Did You Miss Me?, Tag: Silas

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert answered the landline, not-quite groggy with sleep.

He nodded once, fully awake, "I'll be there quickly, stay calm."

He hung up the phone and dressed, he strapped his longsword to his hip, put his pocketwatch in his pocket, and got in his car, driving faster than he ever had before.

He parked in the Temporal treasures parking lot and let himself in.
"Silas?" His voice betrayed worry and love and a soldiers discipline, "Silas are you alright?"

[Silas Lews Moreau]

Silas nearly broke down when Gideon crushed him so tightly in a hug that he couldn't tell where he and Gideon were separate. He listened to his partner and understood even as his heart broke with love.

This was going to be worse for Gideon. The waiting. So much worse, no matter what Satoru put Silas through before the end. "I will. I promise," he whispered back. Gideon's cheek was wet, and Silas thought that his own must be as well, though neither of them would ever know whose tears were whose.

And then Gideon was gone, and Silas didn't even have the strength to see him to the door.

For some reason, that hurt most of all.

Only a few seconds later, Robin came back in, knelt down beside him, and swore to keep Gideon safe, to pass letters between them, and to help Silas end this monster. Silas mustered a smile, even managed some strength to it. "You have nothing to apologize for," he murmured. "You're keeping the person we both love safe. You're the only one who can. I promise, I'll end this as soon as I can."

And then Robin was gone. Silas could tell the moment they had both left, because at that instant, the house felt the way it had before Gideon had entered his life.

Cold. Empty.

Silas closed his eyes and tried not to cry.

Rupert is on his way, Silas reminded himself after a few moments had passed. He was dressed only in his nightshift, and he didn't have the energy to change into something more presentable. At least he had clothing on. And he had tea, which would be rather difficult to carry into the kitchen, along with the pot, but he'd manage.

Silas slowly stood up, using the bedframe for support. He breathed in and out slowly until his head found some semblance of balance. Then he carefully took the teapot and his teacup in each hand and shuffled slowly out the door.

He made it to the kitchen table, barely, and set the teapot and his mug down. Silas collapsed into the chair and felt the room swim. He lowered his head and breathed.

There was wetness on his neck. Dammit. The exertion of moving, plus the blood that was slowly reintroducing itself to his system, had caused the wound to bleed again. Silas was not getting up to find bandages, so instead he tore off several paper towels and pressed a wad of them to his neck.

Silas sipped his tea and tried not to hink of how alone he was, and how much he already missed Gideon, and how he didn't know how long it would take before Satoru was dead. Thankfully, Rupert arrived before long. Silas cleared his throat and raised his voice as much as possible. "I'm inside, at the table," he called.

Damn did that hurt his throat.

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert walked into the kitchen to find Silas sitting at the table. He softened the minute he looked at the man.
"Silas..." He took a breath, "Let me make more tea," he offered a small, weak smile, "and bandage that cut on your neck. Then, tell me everything that happened."

He made more tea and grabbed some bandages, tending to Silas' cut with worried, gentle precision, "It bit you..." he said quietly, "Sod it to Hades, the bastard," He cleaned the bite as gently as he could, "Is Mr. Strong safe?"

[Silas Lews Moreau]

The instant that Rupert came into view, Silas felt better. He still ached with Gideon's absence, but he was no longer alone. And Gideon was safe.

"Ginger, please," Silas managed to say. No other tea would do, because he'd drank five blood-bags recently and oh god he needed GINGER. "Thank you, Rupert."

Silas allowed his eyes to close while he listened to Rupert make the tea. Silas felt cold for some reason, and he felt as though he was shivering even though he wasn't actually doing so. Shock, Silas thought. Aftermath of shock. Now that his mind had time to think and his body had time to relax, the stress was crashing him.

When Rupert returned, Silas lowered the paper towels from his neck and tilted his head slightly to the side. "He did more than just bite me," Silas said quietly. "He drained me. Almost completely." He sighed and swallowed. "Gideon is safe and unharmed. Robin is already taking him to the Mists. I think the only reason Gideon isn't dead right now is because Satoru expected me to attack him. ...It was horrible, Rupert. I couldn't do anything to stop him. Nothing. I woke up and he was there and..."

Silas needed to gather his thoughts. He was rambling, or starting to. There were so many things he needed to say, and they were tripping all over one another.

[Rupert Crane V]

"Ssssh, Sssh," Rupert said quietly, he finished bandaging the bite, "Slow down Silas," He put a gentle, caring hand on Silas' shoulder, "Its ok."

He let out a breath, "The hag drained you?" He thought back to everything Silas had just said, "But...Gideon is....unharmed? You didn't..." He smiled, and gave Silas a hug, "You proved me wrong." He said quietly, "Well done." He pulled away and leveled his eyes with Silas' sitting in the chair beside him, "Now, start at the beginning."

[Silas Lews Moreau]

Silas returned the hug and huffed a quiet, happy breath. Yes, Silas had proved him wrong. He'd proven Satoru wrong.

Silas's will was unbreakable.

He smiled back at Rupert with no small amount of pride on his pale and pained face. "Just takes a strong enough will," he replied. "He can't break me." He has no idea how strong I really am.

And then Rupert sat down and told him to start from the beginning. Silas could do that. He took his mug in his hands--because he would need the solidity--and focused his mind.

"I heard a sigh in the room," Silas began. "That's what woke me. I was holding Gideon, and the sigh had come from behind me, so I knew. I woke, I turned enough to look at him."

Silas paused there in the narrative to describe Satoru as best he could. Height, build, facial shape and features, the cut of his hair. "I can sketch a picture of him later, but I don't think my hands are steady enough right now."

Silas went on to describe what the Night Hag had said to him. "He knew about the weapons. I don't know how, but he knew, and before I could even reach for them, he said...he said..." The words kept dying in his throat because of how horrifying they were. It was only made worse with how soft Satoru's voice had been. A pleasant voice, if not for the message it had delivered. When Silas did continue, his voice became flat and devoid of emotion or inflection. "He said...'Remember your speed, my love. Before you reached your knife or gun, I would have your whore's throat slit. So be still."

It may not have been the exact wording, but it was close enough.

Silas cleared his throat. "I didn't know what else to do. Gideon was still asleep, and the Night Hag is so fast. He's so much faster than I am; I knew he wasn't bluffing. So I stayed still. He reached out and touched my cheek, asked me if I had missed him."

It was horrifying how spot-on Rupert had been about the Night Hag's feelings towards Silas.

"All I could think was that I really didn't want to piss him off, what with Gideon right there. So I tried for a diplomatic answer. Told him that the waiting hadn't been pleasant. He just...chuckled. He told me not to pretend I wanted to see him. He said 'I know your heart'." Silas paused there again, and his eyes went hard. "He doesn't." His voice was braced with iron. "He has no idea how strong I am."

Silas let out a slow breath and sipped his tea. Ginger. Washing away the taste and calming his stomach (or so Silas liked to think anyway). "I said I wanted a name. He said that I hadn't needed a name to fear him before, so why should I have one now? His hand was around my neck by that point, but I couldn't do anything about it. I would have fought him, but...Gideon." Silas felt anguish tear through him, and he forced the unhelpful emotion away. Gideon was safe. He hadn't been hurt.

"I said that he'd never shown himself like this before, and asked for his name again. Gideon woke up then, and sat up of all things. The Night Hag didn't attack him. Just nodded to him and said 'Hello, Gideon.' Then he said he goes by 'Satoru'. And..."

Silas took another swallow of his tea, because this part was hard. "He said, 'Does that satisfy you, Silas?'" Silas lifted his eyes and met Rupert's. "Satoru is stronger than I expected. His voice...it had power. He said 'satisfy', and the word came alive. I could feel Gideon react to it--he made this noise in response--and Satoru's power felt to me like cold fingers worming their way into my chest. It was violating. I was terrified by that point, but without ay other ideas, I just thanked him and asked 'why me? Why did you pick me?'"

Silas looked down into his teacup. "I wanted to keep him talking. But I also did want to know. It's something I still don't understand." He shook his head slowly, mindful of the bandage. "He didn't answer, though. That was when he stopped playing. He looked at Gideon, and he said 'You will not move.' And Gideon...he froze, Rupert. He became completely still. Satoru has...his voice does things. Gideon didn't have a choice. He didn't move the entire rest of the time. Once...once that was done, Satoru bent close to me. His eyes were...god, Rupert. I've seen people without souls before. This...this felt beyond that somehow."

Silas shivered. He couldn't help it. He told Rupert what the hag had said next, about how it had been so long since their last time together, and how he'd waited. He told Rupert how Satoru had dug his fingernails into Silas's neck and whispered into his ear how he was going to drink him dry, as much as he could.

"I panicked. I screamed. I grabbed for the knife and I actually managed to stab him," Silas said. "I'm not sure how good a blow it was though, because he didn't seem to be fazed overly much by it. He was angry, but his anger was...cold and quiet. He told me that it was my blood or Gideon's, and to choose." Silas shrugged. "I told him to take me, of course. So he did. When Gideon woke me, Satoru was gone."

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert shook with wrath, with hatred, with new found desire to find all fangs and ash them (Silas being the exception). He closed his eyes and listened as SIlas related the tale.

He took detailed mental notes on Satoru, everything Silas could tell him. He'd ask Reg to hunt the monster down, though tracking had never been the other hunter's strongest suit. Rupert would stay with Silas.

"You're alright." He offered as soothingly as possible, "Shall I make something to eat?" He found that he was brushing Silas' hair with one hand as though the other man was a child, "You're alright."

[Silas Lews Moreau]

Rupert's voice and fingers were soothing. Silas found himself closing his eyes and leaning his head into the gentle touch. The retelling had taken more out of Silas than he'd expected it would. Gideon was gone, and so was Robin. Rupert was here, and Silas was so tired. It was from the stress, the blood loss, and the arrival of comfort and safety in the form of a caring, protective man.

Rupert offered to make food, and for the first time, Silas felt slightly ill at the thought. He had six packets of blood in him--probably less digesting at this point--and two large cups of ginger tea.

"I'll have to pass on the offer," he admitted, smiling ruefully without opening his eyes. "My stomach isn't really up for that right now." He sighed. He'd have to restock on his supply tomorrow. "You're right though..." Silas opened his eyes and found Rupert's. "I'm okay. Surprisingly, I'm okay. Gideon is safe, and Satoru...he underestimated me. And now, no matter what he does, he can't break me. I'm okay. Tired, though. God, I'm tired."

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert nodded, "You should sleep." He said softly, "Might I borrow your phone?" He gave Silas a tired, worried expression, "I'll be by your side constantly until this threat is gone," he promised, "Every evening, I'll be here." He exhaled softly, "Come, I'll carry you too your room,"

He lifted Silas up carefully. The old hunter was surprising strong and he carried Silas as though he weighed little more than a doll. When he deposited Silas back in his bed he gave a tired, worried smile, "Let me bring you more tea, I shall be here, just beside your door, 'til dawn."

[Silas Lews Moreau]

Silas nodded in response to Rupert's request to borrow his phone. "It's..." Silas had patted his lower chest where he usually kept his phone in a pocket, and then realized that he was wearing his nightshift and didn't have his phone with him. "It's in the bedroom."

Which Rupert conveniently decided to carry him to, after promising him that he'd be there, by his side, every evening until it was all over. Silas found himself curling his arms around Rupert's neck and smiling despite it all. "Thank you, Rupert." He found himself talking more, too, just because he wanted to and he felt safe. "God I miss him already. Gideon. It's..." He sighed as Rupert set him down on the bed. Silas leaned his head back on the pillow and smiled up at his friend. "I'm glad I won't be alone."

Silas tilted his head to the side and indicated the phone on the nightstand next to him. "It's not locked or anything. Feel free to use it."

Rupert would need to call Reggie, Silas figured.

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert took the phone, "Back in two jots." he said with a bit of a smile. He stepped out of the room and dialed Reggie's number.

"Reg," He exhaled, "I'm at Silas', the Night hag appeared, drained Silas near dry. I'm staying here this evening."

he took a breath, "Everything has calmed down yes. Mr. Strong has gone into the mists. We're looking for an asian man, name of 'Satoru', tall, standard night hag fare...voice projection...yes. Thank you."

He hung up the phone and refilled a teacup with the last of the ginger tea before walking back into Silas' bedroom. He handed the cup to Silas and sat down on the bedside.
"Sleep," He said softly, "I'll keep an eye out."

[Silas Lews Moreau]

Silas could probably have heard what Rupert was saying to Reggie in the phone without even trying, but he wasn't paying attention at all. His mind was elsewhere, drifting. He was exhausted. Exhausted, shaken, but okay.

His eyes re-opened when Rupert entered the room again, this time holding both the phone and a cup with what must have been the last of the ginger tea. Silas accepted the cup with a smile and felt the bed dip in response to Rupert's not-insignificant weight. It was another subtle reminder that Silas wasn't alone.

"Thanks, Rupert. I can't...I'll never be able to thank you properly for all you've done for me," he said. "But I will try." He sipped his tea and sighed. "Distilled essence of ginger. Technically an herbal tea, but damned if I care. Ginger is amazing."

And Silas was starting to ramble. Ooookay. He finished the cup, set it aside, and gave Rupert another smile in thanks and affection before he allowed himself to drift into sleep.

[Rupert Crane V]

Rupert moved off the bed as Silas began to drift away, he settled himself against the bedroom door and breathed.

He would sit up all night, unmoving, still as stone.

Heaven help the night hag if he appeared a second time. It was unlikely, but Rupert was prepared regardless.

"Flowers for the dead.
Charity for the saints.
The sweet kiss of death for the wicked."

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Fin