His shirt was a bloody mess of tattered rags; Von dropped it in the sink and shook his head sadly. He'd liked that shirt. Fortunately, his skin had fared somewhat better than his clothing; the scratches stung like a bitch, but they weren't serious. He was more worried about the puncture wounds on his shoulder that had almost hit his neck.

Sensible we are not, without a doubt, he thought sourly, cleaning the scrapes he could reach with dish detergent. Shouldn't have let that bastard get so close, not when we knew there was something wrong with him...

"When I knew there was something wrong with him, you mean. If you'd let me handle them, you wouldn't be hurt."

Shut up, he thought viciously at Umbra. The Shade curled into a ball in his subconscious with a faint whimper. He hated the way her voice echoed in his head like a mournful wind. He hated her presence, hated the way she insisted he depend on her, hated everything about her- and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her or her magic. The only way to keep her out of his life, aside from a full exorcism, was to keep her beaten into submission.

It had worked so far, but he knew that the sidelong glances he was getting from Zyn would turn into oughtright anger if the boy knew what he was doing. He sighed and slumped against the sink, elbows resting on the metal rim.

"Von? Did you just get back in? I-" He heard Zyn stop short behind him. "What happened?"

"A murder of ravens and a flock of crows." His mouth felt dry, and his vision was going slightly fuzzy. "And three supplicants with a lesser servant, but nothing I couldn't handle. Aren't you going out with Cata tonight?"

Careful hands took the bloodstained dishrag from him and began cleaning the wounds on his back. They still stung like a bitch. "Yeah. She's coming to pick me up in fifteen minutes. Von, you've got bite marks."

"Tell me something I don't know? Ari'i's on her way over to deal with 'em. They missed all the major veins and arteries, I just need her to get rid of the poison and I'll be fine. Where's she taking you?" Breath hissed through his teeth sharply as Zyn plucked a shard of claw out of his back.

Zyn sighed, sounding much older than he was. "Some place called The Wheel." He acknowledged Von's unspoken request to avoid asking about the fight with a slight shake of his head. "I wanted to ask you if I could borrow something to wear. I don't have that many clothes to begin with, and what isn't in the laundry or full of holes...well, I'm wearing it right now." Von knew without looking that Zyn was wearing an eye searing Hawaiian shirt and a pair of ragged shorts, picked up gods-only-knew where. Completely inappropriate attire for a club like The Wheel.

He was surprised that Zyn had dared to ask. That was good; the boy was progressing from 'scared shitless' to only 'moderately uncomfortable' around Von. Cata had helped a great deal in that respect, no doubt. "No problem. Leave off, would you? Ari'i will put me back together. You make a crappy nurse, and she's cuter than you anyway." He straightened, wincing. Zyn gazed at him with calm, sad blue eyes, and Von looked him over with an appraising twinkle to his eye out of habit. "But not by much. Check the back of the closet, on the right, third hanger over."

"Thanks."

He didn't watch as Zyn went to raid his closet; he busied himself with filling the sink to let the remains of his shirt soak out the blood, then pulled a beer out of the fridge. His head hurt, and if he turned his head, he could see the red lines of poison and infection racing beneath his skin, radiating outwards from the bites on his shoulder. In an hour, he'd be dead- if he was lucky.

Ari'i would come soon, and she would be able to cleanse the poison. That was her gift. Cata would show up, too, to take Zyn and make him smile. That was her gift, for as long as Nocturne and Moero kept them. And my gift...curse...is an even greater skill at pissing people off than I had before. His head hit the countertop with a muted thud and he hovered on the edge of unconsciousness until Ari'i came and gave him a gentle shove in the right direction.

He slept for a week.
---------------

This was not what it was supposed to be, but it will do. The rest of it will come later, maybe.

Still trying to download that Evanescence song they're playing on the radio lately. 'Tis a very Cata/Zyn song, very Song of Shadows in general. Good screaming song, too.

Blah.