━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

It was all happening so fast.

Caelum had noticed Theron sneak out while supposedly on watch for the third day in a row now, and he'd finally decided to see for himself what really was going on. He'd tailed Theron through the night, weaving through paths between houses, footsteps light and hurried.

Theron had broken into a jog upon arriving at the convenience store, heading straight towards a feeble-looking shadow crouched at the front of it. Caelum had strained his vision, watching the figure crumple like a ragdoll, Theron crouching in front of it.

Not it. Her. It was Azalea.

Caelum had listened to their conversation in a quiet shock. His blood had gone ice cold at Theron's last words.

"I'm going to kill Caelum."

Caelum, hands shaking, had drawn his bow from where it was strapped across his back. Then he'd made himself known.

And before he knew it, Theron had thrown himself into the air. The bow was knocked from Caelum's hand, his teeth rattling as he found himself slammed to the dusty ground hard enough that his brain seemed to ring like a gong. The quiver of arrows strapped to his back knocked against his spine.

Theron was on top of him, spittle flying from his mouth as he wrestled Caelum to the ground. Caelum struggled upward, his own face twisted in a sneer. Though Caelum was taller, Theron had a few more pounds of muscle.

Caelum jammed upwards with his knee, nailing Theron dead in the groin. Theron gave a strangled grunt of pain. Caelum used that split second of vulnerability to explode upwards. He sprang to his feet, throwing Theron backwards.

Theron was upright immediately. Caelum lashed out with his fist. Blood speckled the gravel underfoot, dribbling down Theron's chin. Caelum struck again before Theron could recover. Theron stumbled back against the wall of the convenience store, bruises already purpling around his face.

Caelum poised to attack once more, but Theron raised his hands in surrender. Caelum froze, his heart cracking with every pained breath that Theron took. Azalea was silent a couple feet away, her golden eyes wide with horror. She was trembling, too weak to help.

"Caelum, I'm sorry." Theron rasped, wiping a stream of blood that trickled from his nose. "I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' doesn't fix your betrayal," Caelum spat. His knuckles ached. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"What can I say, then?" Theron choked out. His fingers inched towards his stick, strapped around his belt. Then, he lunged.

Caelum was ready. He sprang backwards, Theron's stick slashing through the air where Caelum's face had been not even a second earlier. Theron snarled in frustration. Caelum dodged Theron's blows, until the fourth one connected with his jaw. Thankfully, only the blunt end of the stick hit home, though pain still exploded along his mouth. The metallic tang of blood tickled his tongue.

Caelum went low, barreling into Theron's torso and slamming him against the wall of the convenience store. The air was audibly knocked from Theron's lungs. Caelum landed a couple more lightning-fast punches before Theron caught his fist and struck back.

Theron's fist connected with Caelum's nose this time. Caelum reeled backwards, blood gushing into his mouth. Theron swiveled around and pinned Caelum against the wall, his arm pressing against Caelum's windpipe.

"Azalea, run!" Theron bellowed. "Get out of here!"

Azalea opened and closed her mouth, no doubt about to protest.

"I'll be fine, sweetheart," Theron insisted, digging into Caelum's throat as Caelum squirmed like a fish on a line. "You know what to do! Find me here tomorrow night!"

Azalea hesitated, but eventually turned and darted off. Her steps were wobbly, and Caelum half expected her to collapse before she could even turn the corner.

We'd be at their complete, utter mercy.

Find the right time to strike, and they can be taken down.

I'm going to kill Caelum.

You know what to do.

Suddenly, Caelum fell into a scary sense of calm. Ice seemed to wash over his veins once again.

Daphne was in danger.

Caelum shoved Theron off with brute strength alone, sending Theron stumbling backwards so violently he lost his footing. Azalea still hadn't reached the corner, and when she did she'd be out of range.

Caelum lunged for his bow, sitting discarded a couple feet away. Most of his arrows had spilled from his quiver during the brawl. He scooped one up and notched it, taking aim. For once, the image of Mellie Alta did not flash before his eyes.

The arrow was flying barely a heartbeat later. It shot straight for Azalea's fleeing figure. Theron let out a scream from the ground, reaching out an arm towards Azalea.

Azalea reached the corner, vanishing from sight. Caelum's arrow struck the path where her feet had been half a second earlier. Caelum quickly gathered his spilled arrows, shoving them back into his quiver as he cursed violently. He was about to give chase before Theron called out.

"Caelum, wait."

Caelum's lips twisted into a snarl. He whipped around, an arrow loaded within the blink of an eye. It went straight through Theron's upper arm and into the wall of the convenience store, pinning Theron tight with a burst of red liquid.

Theron's scream of agony wretched at Caelum's heart. But Caelum found it quite hard to care, for he had just learned of his friend's mastermind to kill both him and Daphne.

And now Azalea was escaping, on her way to ambush Daphne. Caelum could not let that slide.

"Don't even speak to me," Caelum snarled, his voice gravelly as he shot Theron a venomous glare over his shoulder. "Just don't."

Leaving Theron whimpering and moaning in pain, feebly attempting to yank the arrow from his arm and freeing himself, Caelum bolted in the direction that Azalea had gone.

Azalea was visibly weak, and Caelum's natural speed was amplified with adrenaline and panic. Yet as Caelum rounded the corner, he skidded to an abrupt halt. Here, the path branched off into four separate paths, each bordered with houses upon houses that looked the exact same. Each seemed to lead off in its own direction. Azalea was nowhere in sight.

Caelum quickly scoured the area. There were no visible footprints, no sign of disturbance to hint at which path she might've taken. No footsteps echoed in the distance.

Caelum spat a string of curses that he knew would make his family flinch watching back home. He slammed his bow to the ground for good measure, then kicked it violently. It clattered several feet away, bouncing off the side of one of the houses. Caelum dragged his hands down his face, muttering incoherent sentences to himself.

He had to find Daphne. He had to stop Azalea before the little brat could carry out Theron's plan. He didn't know what he would do if Daphne was dead. He was afraid. Afraid of what it would do to him.

He knew he had only a one-in-four shot of picking the right path. He picked up his bow and sprinted like hell, praying that he'd chosen correctly.

***

Azalea stumbled, winded and faint, up the porch steps. Her vision was swimming so violently that it was a miracle she managed not to step on any trip wires.

Her heart was thudding out of control, adrenaline shooting through her veins. Theron's plan, Caelum appearing out of nowhere, the boys' brawl and how she'd been powerless to help, Caelum's arrow missing her by mere moments, Theron's final roar of pure agony that split the night. All Azalea could think about was to run.

So when she'd arrived at the intersection between the paths, she'd darted partway into one of them. She knew she could never escape Caelum if he gave chase, especially not in the state she was in, so she'd thrown herself into a large bush along the side of one of the houses. Then she'd held her breath, peering through the leaves to find Caelum dash down another path.

She'd heard no cannon shot. Which meant that Theron was still alive.

She knew if Caelum ever caught her, her death would be a slow one. He'd been wrecked with betrayal and anger, and Azalea knew how that could make a person act. She'd been at the other end of it before, an eternity ago at the hands of Daphne Feng.

Azalea managed to make her way back into the room where Daphne and Rye were sleeping. She collapsed at the doorframe, unable to take another step. Her head was throbbing to the point where flashes of red were streaking across her vision. Her lungs couldn't seem to take in enough air. Her entire body was flimsy and spent.

"Holy hell, Azalea." Daphne's voice, clearly awake and alert, sent panic spiking through Azalea' entire system. Azalea snapped her head up, finding Daphne staring at her with concern from her perch by the window sill.

"I- ah- Daphne- I-" Azalea sputtered around for an excuse, her brain seeming to glitch out. "I was just-"

"Next time you need to go out and take a piss, don't be embarrassed to ask me to help you walk in and out of the house." Daphne interrupted. "Goodness, if I'd known you'd be so winded simply going outside-"

Relief sagged at Azalea's bones. So Daphne wasn't suspicious after all. She must've just woken up, finding Azalea gone without knowing that she'd been out for longer than necessary for a bathroom break.

Daphne hurried to Azalea's side and heaved her to her feet, walking her over to the discarded plaid blanket on the other side of the room. Rye was still fast asleep, not a clue to what was going on. Azalea sagged to the ground, and Daphne laid the blanket over her.

"Get some sleep, alright?" Daphne said, giving Azalea a squeeze on the shoulder. "Next time you need to go out, don't be afraid to wake me. I'm supposed to be awake anyways, since I'm on watch and all."

Azalea couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape her lips. "You're a horrible watch, Daph."

A smile played across Daphne's face. "I know, I know. But I've still got a few minutes to go before Rye takes over."

It would be so easy. So easy to reach out, snatch one of Daphne's knives from her belt, and follow through with Theron's plan. Maybe Azalea could even deal with Rye as well.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her arms remained frozen at her sides, even as she watched Daphne stand up and return to her perch. Azalea stared at Daphne for several heartbeats.

Azalea gave a silent huff. She had told herself not to let anyone, especially her, close. She should've never gone to save Daphne when she was stuck in the canal.

They'd gone from best friends, to mortal enemies, then to whatever fleeting alliance this was. Yet as Azalea observed the other girl, she couldn't help but think of the one who had helped her when she was poisoned. Watched over her as she was unconscious, when she could've simply left Azalea to die. She could've told Rye to forget the antidote. She could've stabbed Azalea with another poisoned bolt to make sure she was dead. In fact, Daphne could've put a knife through Azalea whenever the hell she wanted.

But despite everything that had happened between them, Daphne still opted to allow Rye to help. To stay with Azalea and nurse her back to her normal strength–more or less–when she woke up.

Azalea had saved Daphne's life. Daphne had saved Azalea's life.

Azalea curled up beneath the blanket. She needed to start distancing herself from Daphne. Make it bearable to carry out Theron's plan.

But for now, perhaps another day.

━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

a/n: aaaaaaand smol meme break after all that drama:

Theron: I was just diagnosed with deez.
Caelum: Good, I hope it's lethal.

Daphne, gardening: Hey, can you bring me the hoe?
Caelum: Yeah, sure.
*A few minutes later*
Caelum: Here you go.
Daphne:
Caelum:
Theron: Why am I here?

Theron: Caelum, we're hungry!
Azalea: Caelum! What's for dinner?
Daphne: We're hungry, Caelum!
Caelum, frying a bottle of ketchup over the stove: *screams*

heheheh ily guys so frickin much u have no idea <333