(Help)less, but not (Us)eless

So much fear.

Warmth seemingly drained away.

Shaken to the core.

On the verge of breaking.

Numbness...

Emptiness...

Markus stayed guarding Mika's frozen self, growling loudly at the negative energy still flowing through the area from the ruthless being's "form." He also never moved an inch until it and the laughter finally dissipated in general. He was thoroughly scared as well, his now spiky fur also showing that, but no matter what, he never wanted any harm to come unto one of his most special of friends. And Markus had no doubts about putting his life on the line to protect her. "Mika!" Once all was quiet, Markus turned to face the girl's form.

Grimacing at the gruesome sight before them once again, Markus shook his head and carefully analyzed Mika's current state, feeling so upset and guilty for her. Not knowing what to do or say. She was still staring, unblinking, at her parent's bodies. Tears were flowing from her tired, bloodshot eyes, and her mouth hung open from when she pitifully tried to cry out, yet nothing came. Markus noticed Mika was now bleeding from where she landed and gently tried to help move her, when she suddenly got up and took off outside, screaming at the top of her lungs.

All Mika was seeing at the moment was Séthyan surrounding and harshly taunting her, threatening to kill everyone she holds dear. Mika didn't know where she was going, but didn't stop to think about it; running as fast as she could. Markus quickly chased after her, desperately calling her name. The strong winds blowing were only growing colder as the pitch black blanket of the late night covered the town.

Mika ended up on the outskirts, before collapsing, her own voice added along with Séthyan's, saying it was all her fault that this happened... For not checking on Markus more, for bringing Luci into everything, for throwing that rock; even being born in the first place. She sobbed even harder into the ground below her and tried covering her ears and shutting her eyes. But the voices wouldn't go away. "Please... STOP-!"

Markus kept up with Mika and sat a ways back as he watched what she was going through. It felt like his heart was being torn to pieces, but he still wanted to help her in some way and not give up. He got a bit closer, but still gave her space, and started to calmly speak to her. "It's ok to be scared, Mika... But I'm here, it'll be ok." Mika jumped slightly when she processed his voice, but didn't do anything else besides tremble for a bit more.

Mika started mumbling to herself after catching her breath, but Markus was able to at least understand: "She... She'll kill everyone, because of me." He got a more determined look on his face after thinking about it, but didn't raise his voice, noticing she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "I won't leave you... We'll help each other."

"It's my fault... It's all my fault." Markus was about to just disagree, but stopped himself after realizing that wouldn't exactly help things at the moment. "How can I help you, Mika...?" Her breathing was slowly improving over time. "P-Please, don't leave me. Please."

"I promise I won't leave you... Ever."

Markus still gave her space, but started purring after seeing she at least wasn't sobbing anymore. Mika felt greatly comforted by the sound and opened her eyes, staring through the tears in her eyes aiding in blurring her vision, into Markus' for assurance. He didn't break eye contact and purred louder.

Mika sniffled, her face tear-stained and a mess of snot, dirt, and drool... But she didn't care at the moment. The scary images and voices finally left her alone and all she was focused on at the moment was Markus' dependable frame. She shakily moved closer and reached out to hold onto his left paw. "You really... promise?"

"I promise. I promise. I really, truly promise... I'll say it as much as you need me to." Mika smiled a little after a bit, even though she was still on edge, but she felt more safe right now. Markus noticed the growing chill in the air, and hadn't forgotten about her bleeding legs.

"We should find somewhere warm to stay for now, though..." Mika immediately tensed. "I'll stay by your side. We can look together." "O-Okay..." Mika softly breathed out, trying to calm down again; her voice almost lost from all her vocal cords went through in such a short amount of time.

Mika was only now realizing how cold it was getting, along with the pain shooting up her legs was getting. Carefully, she got up, hugging herself and rubbing her arms. "You can carry me, if you want." Mika gently picked Markus up and held him close. He was definitely helping her feel less cold already. Markus knew she wouldn't want to head back to her house.

Even though someone may have called the police already if they heard her screams, Mika would go through all that again, and they'd probably just send her away to foster care like he was, after all... But still, they'd both have to talk about what they were going to choose to do at some point. Markus just wanted the best for her overall. Regardless, they started their search. He pointed Mika in different directions mostly, but they both obviously had no idea where they were going.

The two of them have never even been out of town before, which they now were, so they were treading through unknown territory. Markus was starting to think maybe they should've stayed, so they wouldn't freeze to death at least, but he wasn't sure of what to do deep down. He felt safer by Mika, but if they both ended up dead, what would be the point? "Are you sure you don't want to head back, or-?"

"NO! N-No, no-!"

Markus jumped a bit, eyes widening along with Mika's. "She'll get us, she will!!! And-" "O-Okay, okay...! We don't have to, I just wanted to make sure..." Mika was about to have another panic attack, but started to hug onto Markus tighter as a sort of anchor.

"It's alright... Let's just try and focus on our goal and keep moving forward." "Th-Thank you..." After a couple hours of going through nothing but plains, they saw city lights in the distance, and Markus was doing his best to keep Mika warm, but he could see that she was obviously barely holding on. She was shivering badly and could barely keep herself up. Markus started talking to her even more to try and help keep her conscious, which thankfully worked long enough for them to reach and enter the big city.

It wasn't as rundown as their town, but it was very much bigger. They've never seen so many bright lights and people, but none of them really took notice of the two small forms. Mika was distracted by it all, but Markus was internally panicking about their wellbeing. He was getting angry, but upon seeing an alleyway he felt more hopeful. "Let's go down there, please, Mika."

After searching, it seemed like the area had been used before to squat in, and it wasn't the cleanest, but it was the best they could get at the moment. And they weren't about to be choosing beggars about this situation. 'Hopefully no one else "claimed" this space,' Markus thought. But he felt like they were lucky to even come across something to use. Even if it's just for a little while.

There were some rags left from what seemed to be a blanket inside a box. Markus sniffed and thought something was off, until he realized on the side of the box there was fading, seemingly childlike handwriting that said: "Free puppys for any food or money" Markus felt sad and hoped they were all ok. 'I guess this box wasn't used by a human, then,' he thought.

He decided not to bring it up to Mika right now and got back to making sure she was as comfy as possible. Mika could just barely fit inside the box, and the blanket helped a bit, even if it was still pretty cold out. However, she felt better not being looked at by so many people, and hidden in a way from the inside of the box. Their surroundings were kind of damp, but at least the blanket and box weren't completely soggy and worn through. The parts covered by said blanket were in much better shape, and that's where Mika chose to lay.

Exhaustion finally hit her after covering up as much as she could, and Mika quickly fell into a deep sleep. Markus stayed cuddled up next to her for a while until he knew that she was fully unconscious. Then he proceeded to quickly get up and search for some forms of bandages and food, with clean water. He made sure to take breaks, so he didn't end up pushing himself too far and getting hurt himself, therefore not being able to take care of Mika as best he could. Markus currently sat by an exhaust pipe for some form of heat before moving on.

His search wasn't done, and right now he was only able to successfully beg some individuals for small scraps of food for himself... However, Markus was determined to get enough for Mika. He was getting more desperate by each passing hour, and started to contemplate stealing to get what they both needed. He sighed deeply and then decided after thinking on it for a while. 'If it's for Mika... I'll do whatever I have to.'