Chapter Text
Titus Drautos had finally found the peaceful life he always yearned for. Unfortunately he had found this new life while the world ended around him. He didn't remember much after his fight with Nyx and the fall of Insomnia, the only thing he knew was that he was alive.
Drautos sat in front of the crackling fire going in the fireplace book in hand. He took a sip of his coffee and used his thumb to turn the page. He was relaxed even though the sun was held captive by the dark miasma that covered the sky. Even if daemoms wandered freely day in and day out.
For the first time since before his parents died and he was thrown into the nightmare that would be his life, he was at peace.
The clock on the wall chimed to let him know that it was now noon. Drautos sighed and slowly closed his book and placed both the book and the now empty cup on the small table next to where he was sitting. He stretched and yawned before getting up.
He had daily tasks that he assigned himself. Most days they consisted of patrolling the area around his small cabin, taking down any threats that were wandering too close. Or he would secure his new home and go off to find supplies. Now that the light was gone and daemons wandered around most places were abandoned. The people who used to live in those places had either been killed or had moved to the few "survivor" hubs that existed. So supplies were easy to find and he would usually stock up about once a week.
Drautos grabbed his pack and his sword and opened the door to his home, only to be greeted by the usual darkness. He clicked on the flashlight that was clipped to his pack and sighed "Different day, same shit."
He secured his home before setting off. For the most part the deamons paid him no mind and left him alone. The only reason he was grateful to have his living armor inside of him. Drautos doesn't dare use it, only in emergencies he tells himself, he isn't ready to face that part of himself yet.
Drautos was headed towards a small rest stop that he had stumbled upon one day while coming back from an area further away. He was grateful for finding this place as it was closer but it didn't have too much so this would most likely be the last time he stops here.
He hiked through the dark listening to the sounds of daemons nearby. He wasn't worried, in the beginning he was unsure about traveling so far from his light but once he realized that they typically left him alone he felt much more at ease. As long as he didn't run into the tougher ones or the weaker ones that thought just because they fought in a group that they could take him, everything was pretty normal. Well, as normal as living through the end of the world could be.
He reached the rest stop and set to work gathering what was left, it wasn't much. Drautos sighed as he held a can in his hand as he thought of what spot to check next when something caught his eye. It was a young man laying on the floor amongst the near barren shelves of the small shop Drautos was currently in.
He stood there for a moment considering whether he should bother with this new discovery, the kid was probably dead anyway. Drautos looked at the can in his hand again before sighing in frustration and tossing it into his pack before walking over to what he assumed was the dead body of the young man.
At first he just nudged him with his boot, nothing. Drautos rolled his eyes at himself, what did he expect? Did he think the man was going to jump up and yell "Surprise!"? Drautos kneeled down and held the back of his hand above the man's mouth. He was breathing but it was shallow, Drautos didn't think the kid would last much longer without medical intervention of some kind.
Drautos scratched the back of his head in frustration. He set his pack down next to him and started inspecting the man for any major wounds. He brushed his hand over the man's side and immediately felt the wet, warm feeling of blood on his hand. Drautos' heart stopped for a moment as his hands started to shake. He shut his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, in and out, in and out. Once he felt he was calm again he opened his eyes again and pushed on.
He pushed the smaller man's jacket out of the way and gently pushed the man's shirt up to get to the wound. He glanced at the young man's face "Sorry, kid." He mumbled an unheard apology for invading his personal space uninvited.
Drautos inspected the wound, it wasn't too deep and should heal fine once he stitched it up but it was the amount of blood coming from the wound that concerned him. The best he would be able to do at the moment would be to wrap it up the best he could. Drautos dug through his pack for the medical supplies he kept on him just in case he was injured out scavenging. He pulled out a small bottle of disinfectant, gauze and bandages.
Medical supplies were the hardest to find while scavenging so he had a limited supply. Part of him didn't want to use his very limited supplies on a man he doesn't even know nor does he know if he'll ever survive the night. But it wasn't right to just leave him here where he would most certainly die. Drautos had committed enough sins in his life, he didn't need to commit anymore than he already had.
He quickly set to work dressing the wound as best as he could. Drautos sat the young man up and moved behind him so he could let the man rest against him to try and make this easier. Drautos noticed how light the smaller man felt when he moved him. It was like if he wasn't careful he could easily toss him across the room.
Drautos also noticed the young man's bright white hair, an unusual color one that he's only seen maybe a handful of times. The color of man's kid's hair couldn't have been from old age as Drautos guessed he couldn't be older than his 20s. Drautos huffed to himself as he worked the kid's jacket off his shoulders and pulled his shirt over his head but didn't take it completely off, it would save him time when he redressed him. Next he set to work on cleaning the wound and wrapping the bandages around the kid's small torso.
Drautos gently redressed the kid before gently laying back down on the ground and started putting away his supplies. Once that was done he stood up and gave the room a once over from where he stood and he noticed a raggedy backpack up against the wall on the other side of the small room. Drautos sighed, that had to be the kids which means he really should bring it with him.
With an annoyed huff he quickly made his way over to the bag and snatched it up and carried it back to the spot between the aisles where his new responsibility lay. He just stared at the two bags and the unconscious boy laying in the filthy ground thinking this was becoming more of a pain than he originally thought it would be. But he's gone this far already so he had no choice but to do this to the very end.
Initially Drautos was just going to sling the kids arm over his shoulder and drag him and the bags back to his cabin. Once he realized how light the kid was he decided carrying him might be easier. It left him a little more vulnerable to attacks but he'd be faster than if he was just dragging the kid as dead weight. First he threw his own pack onto his back and then he placed the kids bag on top of him before picking him up and gently holding him in his arms. Drautos felt a little bad for plopping the bag into his injured responsibility but he thought that would be the easiest way to carry everything. Plus, he didn't think the kid minded too much anyway.
Drautos stepped outside and started his journey back home "So much for supplies." He mumbled to himself, he'd have to come back another day. Luckily the kid was light but carrying so much stuff was rather cumbersome. He'd probably have to drop the kid to get to his sword if he needed to fight, which...wasn't ideal but better than being dead. Which the kid might be by the end of the night which would mean he had just wasted very precious and very finite resources on a dead man.
"You better not die on me, kid, you owe me for those supplies I used on you." Drautos huffed out more to himself than the man unconscious in his arms. Now that he was actually looking at him Drautos had to admit it was a little cute, just a little! He'd never say it outloud but the kid had an aura of innocence around him. He had a soft face that his bangs gently rested against. His skin was pale and soft and he was so light and thin that Drautos had a hard time imagining him surviving out here on his own.
"What were you even doing out here?" He asked the unconscious man in his arms not expecting any kind of response. He would have to ask him later if he survived the night. Drautos knew he was being pessimistic but being hopeful and positive hadn't gotten him anywhere in life, it only brought him pain. Pain, death and sin. He did hope that the kid pulled through. That he'd wake up and he could see what color his eyes were and ask him what his name was. Ask him just what the hell he was doing out here in this nightmare all on his own.
Drautos just sighed as he continued to hike back the same way he had come, noticing that some of the daemons were getting a lot more ballsy now that he was carrying a human with him. Drautos didn't know what the daemons saw him as. Did they see him as one of their own or as some kind of hybrid being? Drautos didn't consider himself human, he hadn't thought of himself as human for quite a long time. The armor that lived inside of him had become a curse, one that he would bear alone.
Drautos shook himself out of his thoughts, he needed to be alert and on guard. Since the threats have suddenly taken an interest in him because of his new...cargo, any misstep could mean death.
Luckily there weren't any strong daemons around or there would more than likely have been a fight. The weaker ones acted like they were going to attack but scurried away when he simply looked at them. Which made him curious once again just how they saw him. It didn't matter. The humans, his own kind, saw him as a traitor, which he was. Drautos would never be able to be around other people who knew his name, he wasn't worthy. He would die alone here in these woods with no one to mourn his death, no one to remember the good parts of him.
Drautos sighed in relief when he finally saw his cabin off in the distance, home. He had found it abandoned maybe a year ago when this all started and then just took up residence there. If the true owners ever came back he would apologize and leave but they have yet to come back, Drautos doesn't think they ever will. He scowled at his own thoughts, self deprecating thoughts won't do him any good no matter how true they were.
Drautos made his way up to his cabin and then stood at the door. How was he going to open the door? He sighed, he was going to have to put the kid down for a second. Drautos really didn't want to remove the kid from his arms but he was going to have to if he wanted to get into his home. He placed the stranger on the ground leaning him up against the side of the cabin and unsecured his home before opening the door. He picked his responsibility back up and walked inside kicking the door closed with his foot.
Drautos walked the short distance to the bed and placed the stranger gently onto the bed. He pulls up an old wooden stool to the side of the bed and sits. He lifted the kids shirt to check the wood and so far it seemed fine, there was no additional blood that he could see. Maybe the kid would survive, he smiled ever so slightly at the thought but it quickly disappeared. Drautos stood up and pushed the stool back with his foot so it would be out of the way before walking over to the chair he was sitting in hours before.
The fire was only dying embers by that point and he briefly thought about just letting it be and not starting another fire but he knew it would get cold without it. So he set to work starting another fire in the fireplace before sitting down in the chair placed in front of the fireplace.
Drautos picked up the book he had been reading early and continued from where he stopped. Not like he was going to sleep with a stranger in his home who could potentially die in the night. Not like Drautos slept very much to begin with.