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From where he's standing, hands strongly trapped behind his back by an unfamiliar hunter, Kevin would say that this easy in and out mission to take back some stolen magic thingy (he was not listening to that brief Brian insisted on giving before they left) that was stolen from Dan's old house - pre-vampirism, he distinctly remembers Seán saying, that's old old - is going pretty badly.
Every one of his friends is currently dealing with a situation pretty similar to his own, dealing with at least one hunter holding them at bay with various hunting tools. He mostly assumes, since he can't turn his head without slicing his neck open on a pretty sharp knife.
They're standing on top of a very very high building (oh god ohh man don't look down-) where they were followed after retrieving said magical artifact. They're standing behind the logo of the company they're stealing from (“Spiff.Co? What does it even sell?” said Kevin, what feels like eighteen hours ago) and they're not faring very well.
His wrists hurt from where they're violently pressed together and he can't move his foot without it hurting like a mother- but they don't know he's (part?) demon, so they haven't cut his head off on sight. Even if they did smack it against the pavement a few times. Small victories.
AND he forgot to take his meds. So that sucks.
He tries to keep his thoughts calm and silly, but it's getting harder and harder as fear and anger seep through his normally strong mental filter as he watches Seán, the only one of them still free, gets cornered at the edge of the roof.
The second his concentration slips even slightly, he feels Asmr nudging at the end of his consciousness where he's currently trapped, like he's going to burst out and barbecue everybody on this goddamn roof if given the chance. But considering the amount of control he has on what his penguin-demon can do when possessing his body is flimsy at best (which is to say basically inexistent) that would definitely make everything even worse.
So he controls the impulse and seethes in silence (he feels a bit like Brian does most of the time, he'd bet - focus, Kevin).
Finally, the hunter turns back around and Kevin feels blood drain from his face.
He's the oldest - the leader, by the looks of it - and he has Seán, still in wolf form, at knifepoint.
Everybody turns to him as he whistles and he catches glimpses of Brian, Daithi and Dan all laser-focused on Seán, before his attention is brought back to the werewolf in front of him.
There is a second of silence before the leader opens his mouth, triumphant. “Let's get rid of the furry monster first.” He grins.
Blood pools where silver meets flesh, cheering fills the air and Kevin sees red.
Asmr bursts out of his subconscious and burns the hands that restrain him, before spilling out in all directions where Brian, Dan and Daithi are, presumably to do the same to their captors.
Kevin's not paying much attention to it, to be honest.
As soon as he's free he starts running toward Seán, feeling disconnected from his body and mind empty except for a constant stream of freehimfreehimfreehim- it doesn't even register that he has no plan for what he'll do except protect Seán at all costs.
The rest happens in a single moment that feels like an eternity.
As soon as the leader spots the flames spreading around his group, he takes a step back closer to the edge, eyes wide in panic and his grip on his weapon loosens a bit. His gaze sharpens when he looks back at Kevin sprinting towards him and he tightens his grip on the knife, pushing it back up to Seán's throat, but that brief instant of hesitation for the werewolf to at least shift back, a slow, building, human growl building in his throat.
It switches to a howl of pain as silver nicks his neck, and Kevin, for the second time, feels the fire licking the edge of his impulse control echo his rage and takes control of his movements.
He rams his body into the hunter and grabs the knife he drops to throw it as far as he can, before sending all of them toppling straight over the edge.
Kevin's in a free fall for approximately two seconds before he feels Asmr fusing into his body once again, molding it with a great deal of burning pains. His arms, legs and torso catch fire and the back of his hoodie melts as two wings extend from its remains.
He doesn't really realize the changes through the burning pains - he just sees Seán still plummeting to his death below him, just within range still, and he reaches out.
The wings swell and catch against the wind, and Kevin's hand on Seán's wrist pulls, and he feels more than he hears his shoulder plop out of his socket as they make a slow descent toward the floor. Finally, they land and Kevin returns back to normal. He's cold.
Right next to them, the lead hunter lands on his head with a wet crunch.
Kevin doesn't waste anytime looking over at him. He has Seán to worry about.
Seán, who hasn't moved at all since they've reached the floor - unconscious from the change in altitude, of course, from the top of an eighteen stories building, they're lucky to be alive - who Kevin unceremoniously dropped in the grass.
His whole body lurches forward and he hacks and coughs like he's trying to remove one of his lungs, black ash making its way out of his trachea and onto the greenery around him, tainting it.
When finally it's over, he stands there, raising his head back up and close his eyes, breathing hard. His eyes snap back open when he hears the werewolf groan, waking up slowly, and he approaches, crouching next to his friend.
Kevin raises his hand and suddenly Seán's moving, shifting. His wolf jaw brushes against his fingers. Something in him is still in defence mode and the sudden movement makes him jump, hand bursting into flames once again.
His friend lets out a pained yelp and, panicking, Kevin removes his hand as fast as he can. Except a patch of fur's still on fire, so he hurriedly goes to try to pat the fire out, and Seán flinches away from him, snarling.
And…
Kevin's used to that sound. To that movement and fear. Unfortunately, the world they live in is not kind to them.
But it has never been directed at him.
He's the danger here. He's a demon.
He scrambles to get up, putting as much distance as he can between himself and Seán, heart feeling like it's going to burst in his chest. And he runs.
The adrenaline's worn off once he neared the edge of the woods - out of the city, out of the open - which means two things : his head's clearer than it has been all day, he realizes that he has no plan whatsoever and his leg is back to being how it was before Asmr took over which is to say, completely fucked and absolutely painful.
Asmr's being suspiciously quiet in the back of his mind, and he stopped once, calling on him, just to get no answer. He felt like such an idiot talking to himself in the middle of the street at three in the morning he shut up and hasn't tried to reach him since. Hopefully he's just resting.
Back to the leg : he remembers the doctor telling him that if it started to hurt again, he shouldn't walk on it too much, or he'll risk making it exponentially worse. So he keeps walking on it.
What is he supposed to do? His cane is still in the mansion. His spare is… somewhere. And he's not doing something stupid like calling a taxi or an uber with a weird half-burned hoodie and a face full of bruises while probably being on the run from the rest of the monster hunter group. He just needs to suck it up and get to safety.
Except, as he gets closer and closer to the mansion, he feels the bone-chilling fear of rejection taking hold of him. He limps around a corner and stops abruptly.
Hopefully Seán is at the mansion, getting some much-needed care for his wounds. But, if Seán is there, he won't want to see him. Obviously. So he can't - he can't return right now. He wants to, he wants to so badly make sure the lads are ok, that they're safe and sound. But right now if they're fine, if they're healing… they're healing from him. He's the danger.
He knows what to do deep down. He can't be around them. Not now, not ever as long as he's like this. He needs to both calm down and find a way to control Asmr. With a metaphorical leash on his demon, he won't be in a position to hurt anyone. It'll be just like before.
Until then he can't go back. The lads are way too important for that.
Stubbornly, stupidly, he turns around. Kiwo probably still has that spare room he can crash at for a few days. Then, he'll go back and beg for Seán's forgiveness. Easy.
Being back at Kiwo's is not easy.
Not because of her, of course. He's been friends with her for what feels like forever, and she's both extremely understanding and pretty worried when he calls to say he needs a place to stay again, and she asks if things are still ok with Daniel. He tells her that of course they are. Dan's the best roommate anyone could ask for.
She doesn't seem to fully believe him, (which is fair, since he shows up at her house in the middle of the night, limping and bruised, without as much as a bag and dressed in a hoodie that's missing most of it's hood and back) but she doesn't push.
(It's shockingly similar to the first time he had to crash at her house, years ago.)
She gives him a bed to crash on and gives him one of his old hoodies he forgot last time to change. He's hesitant at first, not wanting to accidentally burn another hoodie - he hates going shopping for clothes - but the alternative is just wearing a t-shirt she offers him, and that's a hard pass unless he wants to proudly show off the many, many burn scars that snake up his arms. He does not. Kiwo doesn't deserve that either.
He puts on the hoodie.
She tells him to please get some rest and he's hit with a wave of guilt for waking her up at this hour, but when he apologizes she waves it off irritably. “Kevin. I'd much rather you wake me up than just learn tomorrow that you spent the night outside. Again. Now we're both going to sleep and we'll talk about all this tomorrow.”
“Alright. Goodnight, Kiwo, and -thanks.”
She nods at him and closes the door on her way out.