It's like the walls are caving in

It had been a strange couple of days. Days wherein he was not sure what to do. The Artifact he’d received only a few days ago, was hidden as safely as possible. Not that it did much to ease him. Questions tormented him, too many to keep track of. All of them had to do with that artifact.

Míngzé had been listening to an audiobook as a distraction. He laid down on his couch, Dai sleeping at his feet and the Ninetales on the ground. As always, Wěi was hiding somewhere, presumably on his bed. Most of the story went over his head, but still he tried his utmost to listen. The voice of the storyteller however was interrupted by the voice of his phone. Telling him he had a message from Lucina, one that put a frown on his face.

He moved until he was in a sitting position, worry clouding his mind. Help. It was that one simple word that caused him to reply immediately whilst standing up and making his way downstairs on his slippers.



Dai was following him closely. By now Míngzé knew his way around the apartment complex well enough to not need his cane. Soon he was downstairs, the chilling breeze from outside sending goosebumps to his arms. “Lucina?” he asked as he looked around, trying to discern her figure. The houndour at his side looked around too, although he had no idea what the problem was.

As Míngzé descended the stairs, another message reached his phone. This time it was a simple no, which only fueled his worry. No matter how they parted last time, he still cared for her. That had not changed even when certain feelings between them were far different.

A voice sounded, barely a whisper but he recognized it immediately. The light provided by the sun helped him see her silhouette. Míngzé took a few steps towards her, hand extended. “What happened?” She stumbled forward, nearly collapsing forward. Dai barked as she did. Míngzé reached out, taking a few steps forward in an attempt to catch her and break her fall before she would hit the ground.

“Easy, easy, don’t push yourself,” he said alamered. No matter how futile it was, he was looking for something, anything that could tell him more about her condition. Míngzé hadn’t heard from her in a while after she had told him she needed space. With a deep furrow he looked towards her. Has something happened to her? Just how wounded was she? More and more questions raised to the surface.

Her hands grabbed hold of his clothes, which he preferred to having to pick her up form the ground. It were moments like these that reminded him just how short she was compared to him. With no effort at all, Míngzé supported her weight. “Sit, before you fall.” It was not a request. Already he was helping her by guiding her to the ground if she allowed him to.

One of his questions got answered. Míngzé clenched his jaw, his eyes widening. “Someone broke your jaw?” he said, flabbergasted. That did explain why she did not talk. A broken jaw… His own phone was already in his hand, ready to call the emergency services.

A hand was still resting on her shoulder. “Who the— how? What happened?” Míngzé assumed breaking a jaw was not an easy task. Something really bad must have happened. But why would anyone simply hurt her? He couldn't resist quickly scanning his surroundings, trying to see if anyone might still be lingering nearby. Which did not seem to be the case. If there was, Dai would probably warn them anyway.

Míngzé released a breath when she sat down on the ground. All he knew so far was that her jaw was broken, but there was no saying what other injuries she had. Doubt painted his face as she asked to be taken inside. “Do you think you can make it? You nearly collapsed as it is.” He could get her inside the lobby if she felt comfortable walking, but he doubted she would be able to go up the stairs.

Her texts took a while, but he waited patiently for each and every one of them. Even though he wanted nothing more than to call an ambulance and grab some ice. “Sāng?” he questioned, his tone filled with shock as he shook his head in disbelief. “You sure it was him? This— it makes no sense. What did he steal?” They did not part on good terms, that was true, but that was no reason for him to lash out like this. Not without a reason.

Míngzé sat there in a state of confusion, but he shook his head. “I’ll go and grab some ice, and I’m going to call for help.” Right now her safety was more important than what Sāng might have done to her.

Even after his warning, she still decided to stand up again. This is where he could force her down again, telling her that it was unwise, but he didn’t. “Be careful, alright?” Míngzé once more warned her while helping her. The agony she must be in was something hard to imagine. In a way it reminded him of himself. Even with an arrow puncturing his abdomen, he kept going. Just like she did now.

To hear that Sāng stole something from her was even harder to imagine. It did not sound like anything he would do, at least not without a very good reason. Last time he’d been close to stealing something from him too, but that had been different. Míngzé understood why he would try to get his hands on that.

Once Lucina was on her feet, Míngzé would offer her his support to bring her inside the lobby. There she could wait. Yet as they walked, he suddenly halted as the phone spoke once more. Míngzé’s breath caught in his throat. Surely it can’t be… no that was impossible. “Your life? What could possibly be worth your life?” Míngzé took a step forward again, using his key to open the door before guiding her inside.

WHen she grabbed his arm, Míngzé raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong? Are you hurt anywhere else?”

A soft sigh rolled over his lips. Of course that was what she had been after, yet nothing tangible that could be stolen. Even if it was, still nothing that would be worth much to Sāng. Míngzé’s mind was racing to try to figure out what it was exactly. He could always ask his friend — if he could still call him that — later. The question was if he would answer. “Nothing is worth your life,” Míngzé said instead, shaking his head. “Answers will mean nothing if you drop dead the next second.” Survival is what it was all about.

It was exactly why Lucina needed to see a doctor. Medical attention was needed if she was to recover from this. With her unique look and experiences he understood why she would not want any doctors around her, but there was simply no other choice. Míngzé placed his other hand above hers, gently squeezing it. “And then what? You would rather walk around with a broken jaw? One that might never heal or even get worse if you do nothing?” Míngzé’s voice had an edge to it as he spoke. Last time she ran when he wanted to call the cops, but now that was not an option.

He did not let go of her hand. “You need a doctor, there is no way around it.” Determination shone bright in his eyes as he gazed towards her. He would not let her ruin her own life just because she was afraid. “It is alright to be afraid, but those people exist to help. You will be fine.”

Did his words have any effect on her? That was hard to say. Míngzé waited for some form of reply, but none came. This search of hers, her goal of finding answers was important to her. A soft sigh rolled over his lips, and he too decided to say nothing about it for now. There were more pressing matters anyway.

Slight frustration was building up inside his chest as she told him she did not trust doctors. Míngzé let go of her hand, taking a step back if she’d let him. “Then what would you have me do? I can’t heal a broken jaw. No one can, only a doctor.” There was a hint of that frustration shiny through in his voice.

There was one person he knew of, but he was out of the question for numerous reasons. Bringing her to the hospital might cause a lot of other problems, but it was necessary. “If you keep it like this, there is a chance it will only get worse.” All Míngzé wanted was for her to realize that with this, she did not really have another option.

A breath of relief escaped from his lips, making way for a smile. Finally she seems to realize that there was no other option left for her than to go to the hospital. They would need to make scans of her jaw to see the severity of it all, then they would determine what to do next. Míngzé was glad she would seek out the help she desperately needed right now.

“But of course, I was planning on coming with you anyway.” Not that there was much he could do, but it was better than letting her go alone. The experience itself would be new, and given everything he would not let her go alone anyway.

There was a small smile on his face. “Wait here, I’m going to get some ice and make a call, I’ll be right back.” WIth those words Míngzé turned to leave. It would be much quicker to go upstairs alone, grab some ice from the fridge and call for an ambulance while he was at it. It might be stupid, but taking the bus would take too long and it was not like he could drive her to the hospital.

During his call, he did not give too much information, only that he had a friend who badly hurt her jaw, probably broke it and that’s it. Together with an address it was enough for them to make haste towards their location. Soon Míngzé is going downstairs again, an ice pack wrapped up in a towel in his hand. He took the chance to take his cane with him, for when he would join her in the ambulance.

There was a voice in the back of his mind which told him Lucina might be gone as soon as he came back. It would not be the first time she ran. When he noticed she was still there, a smile broke through. “Here, this should help a bit.” Míngzé handed over the ice pack. “They will arrive in a few minutes.” Hopefully it would not take them too long,

“I still don’t understand why he would do that to you.” Míngzé shook head. An idea was simmering in his mind, but it felt highly unlikely. He simply hoped she would tell him more before the ambulance would arrive.

The ice would do nothing to lessen the injury, but hopefully it was enough to take some of the pain away. Míngzé was still worried for her yet was glad that she seemed to be fine otherwise. Things could’ve gone much worse. All they could do right now was wait.

As they did, Míngzé couldn’t help but think back on what she’d told him. He wanted more questions, if only to confirm his own suspensions. Desperately he hoped for it not to be true. That would make everything much easier. That hope left him when she typed her next message.

Míngzé clenched his jaw, trying to remain a neutral expression. The hint of shock in his eyes was unavoidable. “You went to the mountains,” Míngzé repeated. She had told him she would after their visit to the Fortune Teller. His mind wandered off to the artifact he had hidden away in his home. “What kind of item did you find?” Míngzé felt his heart hammering in his chest, trying to break free. If she had found something similar— he couldn’t help but feel that would be a bad thing.