thrown to the side, some pieces of the broken bed frame sunk into the drywall of the room. They had been hurled by each of the fighting forces. But when all else had failed, that god had cheated. Xevon remembered, hardly being able to stand, bleeding from a lot of different wounds... but determined. Until he cheated.

He had weaponized his ability and power against him. He had summoned everything and Xevon... had been crushed under the amassing of broken pieces of the room. Somewhere under the bed, dresser and pile of other objects... he was there. Nothing more than bones now.

"Not what you expected," Xevon finished the sentence with a knowing sigh. It was a poor final resting place. But one that told a formidable story. He didn't move when Callisto pulled him in for a tight hug. The touch almost electric at first before he sank slightly into Callisto's embrace. He wanted to cry, to sob--scream. Anything.

"It reminds me of what he can do. That he isn't fair," Xevon murmured softly. "Reminds me that I am not here. Sometimes, in the darkness... I imagine that I have passed on."

His voice was low and defeated.

"But I come back, knowing I am still here."

Her eyes squinted slightly as the wings opened further with each passing moment, the light hurting her vision for a second before it adjusted. He had a point, his wings could be useful. But if that were tha case, what on earth was she going to sprout? Bat wings, a beak, anything was possible apparently. A fleeting wave of irritation towards her acquainted ghost, that he had not revealed to her what she should expect. On that note, Lily glanced around the room, almost relieved to see no lurking figures.

Her eyebrows lifted as she caught Finntello’s idea, the kindness of that offer drawing a smile to her lips. “You would make me something?” His nod followed her words quickly. A surge of appreciation filled her chest, combatting the wretched remains of her dream like water subduing a fire. “Thank you, Finn. That’s so nice of you.” Her smile broadened a fraction, her legs a little less curled up to her chest and shoulders loose. Yet, she did not want to be the first to pull away from their closeness, the simple company of touch bringing a soothing hand to her still lurking fear.

Callisto’s brows were forced together so close that it was straining the muscles. Suddenly thankful he could not remember the exact circumstances of his own demise, if this is what Xevon had to endure. A soft, uncomfortable sound pulled from his throat as he listened to his friend’s words, the explanation for his tendency to return to this place despite the horrifying sights. In the years they had haunted the halls together, Callisto did not think he had ever heard the man sound so…lost. His pale head pulled back so he could look at Xevon’s face clearly, hands still planted on the other’s shoulders.

“I dream of moving on too, it is all I wanted for a very long time. For decades before you arrived and still now, I just want to rest.” His head tilted towards his shoulder, lips pulled tight. “But this is not…can not be helping more than it is hurting, Xevon.” His eyes glancing around their immediate surroundings quickly before returning to meet the red gaze in front of him.

“I am deeply sorry that you were brought here. To suffer this devil’s playground both in life and death, but I will ensure you will be able to pass on. With these two, I will make sure of it.” Callisto’s features hardened, throwing his own attachment to Xevon to the wind. He could not be selfish and ask this poor man to lurk these halls for any longer, simply because Callisto enjoyed his company and he was afraid to cease existence. “I will get you out of here.” He meant every word, hands tightening on the broad shoulders they were clasping, pink eyes burning with a sudden determination.

Her smile broadened gently at his outright kindness towards practically a stranger. “I don’t think you owe anything, it wasn’t as though you chose to do that.” Dark eyes lifted to look up towards the ceiling where the speckled drops of blood painted the white expanse. Despite the now absence of his wings curling around them, Lily did feel relieved to have Finn as her company. She could only imagine the outcomes of her situation if she were here with a slightly less empathetic individual.

“I would love for you to show me.” Lily’s eyes brightened at the idea, she could learn something! Actually know something, be able to recall it and to carry it out to completion. Her lips drew further into a wide smile as her eyes snapped back down to meet his. “But I don’t want to go plucking feathers out of you, that would hurt.” Her words were accompanied by a small laugh.

A wriggling string of worry had begun to thread itself through Callisto’s heart as he watched Xevon stand there, eyes closed and unreacting to his words. Perhaps he had offended him somehow, maybe he didn’t want to get out, only to kill their torturer. His brain was scrambling to form some kind of apology for overstepping when harsh red eyes blinked open and caught his own, Callisto’s head stopped forming coherent thoughts for a second at the eye contact. Muscles tensing as Xevon’s hands met his shoulders, prickling the skin beneath them.

A rising feeling in his chest, something similar to happiness, but there was a tugging sensation that he couldn’t shake off. Callisto knew deep down that if it came to it, he would send Xevon through and trap himself here for eternity in payment. His face remained solid, letting no indication of his true emergency plan slip through.

“All of us will get out of here, I swear.” His voice was strong, head dipped for a moment in agreement. “Please do not let this room haunt you anymore.” Callisto’s eyebrows knitted together gently, trying to make his words sound as soft as he could.

Lily quickly rotated her head to watch Finn as he slid from the bed, her eyes trailing the feathers that floated gently towards the floor. Her head cocked for a moment as she watched them settle, taking in Finntello’s words.

“You definitely did not want to see it. It was a little gross.” She chided, looking up to him once more. “I have no clue what would be here, that is a loop..” She chewed her lip momentarily, slipping her own legs to dangle off the side of the mattress. Lily was thankful for the distraction, to focus on something that wasn’t supernatural - ghosts, magic wings, a hotel with no way out. She wanted to push that aside and lock it in a box to be dealt with later, the image of the dark hallway flashed in her eyes before she fought it back, locking it away. Her head shook gently at the mental fortitude she was attempting to build up.

Callisto’s hands drew back from the man’s shoulders, instead they hung at his sides limply. He remained quiet until he deemed his thoughts worth speaking out loud as Xevon listed off their action plans. Eyes following his form closely, trying to pick out whatever emotion he was putting forward. He normally had very good perception, but despite being with Xevon for many years, there were still some things he couldn’t work out all the way.

Eyebrows scrunched and lips pursed, exasperated as he pointed out the dagger set being strewn across this room. Underneath whatever remains and mess that scattered the floor, that would not be a pleasant task to ask the living duo to complete. Still, it was necessary.

“I don’t think she has taken to her blessing yet, I think we would have heard it by now.” His eyes lowered to the ground, eyeing up a wooden plank near his feet. “It would be a circus up there.” Callisto gestured lazily to the side, if she were anything like the others, thundering feet and caterwauling were in her near future.

“Oops?” His eyebrow cocked up, giving Xevon a sceptical look at the lingo that he had just used. “We will just have to get them in here, if they can’t handle this room without being thrown into a frenzy, then I have little hope for their escape.” He saw no point in sugar coating the truth, a brief shake of his head before he drifted a little closer to Xevon.

“I can come with you. If you wanted.” His words were a little staggered. “I know I freeze up and whine like a child about Him. But I do not want you to think you have to always go alone.” Callisto’s lips were pressed thin, he felt guilty about not ever going to find Him on his own. Instead, it was always Xevon that stood up to the mark and went on the hunt. Humorous considering Callisto was technically a predator, albeit a cat, but still.