Work Text:
Drip
Drip
Drip
Caleb’s legs finally gave in, his mouth hung open gasping for each breath. He squirmed and rolled onto his back, anything to stop him from choking. Blood pours from the slash in his chest that mangled his lungs with the blow’s power and from the dagger’s build.
Philip froze in horror wanting to run forward but every step meant to push forward turned into stepping back. He watched Caleb struggle like a rabbit in a snare trying to get up, using whatever ability he had to speak used to call out to him, his eyes yellowed and tear stained, his expression of terror, and his clothes soaked in blood. He looked down at the curved dagger in his hands that was now covered in blood, in complete disbelief. Caleb was much stronger than him and now lay on the ground so close to death, he couldn't have done this. Part of him blamed the curse, yet another part blamed the witch for weakening his beloved older brother. Caleb would have never fallen like this, especially to his hand. Yet he waited for Caleb to get up and say “he’s fine” like he always did, even if it was clearly a lie. But this time he couldn't.
“I never wanted to leave you… Philip… you mean the world to me…” Caleb choked out looking at Philip with a spark of hope and kindness in his eyes that started to fade the longer Philip did nothing to save him.
Those words got to him, but he pushed it down and reminded himself why he did this in the first place. Caleb was flawed, he was too kind, too soft, free for the devil to take, free to turn him against him. He was only correcting his wrongdoings.
But eventually Philip stepped closer raising the dagger over his head and watched below him as Caleb looked away forcing his eyes shut bracing himself for worse pain then he was in now. But that didn't stop him, and quickly plunged the dagger into Caleb’s heart. Watching as he opened his mouth but nothing but a quiet wheeze left it. Tears streamed down Caleb’s eyes but not once did he try to stop him, the only thing he did to defend himself was trying to push Philip away with a weak shove that only moved him a few inches lacking the strength he expected. But as soon as Philip used both his hands on the dagger to twist it Caleb went silent. His pupils widened, his face frozen in horror, blood escaped his mouth and dripped onto the red grass below, and his arms fell to either side of him. Blood pooled on Caleb’s stomach being much more than Philip wanted and ended up staining his sleeves. But he didnt move, haunted by Caleb’s silence. But he still waited, his eyes glued to Caleb’s blank gaze forward, only for him to quickly look up once he heard the bushes rustle on the top of a hill nearby. He pulled the dagger out as he shot up only to drop it once he got to his feet. Emerging from the bushes was the very woman who had Caleb under her spell, Evelyn Clawthrone. Her gaze was fixed on Caleb’s limp body laying in the grass, she let out a loud grief stricken scream, tears falling down her face like a waterfall. Philip backed up, every fiber of his being screaming at him to run.
RUN
RUN
He quickly turned the other way just as soon as Evelyn jumped down from the hill in a roar of rage. As he did he rummaged through his leather satchel for any spell he could use, but found nothing. But she stopped chasing him once he got further away from Caleb but that wasn't without injury. Just when he thought he was safe and started to slow down he felt a strong blast of magic pierce through his entire body, every bone, every muscle burned like the fires of hell. But despite the pain he kept going, limping the rest of the way to his cave hidden well into the forest. Only when he entered the safety of the cave did he truly take in what he had done, he eyed the books that piled on a desk pushed up by the wall the furthest away from him and the woven bags soaked in blood below it. Everything there could in theory bring him back, he wasn't truly gone. Caleb was just… being punished and corrected! Right! This was just a setback and soon he would return back to how he always was, and they could return home and everything would go back to normal! He slowly made his way to the desk trying so hard to get those words out of his head.
“I never wanted to leave you”
He clenched his teeth with anger knowing full well Caleb was once again telling him what he wanted to hear rather than the truth. His icy blue eyes glowed and his hands melted and ripped into large rotting claws.
“You mean the world to me”
And suddenly Philip threw everything on the table onto the ground, swiping his claws across the table. Pages and books flew everywhere and littered the floor. He threw his hands on the table with a loud SLAM.
“You fabulist traitor!” Philip thundered aloud tears forming in the corner of his eyes, his chest burned, his legs felt like toothpicks, his heart felt numb.
“This is all your fault!! I wouldn't have done it if-” he slowly lowered to the ground pulling the oversized blue uniform he wore tighter on him. It once belonged to Caleb, it was a token of his loyalty to Gravesfield. But he left it behind when he followed her.
Some loyalty
But the jacket was cold, missing the once warm feeling of ambition, it was now the last thing he had of Caleb and it was cold like he was 6 feet under. It didn't bring him comfort anymore. He looked blankly at the ground watching the tears that fell off his cheeks fall onto the cold stone floor. He wasn't sad, why was he crying? He did everything right! He pulled the jacket off of him and threw it across the room on a pile of papers. It landed on its back, the sleeves resting on each side of it as if to taunt him with how Caleb died.
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD” Philip roared sliding backwards until his back slammed on a wall. He covered his face with his hands, his claws scratching his face, he felt a stinging sensation from it that was only a reminder that he was still human. He stayed there feeling that somehow Caleb was standing there over the jacket, feeling his eyes on him like thorns ripping through his mind. Caleb was still HERE, he was still alive but only to torment him. He froze covering his face, his chest tightening and his head felt like it was spinning. Until suddenly.
It stopped.
Everything went quiet again. He slowly uncovered his face and the room was normal, but still messy. His gaze quickly changed to look at a pile of broken Palismen nearby him and quickly he crawled over and rummaged through the pile. He found a whole Palisman in the shape of a white rabbit and quickly he raised it above his head and smashed it on the ground, shattering it completely. Tears still in his eyes but desperate. Waves of green light emerged from the rabbit and quickly made its way to Philip’s nose and eyes. And as soon as he inhaled suddenly the tears stopped, his mind was calmer. His shoulders dropped with ease and relaxed.
Caleb was gone.
Philip turned his head and gazed at a page containing everything he needed to know about the Grimwalker spell.
But not for long.