Husks

Cairo grabbed Nico by his arm, holding it up against the twilight ocean above, examining it's pulsing existence.

"Sir, what...are you...doing?"

Nico winced as Cairo's grip intensified. A pang of fear slithering into his voice, but for some reason, he wasn't the least bit concerned that Cairo would hurt him. As if his fear was misplaced.

Cairo examined the arm, feeling the heft of it. The similarity it carried to that of the masked man that had been observing them.

By now, several more masked onlookers gathered. Watching them with a silent gaze.

"What's wrong with yo hand?"

Cairo's voice calmed as he loosed his grip slightly.

"Uhm, it's a disease. I have a disease. My sister said she would find the cure for me?"

"Yo sister? She's finding some cure for you? How do you know where she is? That she's coming back? What are you?"

Nico's big eyes shook as he was berated with all the questions. For him, these were all questions that he'd hid deep within himself. Too afraid to utter them. Too afraid to hear the truth.

He pulled away from Cairo's grip, tears swelling up in his eyes.

"M-my sister. She's going to save me...She promised...And that girl told me she knew where she was..."

Cairo grinded his teeth as he stared at the little boy. His voice slipping out without his command:

"Your sister's dead."

He himself didn't know why he said it. He had no clue who Nico's sister was, but regardless, felt that his words were nothing but the truth.

Nico's figure flashed into nothingness in quick flickers as his breathing abruptly choked. Growing harder and shallower as he held his own chest. Tears welling in his big eyes, as he couldn't help but stare at Cairo with empty voids.

Nico opened his mouth to speak, to say that Cairo was full of it. But he couldn't. He tried speaking, but as soon as he did, it felt as though a seed in his chest grew, wrapping it's vines around his throat.

Tears welled down Nico's face while he tried his hardest to gather the thoughts that he'd lost to the world.

But the moment he tried again, was the last.

His haggard breathing caught up with him as an uncontrollable stream of tears blurred everything.

Nico fell to his knees, hugging his chest as he wept. His chest burning as his face scrunched up, filled with salty mucus streaming down his nose.

"Ereht tsomla er'uoY."

The masked man threw his arm at Nico, attempting to grab him, but was stopped just short. Cairo's sharp eye staring at him in silent fury.

Something inside Cairo was compelling him to help this boy. Whether it be because the boy was useful, unseen compassion, or just human nature when watching a child grieve over death.

"I'm gon help little dude here. So lay off."

Cairo threw the masked man to the ground, not noticing another leaping onto him from his lack of a right eye.

Cairo staggered with the figure atop him. Peeling the ghostly man off him as several more began piling atop him like mindless husks.

For a second, at least a dozen were stacked atop each other, without any movement.

Then a slight crackle resounded as the air grew dry and brittle.

With a grunt, Cairo threw the phantoms off his back as his body smoldered and flickered. Slight embers licking the oils of his skin.

Quickly lowering the heat, Cairo grabbed Nico.

"You got ten more minutes of cryin left."

——————————————————————

In a distant alleyway, Naren quickly tried thinking of how to match up against the prowess of the princess in front of him. What was he supposed to do against someone who could see the future?

His eye quickly scattered to a glass shard right by Yuna's feet. But before he could make a conscious effort, he heard the one thing he dreaded.

"Soldier, stay right there."

Naren tried moving his legs. Tried emerging from the glass shard as he would've. But his body disobeyed him. His muscles grunting back at his effort.

Yuna put her hands in the air, feigning innocence.

"Listen soldier. Explain to me what happened. Explain everything without omitting anything or lying."

Naren tensed his jaw, but alas, his voice slipped out. With such speed and normalcy that he couldn't be bothered to try acting against her any more.

"The last loop, you were the last one left. The only one who hadn't been killed by the wolf other than me...So tell me, what does that make you?"

Yuna tilted her head.

"You're still as hard-headed as ever."

Naren scowled.

"What?"

"What did you really see, soldier? What was it that you're keeping from yourself? That you've been lying to yourself about?"

"I dunno, I was never the best at riddles. The letter S?"

Yuna sighed, seeing as Naren had already made up his mind on pinning all the blame on her. Though, that wasn't surprising her. After all, she was trying her best to keep this from occurring. Keep the blame off her at the very least.

Spinning the loops with the little information she had to force Naren to fall into place.

"Listen—"

Before Yuna could finish, the air grew dry and brittle along with a deep rumbling in the ground.

FWOOSH

Right through the air between them a single figure flew, smashing right into the brick wall beside them with crisps of burn marks on their loose clothing.

Before Naren could understand what was happening another one slammed right into his side, pushing him to the ground along with it.

Sitting up, Naren looked at the body in front of him.

The wooden mask that had once covered their face completely burned off, their face absent from what remained.

A blank and empty head reminiscent of what a human should be.

Naren's eyes grew wide as his irrational fear took the helm.

"EEEP!"

Naren crawled back, as far from the phantom like creature as he could. It was a ghost, a ghost. Of course, he remembered what Jan had said about their harmless attributes, but when he was caught off guard like this, none of that mattered.

Naren looked up, holding his own body tight, a familiar figure running at them from deep in the alley.

A one-eyed man, his pale hair wisping with flames in the wind as he held what looked like a small kid in his grasp.

Cairo, noticed the group of people, a familiar feeling washing across his chest. He was already at odds with where he was, but this feeling of familiarity put him at ease a little bit.

These must've been his allies. Or at least aquaintances. That's what his gut was telling him.

"Yo! You goons! We're in a Dreameater an there's a fuck-ton of husks behind!"

Naren squinted, at where Cairo pointed back. But that much was unnecessary. Maybe two hundred meters behind him, Naren could hear it.

The terrible murmurs of these phantoms, or husks as Cairo had put it.

A shudder ran down his spine as he then focused his attention onto Cairo.

More specifically the little boy in his hands. Was his name Pico?

That was irrelevant. What was relevant however, was the little squirt in his hands was blinking in and out of existence. His face disappearing with his second. Just like the husks.

Naren crawled his back right against the brick wall behind him as Cairo approached.

"Hey you candle, get the hell away from me!"

By his side, Yuna stood in a trance watching the man get closer.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?"

Though Cairo didn't care about either of them. Instead running right into Naren and Yuna, the brick cracking and crumbling from the heat of his leading elbow as Cairo glanced below to Naren.

"The hell's your problem, freak?"