// once you're in my shining cathedral, heed the tolling bell //
He hesitates when she pauses, as if unsure whether or not to let himself try and plan her night for her. But he knows, deep down, it’s for the best. He can’t promise to stay, but he can promise a way for her to come and spend time with him where he doesn’t have to abandon her so fully. And as such, a plan already made for the butcher to ensure that when she does wake up that she knows she’s not alone, even if she is.
And a reminder for himself to try and find one of those roses or lilies to heal her, if only so maybe the hurt from Pierce won’t be as sharp. Besides, she’d still have that new necklace that she’s clutching like a lifeline.
But then she gives her permission and the butcher and his shadow smile a beaming one down to her. He reaches up to help her deposit the glass onto the side table, before he’s invading her space to hoist her back up - clutching her against his rough chest as he steps over toward her bed, hoping that some semblance of heat from himself and the fireplace can dry out the rest of her clothes. And when he sets her in the bed, he adjusts the blankets to wrap around her, tucking her in before he sits on the edge of it, reaching up gently to brush her hair behind her ear and out of her face, untangling it gently from her horn. “I am here for you, Thalassa. You are my most favored Captain and I am infinitely pleased to be able to call you my friend. Which, once again, means that you are fortunately stuck with me. And I shall have you know that I am quite difficult to get rid of.” His tone is softer, his smiling shadow draping against the covers of the bed, nodding its agreement with Astaroth’s words as the butcher offers his own, gentler but still sharp smile down toward her.
And a reminder for himself to try and find one of those roses or lilies to heal her, if only so maybe the hurt from Pierce won’t be as sharp. Besides, she’d still have that new necklace that she’s clutching like a lifeline.
But then she gives her permission and the butcher and his shadow smile a beaming one down to her. He reaches up to help her deposit the glass onto the side table, before he’s invading her space to hoist her back up - clutching her against his rough chest as he steps over toward her bed, hoping that some semblance of heat from himself and the fireplace can dry out the rest of her clothes. And when he sets her in the bed, he adjusts the blankets to wrap around her, tucking her in before he sits on the edge of it, reaching up gently to brush her hair behind her ear and out of her face, untangling it gently from her horn. “I am here for you, Thalassa. You are my most favored Captain and I am infinitely pleased to be able to call you my friend. Which, once again, means that you are fortunately stuck with me. And I shall have you know that I am quite difficult to get rid of.” His tone is softer, his smiling shadow draping against the covers of the bed, nodding its agreement with Astaroth’s words as the butcher offers his own, gentler but still sharp smile down toward her.
Astaroth
// it's the final sound you hear as you descend to hell //
