//------------------------------// // 8 Start of recovery // Story: Holy and Hellish brothers // by NinjaTurtle //------------------------------// Chapter 8 Start of recovery --------------------- Harry --------------------- Harry couldn't feel anything. His body was numb and his mind was blank. All he could think about was the fight he had. He was the one that got into fights most often. Charles rarely ever threw a punch. But his mind replayed all of it, the pony going up in flames, the one he decked with his gauntlets, the one Charles battered. It replayed with more blood and violence than he originally remembered, but it didn't make it any worse. I've killed something… That also played in his mind. Sure, he didn't mind a fight but he would never and had never killed anything before. The most horrifying part was Charles. He looked like a guardian angel in his mind, but the way he effortlessly killed the pony without a second thought made him uneasy. Was he alway like this? Or has he changed? This made him question his brothers and his own sanity. This made him question if Charles had a partial spirit or soul inside him as well. This made him question what he really knew about Charles's mental thoughts. Are we still as human as we think? These mental questions received no answers. His head hurt. His body hurt. He was hurt. But the pain made the memories fade. The pain meant he was waking. He could feel his body again. He wished he couldn't as he felt the stinging of the countless cuts and scrapes. He tried moving his body, but his exhaustion made it difficult. "Ugh…" he groaned. He pulled himself up and raised the pillow behind him. He rested his back against the pillow while he moved his head to look around. He was in the cart, on Charles's bed. He saw some of his clothes were taken off and that he was wrapped in dark cloths. His arms and legs were the most wrapped with only a single bit of cloth around his chest. He saw that some of the draws were pulled out and had some stuff in them. His clothes were in a pile at the end of the bed. His gauntlets, which didn't despawn like he thought they would, rested in the pile with a tiny splat of blood on them. He then saw Charles. He was sitting with his back leaning on the bed. Harry could see that he was shattered, tired to the point that he could no longer stay awake. He still had his clothes and only one or two of his wounds were wrapped. In one hand, he still held his bat. To anyone seeing this, Charles would look dead. His breaths were slow, calm and quiet. His chest hardly moved, as if frozen in position. The only signs of life anywhere on his body were the small twitches of his eyes, the tightening of his hand around his bat and the tensing of his legs. All these signs were barely noticeable, but Harry knew Charles. He knew what to look for with him. Harry could take a guess at what Charles had done. He had patched Harry up, stripped the bodies of the ponies for their stuff and sat by his bed to guard it. What caught his attention the most was the two ponies that were tied together, unconscious. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the younger pony there. The other one was one he hadn't seen before but Harry assumed that she, it was female, had attacked Charles which could have been why he didn't respond back then. She had soft pink fur and dark blue hair. She was a unicorn, with a jewel and a money symbol on her rear end. I really need to read that book for the names of these things. She also had a nasty cut on her side which had been wrapped but not with as much care. He took another look at the other pony. He still had red fur and blue hair and now had wrapping around his eye where Harry punched him. Harry could see that he had a different symbol to her, his being a speech bubble with a feather in the middle. He slowly and quietly took the blanket off and stood up. He crept past his brother and the ponies. He was only staying quiet for the ponies, Charles so far gone that a nuke could go off and he'd sleep through it. He opened the door slightly and slimmed out, closing it just as softly as he had opened it. He limped down the steps and then sat on the bottom one. He looked out on the horizon and saw the sun setting. The dark blue and black of the night overhead filled the space left by the sun. The moon swiftly and unnaturally raised up into the night, its glow and size doing all it could to provide next to no light on the dark. "I want to go home…". --------------------- Charles --------------------- He opened his eyes. He felt like crap but he'd live. He saw that he had fallen asleep. His mind had already done its typical reboot and playback of the day's action and was quickly returning movement to the body. Charles got up, his free hand grasping his injured shoulder while absorbing the bat to free his other hand. He looked behind him to see Harry had already woken. He walked past the ponies and out the door. At the bottom of the steps was Harry. Charles stepped off and landed on the ground. He winced as his aching leg nearly buckled under him, but he stood and walked to sit next to his brother. He put a soft hand on his back. Harry jumped a little before looking and seeing Charles. "Hey. You alright? " Charles asked genuinely. "Yeah. I'm fine. " Harry said. Charles could tell from the voice, posture and look that that was a lie. But Charles didn't mind. "Alright. Just remember that I'm always here if you need me. " he said. It was small, but a smile appeared on Harry's face. "Thanks. ". Charles sighed. "This is my fault. If I hadn't gone for a piss, they wouldn't have ganged up on you. Maybe if I had heard you, I could have come on and helped. " he said, looking solemnly into the fire. "No, it's fine. I'm just glad you came when you did. " Harry said. Charles looked at Harry. "But if I had been a second late, he would have killed you. I will never allow that to happen. ". Charles chuckled at this. "Huh, I sound just like some sappy hero or tragic villain. 'I'll never let anything harm you ever again. I shall fend off every monster or control ever being till you are safe'. I hope I never turn into one of those. " he said. "Huh, yeah. I hope so. " Harry said. He then sighed. "Do you think we'll ever get home? " Harry asked solemnly. Charles didn't know how to reply truthfully. "I don't know. Maybe someday we will, maybe we won't. The best thing we can do for now is live long enough to find out. ". Charles decided to take Harry's attention away from the bad thought he would be having. "We should head inside, it's dark and cold outside and we need to make up for lost time tomorrow. " Charles said, getting up with a wince while gritting his teeth. Harry saw this and worried. "Are you sure you're OK Charles? " Harry asked. Charles gave a comforting smile, which would have looked convincing to anyone but Harry. Charles knew this but did so anyway. "I'm fine. Just sore but I'll live. ". Both boys got up and headed inside, the fire Harry created dwindling till it died just as Charles closed the door behind him. The ponies were still unconscious as Harry climbed into his bed and Charles crashed into his. It didn't take long before both were asleep again.take long to fall asleep and the cart returned to silence. --------------------- In the morning --------------------- Charles woke up first like he always did. He hadn't got out of his clothes last night, meaning he didn't need to get dressed. He stretched, the joints popping. He could still feel his cuts and bruises, but he ignored them. He sat on his bed and waited for his head to sort itself out. He got up and stepped over to the map. He couldn't tell how far they traveled yesterday, so he estimated and placed a pin there. He walked outside. He wanted to just start pulling the cart and put all thought to the back of his head but he knew his body wasn't ready for that yet. So he flew up and onto the cart roof. The rune book was still there. He had forgotten to pick it up whilst he was helping Harry and gathering stuff from the raiders. His rock was also up here but the sharp stone he used to carve the rune was not. Charles jumped down and got another pin from the cart before returning to the roof. He started carving and scratching. It didn't take long to finish as it was half done already. He fed power into it and felt as his brain connected with the rock in his hand. It was weird at first but the feeling quickly became natural. It felt similar to that feeling of someone standing behind you. That feeling of knowing something without needing to confirm it. He put the rock to the side and started scratching the same rune into a different rock to make sure he could do it consistently. He took his time with it, the task taking his thoughts away from yesterday. He finished that and looked through the book for another rune to carve. He sat there and kept reading. The only thing that drew him from his work was the sudden sound of thumping and, upon listening, whispering. Non-human whispering. Pony whispering. Charles came down with his book and runes in hand, planning to put them away while he was inside. The ponies were obviously trying to untie themselves from what Charles could hear. And they weren't having much luck. Even if they got out of the ropes, he had placed his halo around their necks just loose enough to move but tight enough to make sure they weren't going anywhere. Charles opened the door and both ponies looked at him. They showed shock and fear, while Charles gave them the calmest yet most deadpan look he could. They stopped moving and just stared. Charles casted his understanding spell and spoke. "Well, well, well. It seems our guests have woken up. " Charles said in a faked happy voice. The ponies both stammered before one of them could answer clearly. The mare started talking first. "P-p-please don't h-hurt us. " she squeaked. "And why would I do that? If I did that, then I wouldn't be able to use you two, now would I? " Charles said. He wanted to install as much fear as possible as payback for the attack and so it would be easier to get them to do stuff. "W-wh-what are y-you? What d-do you want? " asked the mare. Her horn lit up, and was promptly grabbed. The horn stopped glowing immediately and her entire body stiffened as she looked with even more fear. "I'm a human, and I just want to make you a deal. " Charles said. He let go of the horn and stood up straight, his full height intimidating the ponies. He even let his wings spread a bit and his tail uncurl to look extra scary. He knew how to act all sweet and innocent too, which was coming in handy in a new way. "A-a deal? " she asked, seemingly not expecting that for an answer. Charles smiled. "Yes, a deal for you and your friend here. ". This time, the other pony asked the question, his voice showing that he was just as scared. "Wh-what d-deal? ". Charles's smile grew a bit bigger. "A simple one that I'm sure you'll find quite... agreeable. " he said. The now full shit eating grin, which was in shadow from the sun behind him, made him look ever so slightly more terrifying. He was going to enjoy this.