"You said they were painkillers."
They turned to look at Cardin where he was standing behind them. That feeling of being the only one left out of Keary's world heightened, but he stuck his chin out obstinately. Nigel saw, and interpreted it as objection.
"He would never have let us knock him out," he said gently. "This bastard can be pretty feral, and we can't patch him up if he's busy thrashing around." He rose. "We need alcohol, water in a basin, a lighter, and clean cloths from the kitchen. Shun, the kits. I'll get the sheet from the basement."
Cardin nodded and turned to obey as Shun headed for the cabinet behind the couch and Nigel vanished down the stairs to the basement. He took awhile to find the items, and when he returned he found that Nigel and Shun had already taken Keary's coat and shirt off and had moved him to lie on his side on a large groundsheet. Cardin stood staring in shock at the deep, oozing gashes that ran down Keary's left back, shoulder and arm.
Putain de merde–
"One of them had a morningstar." Nigel's tired voice broke through, and continued giving instructions. "Put the things down here and wear these." He held out a pair of thin latex gloves to the blonde.
Cardin set the things beside the sewing and medical kits, the latter through which Shun was rummaging. The curly-haired boy extracted various tools and handed them to Nigel, who set about sterilising them, before finally retrieving a syringe.
"Low on needles," Shun muttered, reaching into his pocket and producing another sealed vial. He turned to Cardin as he pulled a pair of the light blue gloves over his own black leather ones. "Um, could you clean up his arm a little?"
"O-okay." Gingerly, Cardin used the alcohol-wet cloth Nigel handed him to wipe away the blood on Keary's arm as best he could, until Shun nudged him gently aside.
"That's fine." He plunged the needle without hesitation into Keary's arm. "Alright, it's in. He should normalise in a few minutes."
"What's that?"
"It's an antidote. He was poisoned."
"POISONED?"
"It isn't lethal! At least, it's not designed to be. It just… slows the heart." Shun glanced down at Keary. "Actually, it's quite amazing that he was still conscious. Sheer willpower, I guess."
Nigel beckoned to the blonde. "Here, too." When Cardin scooted over, he continued, "We'll start with the wounds on his back and work our way forward." He saw Cardin's face as the blonde took in the purpling bruises along Keary's flank, and sighed. "There's nothing we can do about those, but there doesn't seem to be any vital damage. Don't worry, Cardin. This guy has survived much worse."
Worse?? Cardin clenched his jaw to suppress the questions that bubbled up inside him. Now wasn't the time. He would demand answers after Keary was taken care of. Together with Shun, he followed Nigel's instructions to sterilise the wounds and stem the bleeding as much as possible.
When they began stitching up the more grievous lacerations, Cardin shifted over to clean the smaller cuts on Keary's chest and face. Bruises were already purpling in a crooked semicircle along his brow bone down to his cheek and on his jaw, and the skin had split in several places. Cardin's heart ached to see him in this state.
Eventually, they finished tending to his wounds. Nigel and Shun hoisted him between them up the stairs while Cardin hurried ahead, leading them to the master bedroom. As they laid him down, the sound of the doorbell being pressed multiple times in a hurry rang faintly from downstairs.
Nigel looked at Shun and jerked his head toward the door. "Go let them in. I'll be right down." In answer to Cardin's questioning look, he said, "It's the other three that you met earlier."
"I can manage him here."
"You sure?" Nigel hesitated, then slipped his arm out from under Keary's shoulders. "We'll be downstairs for a bit, if that's okay with you."
"Sure." Cardin watched Nigel disappear out the door, then set about tucking Keary securely under the blankets and filling a glass with water. As he set it on the bedside table, he turned to find the argent eyes half open.
"Keary? Oh my god, Keary?"
The pupils of his eyes were dilated, the silver barely visible, but they moved towards the sound of Cardin's voice, albeit unsteadily.
"Still here," he mumbled.
"What?"
"You're still here."
"Of course I am. Where else would I go?"
"Away…" Away from here, away from me. I know that you're too bright for me to hold onto for long. I know that you're too beautiful for me to keep. I know, I know… "You won't stay."
"What? Why would you say that?" Cardin cried.
A small scoffing sound came from him as his eyes drifted closed once more.
"Nobody does."
...
"Seriously!" Mikka roared. "Nobody said any fucking thing about a morningstar motherfucker! What the flying fuck even??"
"Mikka, stop shouting!" Finneas yelled, flicking his long, fair braid over his shoulder before adding in a quieter voice, "You're giving Kumiko a headache. You know how sensitive she is to sound."
He indicated the raven-haired girl on the couch, who sighed as she massaged her temples. "So what do we do now? We didn't manage to accomplish the mission, and they've hired someone else to protect them. Keary's our best fighter, and he's down. Do we just resign the job? Are we even allowed to do that?"
Nigel, to whom the question was directed, also sighed. "To be honest, I'm not sure. We've never been in this position before. The client sounded pretty urgent, so I'm not sure we can give it up just like that without a huge blow to our reputation. But then, there's that morningstar asshole to deal with…"
"AGAIN–! WHO! THE FUCK!! WAS THAT!!!"
"Shut up, Mikka!" Shun interjected. "If any of us here knew, we would've said! So just cool your little blue head and–"
"But he nicked your knife, Shun! And then he just kept going for Keary…" The girl's voice, which had been so loud just a moment ago, wavered, and her chin began to wobble. "Keary would've been fine if he hadn't… if he hadn't…" She covered her face with her hands and began to sob as Kumiko moved to comfort her.
"It's not your fault Kiki. It was a fight. Unexpected things happen."
"Kumiko's right," Nigel growled. "It's Keary who's largely to blame. He was way too careless today. If he had done the recce properly without being seen, they wouldn't have known we were coming, and wouldn't have had time to call for backup."
From the corner where he sat, Finneas repeated Kumiko's earlier question. "So, what do we do now? We don't stand a chance against them if that guy's still there, not without Keary."
"We hit them again."
All five heads whipped towards the source of the new voice, and saw Cardin leaning against the doorframe to the stairs with his arms crossed.
"Cardin! How long have you been there?"
The blonde ignored Nigel's question and continued speaking, crossing the floor. "I can help you strategise a new plan. We'll finish your job, reestablish your reputation, and get back at the bastards who hurt Keary. But first," he planted himself firmly in front of them, "you're going to tell me everything."
...