It was as Cass feared. As soon as he began to cast his magic, the mini Boss swung its stemmed eyes towards the few ants that it had chosen to avoid over the bright lights bothering it. It was clear to the creature now that while they hadn’t posed an issue before, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Cass felt his body stiffen, Edgar did the same, and Lucian came out from behind the protective wall. Cass, Gideon and Edgar watched as the man expanded, his body exploding into the red-scaled beast that they had seen a few times.
Lucian was right to be worried that he might not fit in the space. He had to keep his wings tucked tight against his body to be able to maneuver in the tight space of the squashed cavern. It also appeared that the mini Boss had been so laze-faire about them that it appeared that it was shocked at the sight of another, larger being in its space.
Cass could practically see the thoughts swirling behind its eyes. Then, Cass pinpointed the moment that Lucian was going to have to fight for his life.
"Gideon, I really, really hope that you’re prepared to use your holy power." Cass muttered. "Lucian is about to get beat the fuck up." Cass said. He cast a glance towards Gideon and watched as the other man’s jaw hardened.
"I will do my best." That was what they were going to have to bet on. Cass turned his attention back to what was at hand. The ground began to rumble as Cass began to cast his magic. It was a good thing that the orbs that Cass had cast didn’t cost him much, and that the weird monster had been destroying them.
While it hurt that it was destroying them, it was giving Cass a reality where less of his magic and focus was being put towards his manipulation of earth magic. Cass and the others sank slightly into the ground, Cass pulling the earth out from under their feet and up around them, burying them in the dirt. Their vision of what Lucian was up to was fading as they continued to sink into the hole Cass was creating.
"By the gods." Edgar muttered quietly and Cass couldn’t look at him to see what he was making that exclamation for. Instead, he had to fight his discomfort at watching Lucian disappear from his sight as he continued to focus on sinking into the ground. And then, focus on pushing the water up and out of the space he was creating.
He was busy casting several, complicated spells. He couldn’t focus on anything else, his gaze unfocused, his mind running and his body moving with an ability that felt his own, and wholly someone else’s ability as well.
It was in this moment, when Cass was supposed to be focusing on everything else, that Cass realised it had been a long, long moment since he’d last felt Cassian inside of him.
He didn’t have time to focus on that fleeting moment of horror at that realisation, Lucian’s cry of draconic pain forcing Cass back into the moment. Gideon was tense, so was Edgar at Cass’ side as the earth began to close in around them. Cass’ feet were dry, the water slowly being pushed up and out as the earth began to close in on them. Closing out the light slowly.
Thankfully, Edgar didn’t leave them in the darkness. His quiet whisper, his quiet casting had the space illuminated in a glow before the darkness could even fully touch them.
"Amazing." Gideon muttered as the ground continued to sink as Cass continued to manipulate the earth and the water at the same time. The water continued to rise as Cass continued to push it up and out while he sunk them deeper into the ground.
It was a strange observation of gravity as the water continued to rise up, exposing their bottom halves as Cass continued to push the water out. Knees, hips, belly button, the water continued to rise up their bodies. All the while, Cass could feel the water warming while Lucian’s cries continued on outside of the earthen box that Cass was creating.
It was hard to listen to as Cass continued to work. He hated the sound of Lucian being hurt, and just as Cass was uncovering Cass, Gideon and Edgar’s heads, the sound of a giant beast clicking and screeching.
Lucian must have gotten a hit in.
Then, the water was out of the space and Cass finally closed up the hole. They were secluded. Locked away. Safe.
"WE’RE OKAY!" Gideon shouted, nearly scaring both Edgar and Cass. Cass jerked, Edgar catching him so that he didn’t hurt himself. Gideon gave Cass and Edgar a look, then nodded. "Just wanted to make sure Lucian knew that we were tucked away. Safe. So that he can turn up the heat on that damn creature." Gideon said, his expression sour. "I don’t like hearing him in pain like that."
Cass couldn’t help but agree.
"You scared us, Gideon. Give us a warning next time, alright?" Edgar said carefully, and Cass nodded. Gideon agreed easily.
"Sorry. I’ll do that next time." He said, before he turned his gaze to the room that Cass had made. "It’s a rather cool thing that you’ve done, Cass. I could never imagine how much effort this could take." Gideon said, looking around in wonder. "What amazing power the gods have given you." He said. Cass stared at him, surprised.
"I hate to agree, but I have to. The gods have truly blessed you, Cass." Edgar muttered, sounding a little unsettled. When Cass glanced at him, he seemed a little shaken. "No human should have these kinds of powers. Not without a cost. Though, I suppose, this level of power is owed to you." Edgar’s expression shifted to one of great discomfort. Then, he sighed. "We should get to work. You need to expand the space more, don’t you? So we can pitch the tent in here? Is it safe to reside here?" He asked and Cass realised that was a rather good question to ask.
Would they be smothered in this place if Cass wasn’t careful? How did he make sure that they survived? God, would they asphyxiate soon?
The worry consumed him, and then it was gone as the ground shook, the roars of the beasts outside echoing in the water that they were no longer confined by. That was when Cass remembered that he had cast a breathing spell on everyone. They would be able to breathe, Cass was just panicking because he was still used to a world that functioned at what he considered ’normal’.
Cass had just cast magic that defied gravity.
His view of ’normal’ no longer existed.
Cass set to work, worry for Lucian consuming him, but nothing he could do at the moment. Instead, he began to get to work on expanding the area around him so that it was big enough for all four of them to move about, maybe had a small area for a bathroom, and put up the tent.
He sunk the floor a little bit more, taking into consideration how tall Lucian was and how he wanted him to be able to move about safely.
Hell, as time continued to tick on, Cass worried he might have to make the space even bigger so that he could fit the whole body of the dragon into the space so that he could be healed properly.
Cass’ worry for Lucian was reflected in the other’s expressions as well. Gideon’s head was on a swivel, listening for every little thing, his sword not tucked away, always ready to grab. The ground would shake as the two beasts outside fought and he would be ready. Focused on where the vibrations were coming from.
Edgar wasn’t much better. He was busy trying to set up the tent while Cass was focused on making the space livable. He would jump and jerk at every little sound and shift of the earth. Cass would be the same as him if he didn’t have to focus on the magic that he was casting.
It felt like ages passed, the sounds of the monsters fighting outside until slowly things began to grow quiet. That was almost more of an issue. The silence outside was worrying. So much so that Cass began to create stairs upwards. He had every plan to create a door, an entryway like what they had stepped into when they had entered into the mini Boss room so that they could leave the space when they wanted.
That was when the ground shook three times. It took Cass and the others a long moment to realise that it was a knock. Several rhythmic knocks. Something that a beast that wasn’t Lucian wouldn’t do.
"Give us a second! I’ll create a door, Lucian!" Cass called, hoping that the man heard him. Cass began to work, quickly but carefully, speeding up the work that he was already doing, the magic tugging at him, pulling from him. It should have felt like he was using too much, but just as quickly as he cast the dangerous, advanced magic, his body was filling up again.
Cass had to focus on pushing the water out of the way as Cass built the earth up. The doors began to form, cracking and creaking as slowly, they opened and a wall of water stayed on the other side as the doors opened towards Cass.
Gideon had come closer, staying by Cass, ready to protect him in case what was on the other side wasn’t Lucian.
Thank everything holy and unholy, that wasn’t the case.
Lucian came in, stumbling, his face swollen, his body beaten and Edgar and Gideon caught him, pulling him into the safe space. Cass closed the doors quickly, not really caring what had happened to the mini Boss. He didn’t need to.
The heat coming off of the water was enough to steam the air.
Cass slammed and closed the door, sealing it quickly as he did so. Keeping the shape of the door there so that they could use it to leave tomorrow once they had rested. Then, he turned and went to help the other two tend to Lucian.
When Cass had finally turned, Edgar had laid Lucian out on one of the blankets and mattresses that they had brought. He was inside the large tent, groaning as Edgar helped him out of the clothes that Lucian normally wore.
Seeing that, Cass froze as he spotted all of the bruises all over his body, the odd way that one of his arms bent. Cass realised that he was in far worse shape then he originally thought. Cass’ stomach rolled.