Gloria screeched as her wings closed and legs endured impact. Dust kicked up like a violent sandstorm as the siblings got to work on ensuring their ally's survival.
Jakery carried the Stram pups in the large chest plate he wore over black cloth, as he stumbled down the Sky Beast he began to yell out for help. "Danitour! Danitour where are you? Can we use your home for now?!? We have a dying Fe-"
He glanced over to his brother, who seemed like a mindless brute with a dead stare. As Ether walked closer to the door, he couldn't help but grunt, as if he was out of breath.
When he pulled his head back, Jakery knew what he was going to do next. His forehead clashed with a closed door, breaking it off its hinges.
"It's okay, Oria, you'll rest soon," he whispered down to her. "All I need is to find a room for you."
Shivers went down Jakery's spine as Ether stumbled into Danitour's home unwelcomed. Blood decorated his armor in a sickening crimson color.
"Wait, we didn't ask him if we could bring her here," Jakery tried to persuade his brother.
But he did not care, all Ether did was look over his shoulder with a dead stare. "I am the leader of the Legion, Danitour bows to me."
Another loud crack notified Jakery of Ether's brutality as he broke into another room. Blue paint decorated the room, guiding his attention to a purple sheeted bed in the corner.
His first reaction was to bring Oria to it, then he would have to search for help. But he knew there was someone else he could use instead of doing it all himself.
"Jakery, go get Valentine!" he ordered.
Like a frightened warrior, he obeyed. Running away from the doorframe in a random direction where he assumed Valentine was.
Now alone, Ether placed Oria on the bed. It creaked as the Feral rested over it, motionless. Unfathomable pain broke him down to pieces, the same one he felt after realizing he killed Demon.
Ether's watery eyes stared down at her, pity swirled inside the tear drops. He struggled to speak over the pressure he felt, so he resorted to doing something else - something more sentimental.
Oria's unharmed hand was towards him. It was perfect, he thought. She was perfect - the perfect Feral. Motherly and beautiful, just like his mother.
As his hand reached for her's, Ether imagined he was going for Lya's hand. Once he had it in his, he slowly brought it closer to his body. He stared at it for a moment before giving it a gentle kiss.
Before his head pulled away, a tear dropped onto her hand. If Oria was awake, she would have felt the warmth in it.
"Wh - what the hell happened?" Valentine asked in utter shock. "Ether, quickly go get some scraps of leftover cloth somewhere near the Armory or something. We need to do something quick."
In response, he shook his head. "We are not waiting for me to get back. Start working on her."
Valentine unmasked himself. "Ether, I - I cannot start working on her now. It - it's going to be difficult trying to keep all the blood -"
"Maybe you did not hear me correctly. Start working on fixing her... now," Ether demanded.
There was something off about Ether's voice, Valentine noticed. However, he could not understand what it was. It sounded like passion, hatred, hope.
Even though he did not understand what it was, he did understand how high the stakes were in this one. He instantly flocked over her, keeping his head fixed to her open wounds.
"All the blood on your armor - does it belong to her?" he quickly spoke.
"Yes, all of it," Ether replied just as fast.
Valentine used his Third Rule to manually circulate the blood flow in Oria's body. But it could only do so much since the wounds were still open. He reached down to cut himself, but Ether stopped him.
"This one happened because of my blindness," he said while unsheathing Tellendor. "I need to donate what you need."
Before Valentine could stop him, Ether ran Tellendor over his left cheek. Wine-colored blood oozed out of the open wound, quickly dripping down to his armor.
Despite how intense it felt, Valentine had to run with it. He used his other hand to collect the blood, then used it to restore some portions of her body. Such as veins and blood cells.
Jakery stumbled back into the room, hugging himself as he walked. "I managed to secure us a place to stay for the night, maybe even move into. I figured you did not want to sleep over at the bunker tonight."
Upon hearing the news, Ether felt the warmth of tears roll down his cheeks. Causing the open wound to seethe. Tellendor dropped to the ground with a metal clink as he rushed over to his side.
In that moment, all he could think about is how he had to figure himself out. Everything felt surreal to him, except for Jakery's presence. He wrapped his arms around his sibling, then gave him a peck on the cheek.
While the brotherly affection consumed Jakery, he hugged Ether back. He knew just how much it impacted him. Now was the time to prove everything his older brother did for him would be repaid.
Valentine continued to breathe heavily. "I'm afraid... I'm afraid she might not make it. This might just be in vain."
Ether bit his bottom lip. "You stay here and monitor her at all times, all of your duties are mine now until she is confirmed dead or somehow survives."
"Hmm, every time you mention Oria I wonder if what you do and say about her is regarding the need to pass down your heritage to the next generation," Valentine replied.
Jakery stepped back from his brother's grasp, watching Ether grow in size for a few seconds as he turned to face their Sherpa.
"Not every relationship is about love and romance," Ether started for the door. "Sometimes all I want is to see her smile."