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He ran, he ran as fast as he could. He had heard the news, he didn't want to believe it. He was only gone for a month, and he did regular check ins, they had to be alive, they had to. He cared more about them than his own establishment.
He made it to the front of the club. It was burnt to ashes. Zander didn't bother questioning how the club had gotten to this state, all he could think about were his Netherlings. He ran through the remains of the club, as he got closer to the clinic he saw them. He was Avallum, he increased his speed.
The first of Avallum to see the incubus was Rosco and one of his Roscals,
"Zanny!" the zombie yelled, Roscal sat upon the zombie's shoulder and started yelling incoherent noises of distress, only to be hushed by Rosco. The sound of Zanny's name got the other members' attention, along with their own little groups of creatures.
Gale and the Pipsqueaks were the first to turn to Rosco, the captain saw Zanny, who was hunched over, hands on keens, trying to catch his breath, Gale sent some of his Pipsqueaks to go to the Netherlings, while he and a few of the Pipsqueaks he had on his shoulders and atop of his hat, went to Zanny.
The high-elf, Cass just glanced to the incubus, absent-mindedly tightening his hold on the Dewdrop that was in his arm as the other Dewdrops did what they could to clean off the ashes and blood from the Netherlings.
Then there was Lucien. Luci, a vampire, just looked between Zander and the Netherlings, as the Lunarists floated around, some floating to Zanny, some following the Dewdrops around, or just stayed with the Vampire.
"Zanny-" Gale reached for the incubus, but was pushed away,
"Where?" was all Zanny said, Gale got the idea right away.
"The Netherlings...most of them are in what remains of the clinic..." he said, Zanny looked up to Gale, just enough that the Captain could see the incubus' once pink eyes, now black, just peeking from under his fringe.
"What do you mean by most ? Where are the other Netherlings?" Zanny asked, the steadiness of his voice making Gale shiver. Rosco intervenes in the conversation.
"Other Netherlings were scattered around the club, and were already dead," he explained,
"And the clinic?" Zanny questioned,
"Died. They were mostly alive but either died before they got to the clinic or before Cass and the Dewdrops could heal them..." Rosco delivered the final blow.
Zanny wasn't an angry person, he was far from it, yes, he has raised his voice in the past, but now. He was seeing red. He stood up properly, and in a few long strode, he was now close to the high-elf. Some of the Dewdrops came to Cass, in hopes to protect him from the enraged incubus, but instead of hitting the elf he spoke in a low voice, so low you'd mistake it for a voice of a different demonic creature, not the purple incubus.
"Sage of Creation. And you couldn't even heal them." he stated,
"I can make things, but I can not bring them up from the dead...even I have...limits," was all the great sage said, looking away. Zanny knew he was right, he didn't want Cass to be right, but he was and Zander knew so.
Luci was still watching, not saying anything, mainly due to not knowing what to say, he looked to the clinic.
In the clinic, it was filled with Dewdrops, Lunarists, Roscals and Pipsqueaks. The Netherlings took up all the beds, lifeless. Each of the creatures owned by their respective Avallum members were mourning.
Dewdrops, they were crying, crying silently, they water-made creatures were an off-shade of blue and were dripping rain sized droplets from their bodies, they were crying, some were even using up some of the small magic they had trying to save the already dead demoniac creatures, but failed. But they kept trying, not caring if they used up the magic they had.
The Pipsqueaks were also crying, but instead of the silent cries like the dewdrops, they were very vocal. They were screaming as they cried, it was very much similar to the scream a normal bird did when they lose a companion. Which made sense, Gale and Zanny were seen as companions, this caused the Pipsqueaks to form similar bonds with the Netherlings, so the way they grieved made sense.
Then there were the Roscals, they mainly stayed with Rosco, as they couldn't commit any of their normal chaos in this time of grievance, so they did do what they could to comfort those, but the Roscals were normally a tightnic group that were amongst themself, but they did what they could.
Then the Lunarists, they were humming, singing and playing any instrument they had to their disposal, the music they played and sang were sad, but oddly comforting, the melodies were carried by the winds, maybe the songs would reach the Netherlings who were now in a permanent slumber, resting soundly.
It had been long since the other members of Avallum had departed, Zanny sat alone, in the clinic, with his dead Netherlings in the clinic.
The bar had been burnt down, how or why? Wasn't what bothered Zanny, what did bother him, was the fact that his little Netherlings, his pride and joys were gone. He’d go to hell and back so his Netherlings would return to him.
I knelt in the silence, the air thick with ash,
Their laughter, their light—just a memory's flash.
I’d trade my own soul for the life I can’t breach—
It’s seemingly so, now you’re out of reach.