lepidope

Light of The Rebellion

Matias stared into Midnight's eyes, his brow furrowing slightly. His hands slid off of her body as soon as he could make sure that Midnight wouldn't flop like a fish.

Hopefully.

"Ah?"

He turned to Dante.

"Oh, that thing... Well, the lab results are moot at this point–"

He eyed Oleander for a split second.

"–but the data opened a few doors. We think there's definitely a pattern in the disappearances."

Light of The Rebellion

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."

Light of The Rebellion

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."

Light of The Rebellion

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.

Light of The Rebellion

"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.

Light of The Rebellion

"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.

Light of The Rebellion

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."

Light of The Rebellion

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.

Light of The Rebellion

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."

Light of The Rebellion

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?"