Damien felt suspended in an empty void, their mind weightless as they stared into darkness. They were still alive from what they could tell, but their body screamed out in pain. Unable to move, they could only stare onwards in a dull haze of exhaustion.

"...mien…" A voice. Familiar, calling out from the distance.

"Daniel?" No response. They tried looking around, but there was nothing.

"...Damien…" Again their brother called their name. The strain of crying lingering on his voice.

Another look around. 

"I'm so sorry, Damien…" Soft. Like a remorseful whisper to someone who wouldn’t hear.

Their eyes began to crack open, a dim light at the edge of their vision. They rolled their head to the side to see a row of beds lining the walls of what seemed to be a cabin. Besider them was a nightstand whereupon the dying flame of an oil lamp glowed.

“Damien?”

Their ears perked up. Turning to the other side they saw Daniel. Dark bags hung under his eyes and his hair was disheveled, but he was there. He was still there.

"You're awake!" He rose up out of his chair and brought it closer to the head of the bed. "How do you feel?"

Damien smiled at the seeing the concern in their brother’s eyes, "I'm okay, don't worry." They looked around the unfamiliar room, "Where are we anyway?"

"A small town in the forest, a couple hours out of Tairan."

Damien looked back when they heard the solemnity of Daniel’s voice. His gaze was downcast with a haunted stare at the blankets he had balled up in his fists. Damien watched him for a time, taken aback by his disheartened expression. “Daniel, what’s wrong? I’m better now.” They sat up, their arms struggling to hold up their weight. Even as the pain from their chest seared into their mind they clenched their teeth and mustered a smile, “S-See? I’m okay.” Daniel raised his head. His eyes hollow in terror as he met their gaze. “We’ll be okay.”

Tears began to well up in Daniel’s eyes. He bit on his tongue, the taste of blood overwhelming him as he realized that they didn’t know. “Damien.” The tears streamed down his face, as all he could focus on was the innocent smile of his sibling.

“Tairan is gone.”

Damien's smile faded. They watched as Daniel released the blanket, burrowing his face into his hands as he bawled. “Gone?” They felt themself start to laugh, feeling the crushing weight of Daniel’s tears. “Daniel, th-that’s not fun-”

“It’s gone!” he shouted. “They took me there! It’s nothing but ashes and rubble!” His choked sobs echoed through the building.

“Daniel…” They remembered. “Where’s mum and dad?”

Daniel’s sobs began to quiet, tears continuing to fall, but his crying was replaced with the sound of his teeth grinding.

“Daniel-”

“Forget them.”

“What?”

Daniel raised his head, his face twisted in hurt and anger. “They don’t care about us. We were nothing more than tools to them.”

“Daniel, that’s not-” They were cut off again. The spite in his eyes caused them to freeze up in terror. They couldn’t meet his gaze, looking down at the bed.

“They can go to hell for all I care.” His words dripped with venom. “As far as we should be concerned, it’s just us now.”

For what seemed like the longest time, the siblings sat in silence.

The morning sun had begun to shine onto Damien’s face, causing them to stir. They loosened their grip from their pillow, their fingers still dug firmly into it and, looked around. It hadn’t been a nightmare. They were still in the wooden cabin that seemed to be working as a sickhouse; beds lining the walls to either side of their own. Daniel slept in the chair next to them, his face peaceful as he lightly snored.

They went to sit up, surprised to find that the pain in their chest had gone from burning to dully aching. Lowering the blanket they found it tightly wound in clean bandages, the scent of medical herbs wafting past their nose.

 A knock at the cabin’s door drew their attention. It creaked open as a woman poked her head in. “Ah, I see you’re awake, wonderful!” The petite woman entered the cabin, her pink eyes glowing with joy upon seeing her patient awake. They watched as she approached, her white hair and pale skin reflecting the sunlight like a fresh snowfall. The mouse ears atop her head and small pink nose twitched and wrinkled at the sound of Daniel’s snoring and the scent of the herbs. “And I’m glad he’s managed to get some rest.”

Damien couldn’t help but stare at the Seraph, quickly turning their attention to their brother. “He hasn’t been sleeping?”

The mouse shook her head. “He’s been so worried about you, he’s barely slept at all. It only got worse when he insisted on going back to check on your town.” She placed the tub of water she had carried in on the nightstand and wringed out a cloth from inside it. “We tried to keep him from going, but he insisted he go back.” She noticed the downcast look Damien had at the mention of their former home. “Don’t worry, we sent our best to protect him.”

She placed her hand on their shoulder, leaning them forward and gently scrubbed at the back of Damien’s neck. They shivered as the cool water ran down their back. “Th-thank you. For saving my life.”

“You’re not out of the woods yet, you will need some more time to heal.”

“I promise, I’ll repay you someday.”

“No need, it is my duty to help you.”

Damien grimaced at this. “I don’t care, I’m giving you my word.”

“Then so be it.”

The weight on Damien’s shoulders melted away as the Seraph dug her tiny fingers into them. She kneaded and scrubbed, working at stiff muscles and knots. They moaned in discomfort, feeling the anxiety massaged out of their back.

“Well well, Sib, didn’t expect to wake up to you getting a back rub from such a cutie.”

“Gah! Daniel!” Damien jolted upright at the sight of their brother, now awake, a bemused smile on his face.

“Don’t worry, I’m not judging. I’m almost jealous.” He winked at the Seraph. 

“Oh please, dear. I’m old enough to be your grandmother twice over.”

“Hey, I see nothing wrong with that.” A pause. “Wait.”

Damien stifled a chuckle as Daniel feigned embarrassment. For a moment they felt familiarity in the act, reminded of people Daniel would make passing compliments on, but it went further than that. They knew he wasn’t embarrassed, but not because of the act. They felt his mood shift as his eyes drifted to the badges, a familiar anger and hurt weighing on them.

The Seraph’s eyes snapped to Daniel and Damien felt the weight lift. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

The door slammed against the wall behind it, bright green and teal eyes behind unkempt pink hair met the siblings. “Who wants breakkie?” The girl rushed towards Damien’s bed, the contents of the tray she carried stable as the Seraph’s gaze followed her.

“Lilith, so nice of you to join us.”

The girl set the tray down across Damien’s lap, “Yep, y’know me! Always here to help!”

“But you’re late.”

She coughed and wiped away a few stray crumbs, “I got hungry and had t’go back for another plate.”

Damien looked up at the wild-eyed girl, her sharp, toothy grin belying their sense of unease and guilt. Their attention was drawn to her ears, long and ending in a point. “You’re a Nephilim.”

“Yah, no shit.” Lilith leaned forward and flicked the side of Damiens head. At least, her gesture seemed to indicate that. Instead the impact felt much… higher? Foreign. “You of all people seem surprised.”

The Seraph shot Lilith another glare as Damien raised their hand to their head. They cupped around what they thought was their ear, but it was different. Their finger traced its edge, pulling back their hair, following it farther and farther before it ended in a sharp point. “Wha-” They pulled their bangs in front of their eyes, patted down their body, felt up their back before grasping their ears with both hands. “I… I-” They began to feel overwhelmed. Their head spinning with hurt and confusion, the anxiety welling up again.

“Yep, yer a Nephilim, Dami.”

“Lilith!” the Seraph snapped, “What have we discussed when giving news to people.”

She rolled her eyes, craning her head back to stare at the ceiling before returning back to eye level. Her expression had softened. “We don’t know how, but  apparently ya went from human to Nephilim while you were out.”

“It was slow,” the Seraph said, “Whoever did this took their time, letting your body adapt to the changes over some years. However, whatever they did recently accelerated it.” She glanced over to Daniel, who looked away with a huff. “Are you familiar with Artificial Nephilim?”

“Vaguely.”

“They are humans who are experimented on with the essence of Shade, their bodies adapting to it and developing to match the aspects of natural Nephilim.” She smiled at Damien, but they felt nothing from her. “Your body adapted while you were unconscious, so you will need some time to adjust. I assume you can already feel it.” She gestured to Daniel and Damien realized what she meant. Anger, regret, and self-pity radiated off of their brother like a miasma, a familiar feeling weighing on them.

Lilith walked over and bopped him on the head. “Quit yer broodin', Danny Boy.”

He shot her a look of annoyance, "Since when are you my therapist?"

"I ain't, I just can’t stand that pity party a’yers!" 

"So… how long was I out?" Damien asked.

"It’s been almost a week now," the Seraph spoke up. "The healing process was already taking up so much energy, your body’s changes left you completely unresponsive.”

"But, how did this happen? When did it happen?" Damien asked, “How could we have never noticed?”

"It was Charles," Daniel answered, his voice quivering as he tried to stay calm, "On the night of the attack, he gave you a big dose of your medication. You were so sick all the time as a kid, he's probably been lying about what he's been giving you all these years." Seeing Damien’s eyes fall to their breakfast, Daniel turned back to face them. “With how bad you were, he must have been desperate. Or maybe Charles is just that messed in the head.” Daniel's tone became softer. “He told me where to find him for answers, and we're gonna get them. For now, let’s just focus on making you better.” His hand began to reach out for a piece of salted pork on the plate, only to receive a sharp smack from Lilith. “Gah! Why?”

“If yer strong enough to drag me a few miles ta look at kindling, ya can walk to the mess tent yerself!”

The Seraph giggled at the pair, "If you don’t mind, I would like to speak to Damien alone for a moment. As their doctor."

Daniel began to object, but was cut off by the growl of his stomach. “Ah, yeah, I'll be back in a bit.” As he passed by the Seraph he gave her a smile, “Please take care of them.” With that he followed Lilith out of the sickhouse, closing the door behind them.