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Essek's hands were beautiful. They were elegant and as entrancing to look at as Essek himself was. They were, without a doubt, the hands of a wizard. Caleb's hands were heavily callused from his time spent adventuring, but Essek's were soft, only callused where he held a quill. Essek's fingers were long and thin, the nails perfectly manicured. They were the hands of a nobleman. But right now, they were the hands of a battlefield medic, desperately trying to staunch the flow of blood. They were trembling slightly, something they never did while casting as spell, as the slightest twitch would compromise the magic. Essek's beautiful, deep purple skin was stained a terrible, deadly shade of red, as his hands pressed frantically against the wound beneath them. This was most certainly not what Essek's stunningly beautiful hands were meant for. No, they were meant for studying, for research. They weren't meant to be dirtied by anything other than the ink used to transcribe spells.
"S-Sorry.." Came the choked apology of the man beneath Essek's hands. It didn't sound much like a word at all at this point though. It was more of a stuttered gasp than anything else.
"Shh, shh, don't speak. Don't try to talk, love. It's okay." Essek. He sounded scared. Why did he sound so afraid? What was wrong? "Oh, gods, Caleb.. Caleb, I'm so sorry."
Caleb's hazy, unfocused eyes moved to look away from Essek's hands and up to his face. He was crying. Why? Caleb felt like he should know, but he couldn't remember. That was odd. He remembered everything. Why couldn't he remember something as important as what had upset his Essek? Caleb tried to lift his hand, to wipe away Essek's tears, but Essek's hand caught his and forced it back down.
"No, no, don't move. Just lie still, Cay. Jester! Caduceus!" Essek cried, frantically glancing around the chamber. Where were they again? Caleb felt like he should know, but again, he couldn't remember. His vision began to darken a bit at the edges, Essek's face becoming blurry. Caleb groaned at that, wanting to keep looking at Essek. He was so very beautiful, especially so close.
"Cay, sweetie, look at me. Keep looking at me." Essek pleaded, his hands pressing harder against Caleb's chest. "Please, baby, stay with me."
Caleb groaned weakly at the added pressure. That hurt...why did it hurt? He tried to ask Essek, but all that came out was another weak whimper.
"Shh, liebling, shh. I know it hurts, Cay. I'm so, so sorry." Liebling, oh that sounded so incredibly lovely in Essek's accent. Something soft brushed against his cheek, drawing his attention away from Essek's face again. There was a cat. A white cat. A cat Caleb felt like he should recognize. Caleb's eyes drifted away from the cat that was currently nuzzling into his cheek and instead focused back on Essek's face. They remained locked onto Essek's beautiful, violet eyes until darkness consumed their vision.
Essek thought he had been scared before. It wasn't until Caleb's eyes slipped closed that he realized he had never known what true fear was. "Caleb? Cay, love, come on. Not now. Please, baby.." Essek pleaded, frantically checking the other wizard's pulse. For a few terrible, heart-wrenching moments, he felt nothing. Until finally, he felt the faint, fluttering beat of Caleb's pulse beneath his fingers. "Jester! Someone! Please.." Essek couldn't lose Caleb. He simply wouldn't be able to survive the loss. He had never been in love before and he knew that if Caleb died here, he would never find love again. Caleb was his one and only. He didn't want anyone else.
He should get up. The rest of the Nein were still locked in battle with Lucien, but he couldn't leave Caleb. He just couldn't. If he left, if he took his hands away from the gaping wound in Caleb's chest, he would lose him for sure.
Lucien had been the one to deal the blow. Essek would never, ever forget the sight. Not even if he lived a dozen lifetimes. A hundred lifetimes. The sight of Caleb suspended off of the ground with Lucien's scimitar thrust straight through his body would haunt Essek until the day he died. Essek had wasted no time in rushing to Caleb's side, immediately doing his best to stabilize him. He had absolutely no medical training, but he had to try. He had to. This was Caleb for Luxon's sake. His Caleb. The kindest, smartest person he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. And he was dying in Essek's arms.
Essek looked away from Caleb for a moment, his gaze finally finding Lucien. He glared at the tiefling and pulled a black marble from his component pouch, casting Gravity Sinkhole with his highest available spell-slot. He grinned as the tiefling was pulled into the center of the sphere the spell had created, before crying out and crumpling into a heap on the floor, no longer moving. He had but a moment to celebrate before a terrible, searing pain rocketed through his entire body. He locked eyes with Jester briefly, as his vision began to fade. "Jess...h-help...Cay...." He murmured, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed forward onto Caleb's prone form.
Essek awoke in warmth. Which was extremely odd, considering the last place he remembered being was the Aeorian ruins. He attempted to sit up only to immediately stop, as a terrible pain shot through his chest. He cried out, curling in on himself a bit.
"Essek? Oh, Essek! You're awake!" Jester. There was no one else who could ever sound so eager to see him. Before he could respond to the tiefling, however, she had thrown her arms around him and was hugging him tightly enough that for a moment, he thought he might just pass out again.
"Easy, Jess. He just woke up- give him a minute." That was Fjord. So they were okay at least. Where was- Caleb. Oh, gods, Caleb.
"Where is Caleb?" Essek asked, his heart rate immediately picking up at the memory of Caleb unconscious and bleeding out in his arms.
Jester and Fjord shared a look, their faces grave.
"No.. Jester, please.. Where is Caleb..?" Essek almost didn't want to know the answer.
It was Jester who answered him. "He's alive. He's in bad shape, but he's alive."
"Where is he? Can I see him? Please, Jester, I need to see him." Essek pleaded, moving to stand up from the bed he was currently resting on. It hurt to move, but he had to see Caleb.
"Essek, you need to rest. You're still not fully healed." Fjord was attempting to keep him in bed as he spoke, but Essek fought him with everything he had.
"No, I need to see Caleb. I won't be able to rest until I do. Please."
Jester sighed, seeming to think for a moment. "Okay.."
Essek sighed in relief and slowly stood, taking Jester's offered arm to stabilize himself a bit.
With both Jester and Fjord's help, Essek made his way to the room Caleb was staying in. They were back at the outpost, he realized. Jester explained that after the battle, she had sent a message to Dagen, who had sent reinforcements to help them get everyone out. Caleb and Essek had been the worst off, which was to be expected. It had been three days already since the final battle with Lucien. Caleb had yet to regain consciousness- Veth had been with him the entire time, thankfully. Essek was just glad to hear that he hadn't been alone.
Essek knocked softly on the door, only needing to wait for a moment before Veth opened the door. She froze for a moment and just stared up at him for a moment before hugging him tightly. Essek was beyond surprised- he certainly hadn't expected that. Before he had a chance to react, she surprised him again by beginning to cry. Hard. Uncontrollably, it seemed. Essek knelt down to her level, wincing from the pain as he did so, and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thank you." She murmured, holding onto him tightly.
"What for?" Essek was genuinely confused. He hadn't done anything worth this sort of reaction. Had he?
"Helping Caleb. Jessie thinks the only reason he made it is because you managed kept him awake for so long. So thank you. For saving my boy."
Essek hugged her a little tighter. "I'm just sorry I couldn't do more. May I see him..?"
Veth nodded and wiped her eyes. "Sure, I think he'd like that. I'll leave you two alone for a bit."
"Thank you, Veth.." Essek muttered, pulling away from the hug and standing slowly. Again, he winced at the pain caused by the movement, swaying a bit before he was able to steady himself. After taking a moment to assure Veth that, yes, he was fine, he entered Caleb's room.
"Oh, Caleb...Baby, I'm so sorry.." Essek whispered, walking over to sit in the vacant chair at Caleb's bedside. Essek had never seen anyone look so terribly, horrifyingly fragile. He was almost too afraid to touch Caleb. He didn't want to accidentally hurt him. Caleb had always been pale. He hadn't ever been this pale though. His skin was almost the exact same shade as the snow that covered all of Eiselcross. Essek slowly, hesitantly, reached out and rested his hand atop Caleb's, gasping at how cold it was. He glanced to the fireplace in the room and cast Telekinesis so that he could move a few logs onto the fire. It was warm in the room, but Caleb was frighteningly cold and Essek had to do something. After a few moments of deliberation, Essek stood up from the chair and moved to the empty side of the bed, carefully laying down beside Caleb. He slowly, delicately, pulled the other wizard into his arms, cocooning them both in the thick blankets that covered the bed. Caleb sighed softly and nuzzled into him, seeming to be comforted by Essek's presence. Essek pressed a soft kiss to Caleb's forehead. "Please wake up, sweetheart. I need you. You can't leave me, okay? I don't think I could survive that, my love. So you need to come back to me, okay? I need you, Caleb Widogast."
Essek laid with Caleb for several hours, holding him and speaking to him softly. He wanted Caleb to know that he was here. That he wasn't alone. This lasted for about an hour before Essek couldn't keep himself composed any longer. He buried his face in Caleb's beautiful auburn hair and let himself sob until he eventually fell asleep. He woke constantly though, every dream turning into a nightmare, as he remembered the terrible battle. Sometimes he made it to Caleb in time, but most of the time, he was too late. He would lay awake for a while each time he awoke, trying his best to calm himself by watching Caleb breathe. The last time he awoke, just as the sun was beginning to rise, he glanced over to see Caleb beginning to stir.
"Caleb? Sweetheart, can you hear me?" Essek asked, softly stroking Caleb's cheek.
Caleb nodded, his eyes opening slightly. Essek had never seen such a beautiful sight. He'd nearly forgotten how beautiful and incredibly blue Caleb's eyes were.
"Hey, sweetie.. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" Essek asked, so very, very relieved to see Caleb awake.
"'m okay, Ess.." Caleb murmured, leaning into Essek's gentle touch.
"Are you sure? Do you need anything?"
Caleb slowly shook his head. "Just you.."
"Alright, love. I'm not going anywhere." Essek murmured, leaning down a bit to kiss Caleb's forehead. "You really scared me, you know that?"
"Sorry, liebling.. Are you okay?" Caleb asked, really looking at Essek for the first time, his eyes scanning the drow for any signs of injury.
"I am now that you're awake. You can rest some more if you'd like, Cay. I'll still be here when you wake up." Caleb still looked exhausted, but he had a bit more of his color back, which was definitely an encouraging sight.
"Alright.. Love you.." Caleb murmured, nuzzling a bit closer to Essek.
"I love you too, Caleb. More than you'll ever wrap your head around."