A THOUSAND YEARS ✶ druig (eternals) / hiatus

⒈⒈⒋ 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒗𝒊𝒖𝒔

ACT ONE. CHAPTER FOUR,
MOUNT VESUVIUS

warnings: natural disaster, description of death

━━━━━ ʚ ♡⃛ ɞ ━━━━━

There was a loud knock on the door, and Vita shot up from her seat. She squinted her eyes at the window, seeing that it was still early morning, and the sun had not yet peaked from behind the horizon. What time was it? Was she late for work? Decimus was going to kill her if that was the case. She ripped her shawl off of her head and scurried out of her seat to bathe. There was another knock. Vita forgot that the knock at the door was what woke her up.

"I promise you that I'm coming to work, please don't drop me!" Vita exclaimed as she changed into a brand new tunic.

"This isn't Decimus," mused the voice outside the house.

She beamed at the sound of his voice and wrapped another shawl around her head. Vita let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." She scuffled her feet across the floor, meeting Druig by the entrance. Vita smiled while leaning her head against the arch. "Hey," she breathed out while grinning, which he gratefully returned. Vita cleared her throat, fixing the shawl on her head, "I don't really have much time, I think--"

"He isn't working yet," Druig interrupted rather politely. Vita remained silent, but the worry on her face disappeared. "No one is, in fact. That's actually why I came here to visit you."

Vita scoffed playfully, "You're here to remind me to hurry up?" she asked. He did not laugh along, and instead shook his head solemnly. In response, she straightened her posture. "You seem so serious. Is there something wrong?"

Druig sighed, peering down at his shoes before looking back at her. "A handful of townspeople, including Decimus, awoke with a pain in their chest... they felt completely heartbroken for no apparent reason," he explained.

Vita felt her heart sink to the floor, her hand covered her gaping mouth. "A handful of people in town have felt what I've felt?" she inquired in disbelief. Druig nodded slowly, folding his hands in front of him. He slouched his shoulders, eyes fixated on his fidgeting hands. Vita covered her face with her palms, sheltering herself from everyone else, "Ohh, I feel so terrible. I'm so careless! I had this nightmare, and I lost control of my emotions," she groaned, her voice muffled from her hands.

"Sersi informed me of your encounter last night, and after hearing the trouble through word of mouth, I pieced it all together," he explained quietly. He expected an answer from her, only to be met with a witch filled to the brim with shame. He heaved a sigh, and continued, "It's not your fault," he insisted. Vita's eyes peaked from between her fingers, raising a brow at him. At that moment, Druig knew he was not as cautious with his words as he initially intended. "Well, partially... but you can always make it up to them if you're really up for it," he continued, clasping his hands around hers to take them off her face. Instinctively, he took her hands into his.

Vita let out a shaky breath, "Thank you," she whispered genuinely, placing a palm on top of his hand. "I have to go now. I should check up on him..." she drawled, referring to Decimus.

"Before you go," Druig interrupted as she tried to walk past him. He wrapped his hand around her forearm, "I must tell you that the rest of my team will be departing shortly."

She knew this day would come, just not as suddenly as now. Her heart sank further into her chest, but she maintained a smile on her face. "Who are you all off to help now?" Vita questioned, masking the misery in her voice to the best of her ability.