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Caleb got distant sometimes; after a fight, after a fire; this was normal, expected even. It was jarring the first few times but now the party was used to it, used to helping him come back to himself, used to taking care of things.
What they weren’t used to was the screaming.
Caleb had just thrown a one last firespell at the giant that attacked them, landing a killing blow.
The giant burned, along with the wooded patch behind them.
And then that distant look crossed over his face, his eyes seeing both nothing at all and too much.
Beau stepped forward, reached out to gently take his arm, prepared to guide him away.
Then Caleb started screaming.
“Caleb? Caleb!” Nott shouted, rushing forward, pulling at his coat. “Caleb snap out of it! Caleb!”
He didn’t even seem to notice, screaming and crying, face full of anguish as he wrapped his arms around himself, shaking violently.
“Caleb? Hey man, snap out of it!” Beau shouts, quickening her pace.
“What’s wrong with him?” Fjord shouted, also rushing over, but he was aways away; this wasn’t normal, not at all. He was screaming in agony.
The whole party was paying attention now, either rushing over, or watching, terrified.
But Caleb saw none of it; all he saw was the fire, the flames dancing in front of him, fore consuming all.
And he screamed.
“Caleb, please snap out of it.” Nott begged, tugging at his coat again, tears pricking her large eyes.
Then Caleb lunged forward, sobbing, screaming, rushing towards the fire.
“CALEB!” Nott screeched, catching up and grabbing the coat again. “CALEB! STOP!”
It did nothing; either not caring, or not realizing he kept running with wild desperation, kicking Nott to the side.
Fjord lept in front of Caleb, putting his hands out and holding the wizard back. “Whoa, hey, hey, what’s going on?” He asked, genuinely having no idea. This was new, but Caleb wasn’t fireproof, he’s seen him get burnt before.
If he got to the fire…
“I need to join them.” Caleb wailed, trying desperately to fight Fjord, reaching out; he couldn’t quite escape the others grasp, but he was thrashing so violently it was hard to hold him back. “I need to join them! Mother! Father! I’m so sorry!”
“Caleb it’s fine you need to- Ugh.” He grunted as Caleb elbowed him in the side, slipping through his arms. He tightened his grip. “Someone help me hold him down!”
“I got him!” Beau shouted, before tackling them both to the ground.
Fjord, not expecting it, was taken off guard and slightly disoriented, but it wasn’t hard to reorient himself and jump back into action.
Especially because Beau pinned Caleb’s arms down with ease. “Goddamn it, snap out of it!” She shouted. Words that seemed entirely unheard. Caleb wasn’t even looking at her, wasn’t seeing her; his panicked eyes were focused only on the fire.
“Please! Please! Mother! Father!” He screeched.
“Caleb calm down.” Fjord grunted, joining Beau in pinning him down. With two people, and being on the ground, it was much easier to pin Caleb down. He’s small after all.
But he wasn’t calming down. If anything his thrashing was getting worse, more violent and desperate.
He had started shouting in Zemnian, and nothing that Fjord was saying could calm him down.
Nott managed to right herself and rush over, kneeling right besides Caleb’s head. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s not your fault, what happened wasn’t your fault.” She reassured over and over, but it wasn’t working.
Her eyes filled with distress as she looked around at others, desperate for some way to fix this.
“Caleb, my friend.” Mollymauk finally approaches, with as much grace as always. They knelt down beside Caleb, pressing a hand against his chest, blue hand glowing slightly with magic. “You’ll forgive me for this later, but calm down alright?”
Almost immediately Caleb started to relax, but that wasn’t saying much; his breathing was heavy, eyes darting frantically, still trying to sit up; but he wasn’t thrashing anymore.
Not that he had much of a chance. While Fjord loosened his grip Beau readjusted herself and tightened it. “Please, please, I need to join them, let me join them, I deserve to join them!”
“Hey! Hey!” Molly snapped their fingers. “Don’t look at the fire. Look at me. Don’t look at anything but me.”
Caleb’s head snapped away from the fire, looking directly at Molly, still heaving.
“There we go.” Molly smiled. “There are those blue eyes. Just look at me.”
“You put a spell on him?” Nott whimpered, curling up at Caleb’s side, shushing him when he whimpered.
Molly nodded. “I just charmed him, he’ll be okay. It’ll wear off soon enough.” They explain, brushing a hand through his hair. “After he calms down.”
Only then does Beau loosen her grip. But she doesn’t dare let go. “What the Hell was that?” She snaps.
Nott fidgets nervously. “Beau, you know what happened.”
“Yeah I know what happened, but he’s never tried to light himself on fire!” She shouts. “Or has he? Has this happened before?”
Nott shakes her head. “No, I-I mean I don’t think so. I’ve never seen it.”
Fjord swallows. “I don’t want to be presumptuous, and I thought I might have been imagining it, but those fits of his, when he zones out, have been getting worse.”
“They may have.” Nott wonders, still trying to calm down Caleb, who was still whimpering.
“Please, please, I have to, I have to.”
“Hey, none of that.” Molly smiled wildly. “Just look at me.”
Silently, but notably, Yasha stepped right in front of them, using her body to block the sight of the flames.
Whether this actually did anything was unclear, but Caleb started to calm down. At least, relatively. He started sobbing, and curled up when Beau let go, resting his head on Molly’s lap as he made himself as small as possible.
Nott laid on him, trying to comfort Caleb with her weight as he sobbed in the fetal position. “There there, it’s okay.”
“I don’t know what the hell that was.” Beau grunted, crossing her arms as she stood, taking a few steps away but not looking anywhere else. “But we need to get him the fuck out of here.”
Only then did Nott seem hesitant, still snuggling up and holding him as tightly as he could. “I don’t think he’s in a state to walk. And I can’t carry him.”
Beau stomped her foot, furious, but trying to control herself. “What happened? Has this happened before?” She shouts.
Nott’s eyes darted around frantically. “No? I-I mean at least I don’t think so? I haven’t seen that before- sh, sh, it’s okay Caleb, it’s okay.”
Beau wanted to be angry; she wanted someone to blame. But Nott was a terrible liar, and she wasn’t being this dishonest.
Besides, if this did happen before it was a little too late to hide it now.
“One moment.” Molly says to the party, before gently placing Caleb’s head between their hands, which had started to take a subtle glow. “Hey, it’s been a rough day, yeah? And you know what always fixes a rough day? A good night's sleep.”
“Nights sleep?” Caleb mumbles, still shaking, eyes wide, but focused only on Molly. Not as if he had a choice.
“Yeah. A good night's sleep.” Molly lowers their voice. “Everything will seem a thousand times better in the morning, so why don’t you just doze off for a bit, okay?”
“That sounds nice.” He mumbled, before closing his eyes.
Only after his body relaxes, going limp, does Molly let go, their hands not glowing. “There. Nothing like a good night’s sleep. He should be right as rain in the morning.”
Fjord squinted. “I’m not sure anyone would be right as rain after that.” He leans down a bit, looking at Caleb. He seemed asleep, but still a bit tense. “That was a bit more than his usual fits. He’ll just zone out this was… He tried to jump into a fire.”
“Yeah what happened? What’s his issue with fire?” Jester asked, expressive face full of worry as she wrung out her hands. “Is he gonna be okay.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Beau grunted unconvincingly as she lifted Caleb up, not exactly gently, but not as rough as she usually was. “Like Molly said, a good nights sleep.”
“I think he needs more help than that.” Fjord stuttered slightly. Caleb really didn’t look well. “Did he watch his parents die in a fire or something? Because it sounds like that might have happened.”
Nott looks down.
Beau grimaces, and nods. “Yeah, yeah, something like that.” She readjusts for a moment. “But we should get out of here. Get him back to the cart and out of here before he wakes up.” Then she looks at Molly. “How long does the spell last?”
They shrug. “The spell made him fall asleep, and will hold for a few minutes, but if nothing wakes him he’ll probably sleep for awhile.”
“Good enough.” She grunted, heading to the cart.
“Be gentle!” Nott shouted, rushing behind.
Yasha takes a deep breath, shoulders untensing slightly.
Fjord reaches out a hand to Molly. “Here, let me help you up.”
“Thank you, you’re a gentleman.” They say, making no noise as Fjord pulls them up, still the embodiment of grace, then brushing some leaves off their silk pants.
“Will Caleb be okay?” Jester fretted.
“I don’t know.” Fjord mumbled, wondering if he should lie, but not able to think of one. “This was concerning though. Is his state getting worse?” Caleb was always the most fragile, physically and mentally. He couldn’t really afford to get worse.
Yasha purses her lips and speaks, low and soft. “Everyone had demons.”
“But those demons don’t usually make people light themselves on fire.” Fjord points out. “This was weird. And I don’t mean in the way that we’re all weird, I mean, dangerous weird.”
“Well for now the problem is dealt with.” Molly was smiling, a mischievous glint in their eyes, but Fjord knew them long enough to not mistake them for not caring. “If he wakes up and feels better, then great! If not,” Their smile turns sharp, eyes narrow, as they snap their fingers. “Well, a bit of charm never hurt.”
“Yeah but you can’t keep someone charmed forever.” Fjord pointed out.
“Who said anything about that?” Mollymauk laughed. “We just need him to tell us whats going on.”
Fjord grimaced. “I’m not sure. Isn’t that a bit invasive?”
“You shouldn’t do that.” Yasha mumbles awkwardly. “Taking memories like that, it, it can leave them worse. If they’re not ready.”
Molly tilted his head and spun a full circle gracefully. “Well it doesn’t seem like there's a lot worse someone can get, throwing themselves into a fire?”
“It still isn’t right.” Jester fretted, biting her lip, but she seemed unsure.
“I know.” Molly relaxed, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to, normally, but we all agree we’d do anything to protect our friends right?”
“Well yes-” Fjord starts, but is interrupted.
“Including from themselves?”
Fjord nods slowly. “Yes. I would.”
“Well, just think of it like that.” They took their hand off Molly’s shoulder and took two graceful steps back. “Caleb just needs a little extra protecting. This is how we do it.”
“I’m still not sure.” Fjord interrupts, with the slightest stutter. “Yasha’s right. That might just hurt him.”
Molly frowned, eyes glowing red. “Well, I’m not really asking. I’m saying that’s what’ll do. And if I need to play the bad guy, so all you can swoop in and play the hero, put him back together.” They shrug. “I’m okay with that.”
There’s a pause. Fjord just stares.
Then Molly laughs. “That’s only if we need to, of course. Who knows, maybe Caleb will be completely fine when he wakes up.”
“I don’t know.” Yasha mumbles, glancing at the cart; Beau and Nott had gotten it ready.
“I don’t want to hurt him.” Fjord mumbles.
Molly places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a gentle, comforting smile. “You won’t.” Then their smile widens. “I will.” Then he points at the cart.
Fjord glanced that way. He could see that Nott was tucking him under the spare canvas, taking off her cloak and folding it, tucking that under Caleb’s head.
He looked so worn; so tiny, even in his sleep.
Molly squeezes his shoulder. “He needs help, doesn’t he? Desperately. Maybe it’s time to be a little unconventional with this. We’re good at that, right?”
“I get that.” Fjord says. “But like Yasha said; using magic to force him to tell us might make him worse.”
“It’s worth the risk.” Molly frowns. “You meet a lot of people at a traveling circus. Some people on the edge, and some who have fallen off. Some people who need help and…” Their voice trails off, but only for a minute. “Some people who are beyond in.”
Then, they point at Caleb; he’s still asleep. Nott is curled up besides him, brushing a hand through his hair. She seemed to be saying something, but Fjord couldn’t hear the words. “He’s not beyond help; not yet. But I don’t know how much longer that’ll be the case.”
Fjord sighs. “I don’t like it.” A pause. “But I don’t have a better idea. Just promise to be careful, okay?”
“Of course I will.” Molly says, softly. “I don’t want to hurt him either.”
“Hey!” Beau shouted. “Are you all going to catch up? Or are we going to be here all day?”
“Yeah coming.” Fjord shouted, before sighing. “We should probably catch up.”
“Yeah.” Yasha grunted, walking to the cart.
“Of course.” Molly said melodically, sauntering over.
Fjord started to walk over, but was stopped, when Jester grabbed his arm. “Fjord, is Caleb going to be okay?”
There was a shake in her voice, a quiver in her lips; Jester wasn’t done, but she was the most sheltered out of all of them. This was probably the first time she’d ever seen anything like this; maybe the first time she’d even heard of it.
“I don’t know.” Fjord says honestly, placing his hand on hers, giving it a comforting squeeze. “But we’ll be there for him if he’s not. We’ll be there to help him.”
She still seemed unsure. “I guess that’s okay. I don’t want that to happen again.”
“Hey! Quit making out back there and get on the cart!” Beau shouts.
Fjord ignores her, for a few moments at least. “None of us do. Which is why we’ll help him with whatever he needs.”
She nods. “Yeah. Yeah!” Then she smiles; it's not her usual smile, but still genuine. “We should probably get him home, Molly’s right, I think he needs less.”
“I think you’re right.” Fjord chuckles. “Lets get Caleb Home.”