The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Twenty-five: Нежность - Nezhnost ~ Part Two

[WARNING: Panic attack.]

~Chapter Twenty-five: Нежность – Nezhnost~

At least it wasn't death by bath, I guess.

I close my eyes to block the quickly approaching rock out of my sight, hoping it will be swift...but the blow never comes. Instead, a hand grabs the back of my shirt and an arm wraps around torso, stopping my descent entirely. Rather than falling headfirst towards a rock, I end up being yanked back against Perun as he pulls me into a tight hug.

When I dare to open my eyes and look up at Perun's face, his breathing is erratic and his expression livid. I eye him warily, not sure about his reaction and what it could mean. My wariness only grows when he does not say anything right away and only tries to calm his uneven breathing. A concerning thought appears in my mind, and I start to eye him for an entirely different reason.

I have yet to have an after-death hallucination, but what if this is just some weird moment after a death? New things happen from time to time.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I do not get to dwell on that thought long before Perun interrupts it. "What was that?" Perun demands. Suddenly uncomfortable, I look away. This apparently does nothing to appease the king god, though, as he snaps, "You could have saved yourself. Were you just going to let it happen?"

He sounds...

I mentally force away myself to not think about it and glare silently down at the rock I almost let myself get brained on. It would not have been a pleasant death, but it would have been more pleasant that whatever is going to happen next. If that was not what was going to kill me, I am not sure I want to know what will.

However, when Perun picks me up and starts carrying me back to the house without another word, though, I have a pretty good idea of how I will die, and I really do not like it. I sullenly close my eyes again, ignoring the sting behind them. Why couldn't I have died a stupid death? It would have fucking hurt less.

"That was fast," Hors comments, his back to us when we reenter the kitchen a few minutes later. Perun does not reply right way but instead sets me down on a chair at the table. I keep my eyes closed, sinking down in my chair a little when I hear him walk away.

From where I am sitting, I can hear a hushed conversation take place to my left, but I cannot make out the words. A moment later, I hear someone approach, but the footfall does not sound like Perun's, which is distinctly louder than Hors, as the king god clearly learned how to walk from a rhinoceros. So, it is no surprise when a warm hand touches the top of my head and fingers start threading through my hair.

"I thought I told you that we aren't going to let you die, Veles," Hors says, as calm as can be. At this point, I am not even sure if it is a ruse or if he is just a genuinely collected person.

Not sure what to say to that, I tilt my face away from him, but do not attempt to dislodge the hand moving through my hair. Hors sighs, likely at my lack of response, but does not attempt to remove his hand either. Instead, he just uses it to move my head to rest against his hip.

When nothing happens for a while, with the only sound coming from Hors' fingers gently scraping against my scalp and Perun stirring something in the kitchen, having taken over for Hors while the sun god is here with me, I open my eyes. I glance at the clock, curious how much time I have left, and then almost give myself whiplash when I have to look at it again, my cheek brushing against the rough fabric of Hors' jeans and likely turning my skin pink.