Fajr

Chapter 4: We Conjure a Plan

Vane above ^

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Sun POV

I knew that Earth was unstable, but I didn't think he'd be unstable enough to have a panic attack in the middle of this moving silver box. He started clawing at the doors while breathing heavily, often choking on the air he was breathing. I wanted to get up and stand over him so he'd feel safer, but I couldn't move without crushing anyone. I settled on wrapping my long tail around him and pulling him into my chest. He wrapped his arms around me and dug his claws in. I winced, but focused more on calming him down.

"Earth? Earth, you gotta breathe buddy. Follow my breathing, okay?" I called soothingly too him. He gasped erratically, but tried to follow.

His breathing was slowing and the claws digging viciously into my sides loosened. I let go with my tail as his claws let go of my skin. He took a deep shuddering sigh, curling further into me. I heard a dinging in the background. Looking up I saw that Moon and Vane had stepped out of the box and were motioning for us to follow. I nudged Earth, while slowly standing up. Earth dug his claws back into my sides, hanging from my underside like a koala. I sighed and waddled out.

The blood slowly dripping from my side and onto the carpet didn't bother me, but Vane muttered something. He shook his head, walking to a door with the number 73 on it in gold. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door, motioning for us to come inside. I stepped inside, Moon on my heels, and glanced around. The first five feet of the floor was marble, a shoe rack set on the wall near the carpet and a doorless closet on the other side. There were coats of three different sizes hung up and what looked like duffel bags sitting on the shelf above. The hall continued farther, opening into a room I couldn't see from here.

Vane kicked his shoes off and put them on the rack before moving deeper into the apartment. I was now more concerned about the blood, it started pooling below me, plinking softly with each drop. I nudged Earth, who let go but remained underneath me. I wanted to try to clean the mess I was making but couldn't. Not only did I not have a functioning maw right now, but Earth was still cowering beneath me. While I was contemplating what to do, Vane came back with a bowl and a roll of bandages. Oh yeah, healer.

Vane stepped around to my side and pulled a sponge out of the bowl, rung it, and dabbed at the claw marks. The flow had eased considerably, but still oozed when he wiped it. He ran the cloth over the marks again, before putting the cloth into the pink water and unrolling the bandages. He wrapped them around my midsection, trying his best to not touch Earth.

"Thank you." I muttered.

"No problem. Let's head to the living room." He smiled while standing up and taking the bowl with him. I wandered after him, Moon sniffing at the bandages on my side. The hall opened into a living room on the right and a kitchenette to the left. I walked to the right and settled onto the three-man couch facing the windows. Earth clambered up onto my back and squished himself between the couch and my back. Moon sat next to me and laid her head on the armrest. I watched Vane move around the kitchen from over my shoulder. He dumped the bowl out and put in under the counter next to the sink before moving to sit on the armchair that faced the couches.

"So... You three are the Others? I was under the impression that there were four of you..." Vane began awkwardly.

"There are four of us, but Darkness stole from us and we're disowning him until we get it back. We need your help to retrieve it," I explained while shuffling to sit more comfortably.

"How did that happen?"

--oh no, another timeskip... but this one's name is CARL--

"-and that's that." I ended. I'd ended up explaining the whole story to Vane, who'd gotten up to get refreshments. Moon and I couldn't physically hold something so we shared a bowl on the floor, but Earth was sipping from his glass with no difficulty. Stupid thumbs.