Alexei didn’t understand what he saw as he walked up to the Apothecary that night. At first, he wasn’t quite paying attention. He couldn’t get over all that had happened in the last few hours and was thankful that the witch from earlier seemed to be gone by the time they were leaving the campus. Also, he really just wanted to get home to escape the biting chill that was the Northeast in the middle of fall. He tucked his chin inside the collar of his sweater, regretting not bringing a scarf, and zipped up the front of his jacket. Still, just to be safe, he walked Flora home to make sure she was okay before heading back towards the Apothecary. He thought of Effie’s seal skin and made sure his bag was securely closed. The last thing he wanted was to somehow lose it just as they retrieved it.

He had made it to the start of the stairs that lead to the entrance when he finally looked up and saw them inside. Kleo stood in the middle of the room, holding a man up by the collar of his shirt. Pots and books and cups and really anything that small that wasn’t bolted down was swaying across the room around them. His eyes were open wide and glowing, bright and golden like the sun itself as he stared at the man. Alexei’s feet quickly made their way down the steps and to the door before he had even processed what he was doing. The door swung open as he rushed inside, stopping only as a potted plan glided past his face. He grabbed it out of the air, setting it down before looking back at Kleo. He looked like he was in some sort of trance as he held the begging man before him.

The poor guy looked absolutely terrified and Alexei didn’t blame him. After stepping inside, he could actually see what had become of Kleo. His hands were the color of spilt ink and the color seemed to spread further up his arms. There was some at his neck, climbing up the side of his face and slowly taking over his usually pale skin. He had this smile on his face, nothing like any of the smiles he had seen before. It was void of the sweet kindness that typically graced his features, and reminded Alexei of one of those jester dolls. It was creepy and drawn out and Alexei would have never thought he’d see something like that on Kleo's face.

“Kleo!” He called out, not knowing what else to do. He didn’t know if he should approach him just yet, not with this man’s life most likely in his hands. But, something must have clicked, because as soon as he said his name, Kleo’s grip loosened and the man fell loose. Alexei sidestepped and watched as the man ran out and into the night. He had no idea who he was and hoped that somehow this wouldn’t bite them in the ass. The room around them slowly went back to normal as floating objects found their homes and Kleo shook his head.

"It’s okay. I’m okay,” he said and Alexei didn’t know if he was talking to him or to himself. He went to him then, taking in the fact that his appearance was suddenly back to normal, no inky skin or glowing eyes to be seen.

“What was that?” He asked and Kleo grimaced, running a hand through his hair. Alexei reached out to grab his shoulder when Kleo suddenly turned and ran to the other side of the room. He went to his knees and that’s when Alexei noticed that Nox was laying there, motionless. He joined him, a million questions running through his mind on what the hell had happened. “Is he…” He didn’t want to say it, but he feared for the worse.

“No,” Kleo said with a shake of his head as he held Nox in his arms. “He’s alive, but I don’t know when he’ll be up again. I don’t know how to help him.”

Alexei didn’t know what to say so he sat there beside him, shoulders touching to offer him a small bit of comfort in knowing that he was there as Kleo tried to do something to help his familiar. He looked so oddly calm that Alexei didn’t know how to take it. Kleo was pretty ok with hiding his feelings, not necessarily from him, but even still he looked too okay with whatever just happened. He was certainly focused on whatever it was he was trying to do to help Nox, and Alexei thought that maybe that was distraction enough from what surely must be going in that mind of his.

Kleo’s hands began to glow as he ran his hand gently along the length of Nox’s body. Slowly, movement came back to him, starting with the twitch of an ear and then the flick of his tail. Alexei let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in and felt relief wash over him.

“What happened just now? Who was that guy?” He kept his voice low as he watched Nox start to come back. He figured it was the other witch and a cold dread filled him. He should have come home earlier, he knew he should have. He had a feeling something was off and he didn’t think to check on Kleo. He was so focused on Flora and Effie’s skin that he didn’t even stop to think that the other guy may have come after Kleo.

“It was the guy that stole Effie’s skin,” Kleo confirmed his suspicion. “He wanted me to tell him where she was and I… I just couldn’t.” His voice came out in barely a whisper and Alexei could pinpoint the moment his calm had vanished. It came with a shake of his shoulders and a sharp, sudden breath. “I don’t know what came over me. I just knew that I couldn’t let him take her. His familiar was a snake, it did this to Nox and almost did worse to me,” he said, his hand gently patting Nox as the life continued to come back to his body. “I let it consume me,” he said before pausing. “It’s the part of my magic that scares me the most and I couldn’t win without it, Lexi, I,” his sentence broke off and Alexei immediately threw his arms around Kleo’s shoulders.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He rubbed his arm, resting his head against his. “You’re strong Kleo, you always have been. If anyone can learn to control something like that, I know it’s you.” Alexei believed every word he said. He had the upmost faith in Kleo and that would never change, especially about this. He knew Kleo needed this reassurance and could tell that even though it didn’t completely clear his worries, it helped to hear it.

“I hope so,” was all he said in response.

***

All it took was a text to Flora before she rushed over to help get the Apothecary back in shape while Kleo sat on a chair, holding Nox close as he finished healing.

“I’m sorry we didn’t come sooner,” she told him and Kleo just waved her off, insisting it was alright. His voice was raw as he spoke and it broke Alexei’s heart when he saw the bruise forming around his neck. Not knowing what words to say to make it better, he settled on heating up some tea for them to have as they rehashed what happened that day.

“I was completely out of it and the guy ran off as soon as I let him go,” Kleo said, rubbing his eyes. “I just hope we can still find them and try to get Effie’s skin somehow.”

“Well, about that,” Alexei heard Flora say and he could hear the sly twist of her voice. She was certainly proud of the two of them today and it was evident in the way she told Kleo of all that happened.

“Wait, you broke into their truck?” Kleo exclaimed towards Alexei as he walked over with their tea. Alexei grinned, shrugging his shoulder before sitting down.

“Flora charmed a bobby-pin so I could unlocked the door and I just grabbed it. It wasn’t hidden all that well, honestly.” He didn’t miss the smirk that formed on Kleo’s lips at that.

“Gosh, first it was getting into fights and now it's breaking into cars? I don’t even know you anymore,” kleo joked and Alexei just rolled his eyes.

“I’m guessing the guy was watching me to make sure I didn’t come here or something while his buddy confronted you,” Flora said suddenly, looking as if she was lost in her own thoughts. “I’m glad we got the skin though, I hope they don’t come back. The guy that tailed me didn’t seem so bad but also, I didn’t actually have to interact with him.”

“I doubt they’ll come back,” Kleo said, taking a sip of his tea before sitting back. Alexei got another look at the bruise forming on his neck and frowned.

“Flora, do you know any spells or something to heal this up?” He asked her, lifting his hand to ghost his fingers over Kleo’s discolored skin.

“Is it that bad?” Kleo’s face dropped and Alexei gave him a grimace.

“It’s kind of bad,” he said honestly and Kleo sighed.

“I can whip something up at home and bring it by tomorrow, but it’ll still take a minute for it to fully heal.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” Kleo said, lifting his hand to cover a yawn.

“No worries,” she said, standing up and grabbing her coat. “Go ahead and get some rest, I’ll head home and do the same. We’ve all had quite the day.”

“I’ll lock up behind you,” Alexei said and walked her out, waving goodbye as she left. He spotted Jean flying over her and was thankful that she had him just in case. He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to see Kleo standing beside him.

“Come on,” he said to him, motioning towards the stairs. “Let’s head to bed.”

***

Kleo couldn’t breathe.

His vision was dark and as he brought his arms around, his movement felt sluggish. He floated within dark space and stale air felt trapped in his lungs. He could sense the world around him, but couldn’t figure out where he was. He didn’t remember falling asleep but he did remember the start of his nightmare. It began as it always had, with him in a warped and deserted version of Safehaven, running from a monster he could not see until inky black fingers began to cover his vision and the image of red eyes filled his mind. Usually, he would wake up after that, but that wasn’t the case now. He found himself in an empty void, his lungs burning and constricting in his chest. He opened his mouth, begging for air to put out the fire that rose inside of him. Panic began in the pit of his stomach, working its way throughout his body and tears fell from his eyes. His arms moved without him, trying to find something, anything to grab onto and pull him back.

His fingers dug into what felt like fabric, and finally air filled his lungs as he opened his eyes. He chest heaved as he failed at catching his breath. The world was spinning and he couldn’t calm himself down. He tried to focus on the things around him, the fabric in his hands and the feeling of hands on his face. Someone was talking to him, trying to help him breathe, and he followed their lead. He couldn’t hear them yet, or see them for that matter, but he knew what they were trying to do. It took time to slow his breathing and as the panic began to recede, his eyes adjusted and he found Alexei sitting over him.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess,” Kleo’s voice was hoarse as he spoke and he barely recognized it himself.

“S’okay,” Alexei said, gently wiping away the Kleo’s leftover tears. “I’m pretty used to it by now.” Kleo knew he was trying a joke to diffuse the situation, but he could see the worry and the questions in his eyes.

“It was my nightmare,” he explained, taking one of his hands into his own. “It was worse this time. Worse than usual.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alexei’s voice was soft as he asked and Kleo opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead, he sighed and closed his eyes for a quick moment.

“It started off the same, but,” he paused as he remembered how trapped he felt in that empty void. “It was like I was trapped inside of this darkness… I couldn’t figure out where I was or feel anything except for the burning in my lungs and,” his voice choked as tears formed again. Alexei brought his hands back to his face to wipe away any stray tears that managed to fall.

“You’re here now, at home, in your bed,” he told him and Kleo worked to control his breathing again. “Come here,” he said, moving so he was laying beside him, pulling Kleo close and tucking his head in the crook of his neck. Kleo wrapped his arms around his torso, taking a deep breath.

“Thank you,” he said in the barest of sounds and Alexei’s arm gave him a squeeze.