Midnight snapped her fingers. Shadows wrapped around both of their mouths. She glared at both of them. “enough. She said she tripped Matias. Now knock it off both of you or you both will never speak again do you understand?”

Matias would have slung more insults were it not for Midnight saving the day. He flinched, his hands floating towards his mouth as he failed to say what he wanted to say. Oleander was nearing their breaking point, but some heavy breathing kept them more or less stable. Although the shadows didn't keep them from speaking, it pressed their mask's proboscis against their face and chest, a biting pain afflicting the latter.

"UNDERSTOOD, LADY MIDNIGHT," they signed despite all odds.

Midnight nodded and waved her hand, the shadows moving down as she said “now I’ll take over for Iris so she can rest. We need to get Dante up again…Bane you go shake the trees for the raid information and scarlet left to get info in the pixie village since she lives there.”

She looked at the pair and said “and you two need to get to a point where your not killing each other. I mean it”

Matias felt the pressure leave his muzzle, and he gasped in response. Rubbing that area, he shot a strong glare at Oleander, who was grooming their antennae again.

"It's not my fault it attacked me," Matias growled, "I guess you forgot that it's been stal–"

"QUIET," Oleander signed, "I'M TIRED OF YOUR TOXICITY. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE IN A TEAM."

Matias fell silent, but he stared daggers right into Oleander's eyes. He slowly shook his head, his face growing more and more twisted until his head suddenly jerked forward, a bullet of spit firing out of his mouth and onto Oleander's chest.

"Piss off, bug."

And he stormed out of the room.

Oleander hardly reacted to what happened, only looking down at the stain that made its home on their vest and brushing it off with their hand.

"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE, LADY MIDNIGHT?"

Midnight moved but Bane held up a hand. “I’ll handle him. You help Dante” bane followed Matias out. Midnight sighed and said “depending if you can tell me more about his state. And what Iris has been doing…”

Bane went into the hallway and said “you know who you sound like right?”

What sounded like a soft sigh hissed from Oleander's mask as they heaved themselves over to Dante's bedside.

"WE FED THE DETECTIVE A CORPSE," they signed, "I RECALL HE HAD SEVERE ANEMIA."

Their hand met Dante's neck again, and their eyes chirped and flashed again. Both hands eventually met again.

"HE IS STABILIZING SLIGHTLY. HIS ANEMIA IS MODERATE. RECOVERY MAY STILL BE SLOW."

--

Matias was stomping his way down the hall when an all-too-familiar, dog-like voice scratched at his eardrums. Crinkling his nose, he stopped right where he was, refusing to turn around.

"I know what you're going to say," he snarled, "and you better keep your damn mouth shut. That's not what I am."

Midnight went over and rested a hand on his cheek. “Come on Dante…come back to us…” she looked around and said “if I do something…can you promise not to speak about it?”

Bane sighed and asked “if that’s not what you are…then why are you reacting like this? I understand not liking the guy. I don’t like this either but…Matias…Iris was put at risk because of you two not getting along. There’s more to think about now”

Oleander's eyes were glued onto Midnight, analyzing her every move. Their antennae stirred at her question as if wiring their brain to come up with an answer.

"I'M NOT ONE TO SHARE SECRETS. YOU HAVE MY WORD."

--

Matias finally whipped back around, his face more twisted than ever before. He took one step that hunched his body like a predator.

"You know what I'm thinking about? I'm thinking about why the boss had zero issue with recruiting some... thing, that didn't hesitate to nearly kill me like three times now. She said it herself, it doesn't even care about what we're doing. It only wants to use us to get whatever it is that it wants. It doesn't care. It doesn't care!"

His arms flew about as he ranted and rambled, side to side, up and down.

Midnight nodded and moved her finger. The door shut and she rolled her neck. Her eyes glowed silver as she held her hands over Dante. Shadows wrapped around him and she said softly “I call upon the gods of shadows and night…I ask for this wandering soul to be healed and brought back from the land of darkness…”

The shadows glowed silver and started to work on the vampire. The shadows moved around him and moved in the room as the spirits worked. Her eyes were glowing brightly as she muttered “don’t move…”

Bane let him rant and said “and why does it matter if he does? Unless he hurts someone then she steps in and ends him. But today you both jumped into a fight because of a misunderstanding. We can’t keep fighting among ourselves…it doesn’t help”

Bane suddenly paused and looked around. “Do you sense a lot of energy being used?”

The sudden door slam was enough to make Oleander jump in place, their wings flickering about as quickly. They backed off a few steps as Midnight did her work but stopped when she said not to move, presuming it was for them. From then on, they watched the show unfold from a few feet away, their hands curled against their chest like a raptor.

--

Matias shifted his weight onto one foot and folded his arms, shooting Bane a glare sharp enough to cut through steel.

"Then tell me why it's still alive? Do you even see this?"

He stuck his neck out to show off the red marks left by Oleander's boot, but it seemed Bane was more occupied with looking around.

"Hey I'm talking to you, idiot. I– what?"

Matias lost his hateful glare for a moment, but just a moment, to blink. It came right back, however.

"I don't "sense" a damn thing," he huffed, looking towards the door he came out of. This time, his grumpy stare lasted a bit longer. He could vaguely hear Midnight uttering some sort of chant, or maybe a spell?

"Boss is going about as crazy as I am right now, looks like."

Bane held up a hand and said “close your eyes. Just focus and you’ll feel the raw energy being used…crap what is she doing” he moved to the door but it was sealed. “Crap crap crap!”

The shadows moved slowly as Dante was being healed by the energy of the shadows themselves. Midnight said “do not attack another again…I’m letting it slid since no one was at fault this time…but I am making myself clear…any more infighting will be ended my me with more painful force…” she was shaking as the e spell did it’s job, blood coming from her nose.

"Closing his eyes" wouldn't be necessary.

Matias watched as Bane approached the door and attempted to open it with all of his might. The wooden barrier rattled and rattled, but it seemed it wouldn't budge.

"Out of my way," he growled, pushing past Bane to approach the door.

His attempt saw less results it seemed. The door rattled in his hands but refused to move otherwise.

The ruckus at the other side signalled Oleander to look back. Almost instinctively, they spread their wings, effectively blocking the entrance– not that it would be necessary.

"SOMEONE IS ATTEMPTING ENTRY,' they signed, pressing their back against the door.

Midnight nodded and said “they won’t like I’m doing this…but I can’t let anyone who knows the old stories see this…” she moved her hands to her chest again as the shadows moved away from Dante. Then vampire looked better then he had.

She stepped back and said “they can come in now…” she was shaking on her feet, holding her wound. The shadows released the door.

"God... Damn door!"

Matias yanked himself off with so much force that he nearly fell backwards. His feet had to catch up with the rest of his body, skittering about the floor. He almost immediately forced them to carry him a few feet away from the door and turn him towards it. His body hopped up and down as he seemed to be preparing for the unthinkable.

"One... two..."

As if by fate, the door swung open by Oleander's hand. All the physical tension in Matias's body left him at that moment, perking it up. The two stared at each other from their respective areas without moving an inch, save for Matias's heavy breathing.

"Move."

Oleander did as commanded.

"The hell's going on in here?" Matias asked, stepping into the room without analyzing much.

Bane followed him into the room and nodded to the bug. “So…do we want to know what she did?”

Midnight was swaying on her feet. “Dante needed help…so I helped him…” Dante turned his head slowly, his eyes moving under the lids as he fought to wake up.

Matias finally noticed Midnight, and, in a sudden burst of sympathy, ran to her side. His arms found their way around her, and he hobbled around to ensure she wouldn't fall.

"Easy," he said, "I got you."

His eyes fell on the bug again, a growing feeling of anger and suspicion being detected by the latter. Oleander chose to ignore this, however, and instead focused on Bane.

"PER LADY MIDNIGHT'S REQUEST," they began, "I WILL NOT DISCLOSE OUR METHODS. BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THE DETECTIVE SHOULD BE RECUPERATING AT A FASTER RATE."

Sure enough, from the corner of their eye, they detected movement. Turning, they saw Dante stirring in bed, which prompted Matias to look over. He felt his mouth fall ajar, and his eyes wouldn't get off of Dante. Still, he maintained a good enough grip on Midnight so she wouldn't fall.

Midnight looked over and smiled weakly as Dante groaned and cursed softly in Italian. “What the heck happened…” the vampire tried to sit up, Bane running over and helping him sit up.

“Hey buddy…glad to have you back…”

Midnight sighed and said “it’s worth the risk…his alright…” she was shaking badly in his arms.

Matias kept his eyes on Dante for a few moments, long enough to catch him speaking. Now sure that Dante was alive, he shifted his focus to Midnight.

"What's up with you?" he asked, "Are you, like, overwhelmed with emotions or something? Sit down."

He carried her over to a nearby lounge chair and gently settled her down with near-unnoticable movement. He looked back at Oleander, who seemed to just be taking in the general area around them for the moment, before looking back at Midnight and leaning into her ear.

"You better tell me if that thing did something to you," he whispered in her ear, "or whatever's making you act up like this."

Bane was checking Dante over and said “it seems your energies have been restored…somehow. I smell old magic here…” Dante looked around and said “I don’t remember much…”

Midnight looked at him snd said “Dante needed more aid…so I gave him aid…that’s all” she didn’t look at him, her hands shaking. Using the magic she did took a lot out of her.

Matias raised an eyebrow in response.

"... Que carajo... What do you even mean by that? What did you do??"

He turned to Bane, who seemed to be oddly investigative.

"'Old magic'? As compared to 'new magic'? The hell's the difference?"

He took a moment to take in the entire situation. Dante just recovering. Iris unconscious. Midnight probably following suit. It was enough to make a grown man (him) sigh roughly.

"Damn it, with every recovery we make, we just get another person to babysit. I don't know what you did, but whatever it was, it set you back an entire night of work. Christ."