Once Neo had left the room, he let out a heavy sigh as the door shut softly behind him. Almost afraid to let his smile fall, as if Quilliene might randomly burst from the bedroom and demand what was wrong, he leaned against the door. Taking in a breath through his nose, he exhaled slowly through his mouth. With his fingers running loosely through his red hair, he glanced around.
ㅤㅤ"Daileth?" He said, the words but a whisper.
ㅤㅤ"Yes, Neo?" The pixie simply appeared out of green sparkles in the air, a tiny speck zooming into vision and hovering in front of Neo's face. "Is everything alright? Are you still mad? Do you need something?"
ㅤㅤ"No," Neo huffed. "I'm not mad. A bit woozy, but... that's not important. Liene hasn't eaten, so would you mind going down to the kitchen and asking someone to get her breakfast a bit early? I need to do something real quick."
ㅤㅤ"Um," Daileth shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, I can do that, but... what is going on? What are you going to do? If you're sick, I don't think you should be moving around so much, my friend... especially with how wary everyone in the castle is of you."
ㅤㅤ"It's fine - I'm fine." Neo waved him off, straightening himself as he rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. "I just need to talk to Christopher for a moment. I won't be long." He tried to give Daileth a reassuring smile, but he knew it wasn't very much so. "Just please make sure Liene eats, okay?"
ㅤㅤ"Yes, of course I will, but..." The pixie bit his lower lip. "You look sickly, Neo! You're not in any condition to be walking around a place where demons are going to possibly attack you if you make a wrong move! Why don't I fetch his highness and someone to feed her majesty?"
ㅤㅤNeo glanced away, hesitating. He did feel feverish - maybe a moment of rest would do him some good. With a sigh, he gave in. "Okay, okay, fine. Just tell him to come to my room, and that it's important. But!" He pointed at Daileth with a very serious look on his face. "Make sure Liene gets food first."
ㅤㅤ"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Daileth squealed. "I'll make sure he's to your room right away, and please take that time to rest for a bit. You look as if you might faint."
ㅤㅤNeo nodded in understanding, and the pixie disa-ppeared in a puff of green sparkles. He followed Daileth's orders and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He felt a dizzy spell cast over him, and he proceeded to the bed in a stumble. He thankfully made it before flopping down, huffing as he rolled onto his back.
ㅤㅤHe stared at the ceiling in curious faint wonder. What was going on? Why did he feel so strange? He lifted one of his hands up and looked at his palm, taking off his glove and gazing at it. His skin was as if cinders were constantly falling over it, and a faint shimmer of sweat was across his hands. It felt like his fingers were tingling as well.
ㅤㅤThen a sharp knock at the door sounded, and he sat up, slipping his glove back on. The door slipped open to give way to a tall, white haired man with dusky skin. Christopher closed the door behind him as he entered, looking Neo over with uneasy blue eyes as he made his way over to the bed and taking a position by the nightstand.
ㅤㅤ"You don't look too good," He said with a firm frown. "Are you alright? Your pixie friend fetched me from my office while I was... redecorating."
ㅤㅤNeo remained seated on the bed, unsure if he could stand as of yet. He watched Christopher with his own mismatched gaze as he examined him, worry and unfocus felt in his own eyes. He was almost afraid to ask - afraid both of Christopher's refusal, or the acceptance that would be followed by an answer. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away.
ㅤㅤ"Yeah," He hummed. "Sorry to interrupt, I just... seem to be having a problem, and I wanted to ask," He paused, cautiously peering at him. "You have the same abilities as Liene, right?"
ㅤㅤChristopher's eyes narrowed even further for a moment at Neo. He couldn't quite tell, but his body seemed to have tensed up, along with the temperature of the room going down. He froze, sprinkles of frost covering his fingers before he held his hands behind his back. Opening his mouth to say something, he closed it, as if debating on how to answer the question.
ㅤㅤ"Yes," He said finally, though appeared dis-content with his words. "I do. Although, I am more talented in the elemental side while my sister holds more to the spirituality aspects themselves. The very essence of life, so to speak. Quilliene has always had a natural gift to properly channel the... well, gift of the Nameless. Why do you ask, Neo?"
ㅤㅤChristopher gave him an odd look, his brow furrowed - the kind of look that told Neo to choose his next words very carefully. Neo glanced away, opening his mouth, sighing, then closing his eyes. He didn't know how to explain it. The magick nonsense never made sense to him. Finally, he burst to his feet and started pacing, his words spilling out frantically.
ㅤㅤ"I don't know what's wrong, but... something is wrong. Ever since I came back, back from the dead or back from that place - or both! - I feel different. It's hard to describe, but it's not just me. All the demons look at me as if I'm a plague to avoid, Raemith told me all about Tainted, but nobody will tell me what the damned problem is! Plus, there's this... I dunno, sick sensation. For instance, this morning, when I got out of bed, I... threw up. But it was black, and it tasted like blood. And, and..."
ㅤㅤNeo hesitated, then stopped in his tracks, turning to Christopher. He felt his face scrunch in desperation as he pulled down the collar of his shirt, showcasing the black lines that trailed across his veins like paint. He could see Christopher's expression harden, and he stepped forward - Neo had to keep himself from flinching back as he reached forward and held his fingers out.
ㅤㅤHowever, he didn't touch to his skin. Despite that, he pulled away and rubbed his fingers, as if something had wet them. He turned away from Neo, and he let go of his shirt, fidgeting with his jacket as Christopher silently paced the room. Neo had never in all his life felt so small and helpless, so desperate for an answer... that he knew he already had.
ㅤㅤFinally, Christopher stopped with a sorrowful look as he turned to Neo. "I've been trained by both my parents and Nameless alike to deal with the likes of demons and devils. The free, the contracted, the sinister. I've dealt with many of them in my life, in fact, but... never one that has latched itself so fiercely to you in this very moment."
ㅤㅤAs Neo's expression fell, Christopher continued. "You have a sinister one, Neo. A very sinister one. And you..." He paused, as if regretting the words he had yet to even say, but said them anyway. "You are dying. I know how hard that is to believe, given you were just brought back not too long ago, but... that devil has made claims on its property. I'm not completely sure what prompted this, but it has."
ㅤㅤNeo stared at Christopher for a long time, but he was only looking through him. He lowered his head, the sensation of dread and fear simply... gone. He had forgotten how to breathe before, holding it in and letting it out in gasps, but now he was calm. As Christopher spoke the only answer he knew to come, he wasn't surprised. Only disappointed. He had hoped for some other type of answer, but...
ㅤㅤ"Do you know how long I have?" Neo asked, not raising his head.
ㅤㅤChristopher was silent for a moment as Neo felt his eyes brush over him. "Not very long," He said softly. "I can try to prolong your life before it decides it wants to take it but there is no telling how that devil's sentence may react. That means one thing, and one thing alone though. You cannot, under any circumstances, use too much of that curse which gives you your powers."
ㅤㅤNeo stood there with his fingers pinching one side of his jacket for a long time. Perhaps he was in shock now, he wondered. After a few moments of aching silence and treacherous thoughts, he let out a huff of air. Letting go of his jacket, he raised his head to look at Christopher with a careless smile as always, and spoke in the same chipper tone as always.
ㅤㅤ"Okay," He hummed. "That was all. At least I have that answered." He turned to the door with a wave over his shoulder. "Thanks!"
ㅤㅤHe saw Christopher grimace for a moment before the man was in front of him in less than a second, towering over him. For a moment, Neo thought there was anger in his eyes, but... it was only concern. "You don't have to pretend as if everything is alright. This is hard to process, and you should take time to do so. That being said, if you need someone to talk to, you have friends in this castle. Use your connections."
ㅤㅤNeo stared at him for a moment, his grin having turned to a sad smile as he looked away. "You think I don't know that?" He said softly. "Of course I don't have to act happy and fine. But hey, if I'm going to go out, I'm not going to make anyone cry over me because of it." He murmured softly then, "Not again." Then he raised his head and pressed past Christopher. "But you should find a new bodyguard soon. Since I won't last forever."
ㅤㅤWith that, he left yet another speechless Raven-heart in an empty room of silence.