I threw this in Comet’s ask box for comfort ghoul thoughts a little while ago but it is pretty much my Zeph characterization. I guess I rambled about Ifrit a lot more.
560 words no big CWs just Zeph in pain and Ifrit and Omega hunting him down and forcing him to accept help.
His joints very angry, and very swollen. His thumb is practically locked in place, as though the cartilage cushioning his bones has dissolved and his fingers are fused in the 36251 progression position.
He doesn’t play nearly as much as he used to. Only Sundays, forgoing the weekday morning and evening mass. He isn’t that pious. But the weak heat being pumped into that old building seems to be desperate to escape the cracks in the vaulted ceiling as soon as it’s released.
Ever the stoic ghoul, he never complains. He just retreats to his quarters and soaks his aching hands in hot water, massages salves made by Ivy into his skin.
He thinks no one notices. But his pack would notice a single hair on his head out of place, and they certainly notice the way his spine favors leaning to the left when he plays, and the way his hand shakes when he grips his fork at dinner.
This particular Sunday was the coldest yet. He could be seen shivering in between psalms. And most shocking, his timing was off. Maybe not to the pedestrian ear of the siblings, but certainly to the trained ones of Ifrit and Omega.
As soon as his part in the service was complete he snuck away through the concealed door normally reserved for Sister and Papa.
He would’ve ran to his room, if he was capable of more than anything but a lopsided hobble.
He told himself he wasn’t going to break but as soon as he closed the door, ever so softly as if he didn’t even want to alert the mice to his presence, he slumped against it and the dam broke.
They were right. He just needed to stop. Or at least he would, if he continued to politely balk at the help offered.
Before his body could touch the ground, he found himself being lifted back up by two sets of strong arms. Arms belonging to Ifrit and Omega.
“Oh, I’m fine - “ the countenance of bravery was essentially transparent and he was hushed with a single finger to his lips.
“Not now, we can talk later. Let us take care of you.”
He wasn’t sure if it was defeat or surrender, but he just let them.
Let Ifrit force warmth into his body, let Omega pull the pain away, offering soft grunts of concern at the sheer amount of it. Omega himself would need to be cleansed after this.
As they continued their ministrations, he felt some mobility return to his hands, he was able to straighten his spine where he lay in the warm cove of Ifrit’s chest.
He gave his fingers an exploratory wiggle, and if he were sobbing from pain before, now he was sobbing from relief. He forgot what the absence of pain felt like, had become the default.
“Thank you,” two small words that meant something big when it came to Zephyr, at least when it came to this. This acknowledgment that he needed their help. He needed them.
“Think nothing of it, until next time, when you need not wait until we all have to watch you suffer, and force ourselves on you.” Omega’s lecture sounded severe, but he lighted the mood when he gave Zeph a peck on the cheek.
For good measure, Ifrit added, “Yeah, you stubborn old goat.”
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Ghouls with cat traits part 3
Alpha and Omega love to hunt, especially in pairs and in the Ministry basement. They mostly hunt mice, but once they caught a rat, and Copia scolded them for hours. Terzo often wakes up in a bed full of little dead furries, with his ghouls sleeping next to him, proud of themselves. They once tried to bring their prey to Sister Imperator, but her screaming could be heard throughout the Ministry.
Aether has absolute hearing. Whenever you open a bag of chips, peanuts, or chocolate, he's right at your side, waiting for you to share with him. Although when the tables turn, he's not so eager to share his snacks. He lives by the rule: what is his is his, and what's yours... well, it's also his.
Sunshine has an obsession when it comes to cleaning. She not only always cleans herself but also insists on cleaning others, often with her tongue. Countless nights, you would wake up to her harsh tongue on different parts of your body because apparently, you weren’t clean enough.
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Kay, this post is gonna be supremely dumb (let's pretend I have any other kind of posts), but I've just realised that this song by sza that goes 'I need a big boy, I want a big boy' (I had to google it cause I don't listen to anything except for Monstrance Clock obviously) is perfect for Omega, cause of yk reasons
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