Cas grabbed the food and followed Zachary back out to the living room. "Nix?" Nix kept his face hidden. "Go away… I don't wanna eat right now…" "Nix, you haven't eaten for days…" "I'm not hungry! Leave me alone!" Cas cowered a bit and stuck close to Zachary.
"Nix," Serna said, frowning slightly, "you don't need to yell." Cast reached over, carefully taking Cas's hand in his own.
"And you need to eat." Serna was putting her foot down on this.
"You guys keep pressuring me to try and do something I don't want to do!" Nix flattened his ears back and buried his face further into Serna's shoulder. "I don't wanna eat and you guys can't make me…"
"Nix, you need to. One way or another, you're going to eat this sandwich." Serna let out a deep breath.
"You can't make me!" Nix covered his mouth with both hands and huffed, his tail puffing up. Cas looked up at Serna worriedly, not entirely sure what to do.
Serna gently reached up, resting her hands on Nix's wrists lightly.
"Nix," she said, voice firmer now. "You are going to eat."
Nix shook his head and closed his eyes, keeping his hands firmly where they were. "Miss Serna, I-I don't know if we'll be able to…" Cas said weakly.
Serna slowly slipped her fingers up, forcing them underneath Nix's hands. Zachary held Cas's hand firmly, watching with worry.
Nix struggled against Serna's hold, keeping his mouth firmly shut so that he couldn't be forced to eat.
Serna did her best to be gentle as she pulled Nix's hands down.
"Nix, please," she said softly.
Nix shook his head firmly, his hands trembling in Serna's grasp. His tail was still puffed up and he seemed to be distressed.
Serna gently held both of Nix's have in one of hers, reaching up to gently cup Nix's cheek.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, "but you have to have at least a couple bites. Can you at least do that for me, Nix? Just a little nibble."
"I don't want to! I'm not hungry!" Nix insisted, opening his eyes so that he could watch the others. He wanted to make sure they couldn't force feed him when he was caught off guard.
Serna sighed gently.
"Please don't make me do this, Nix…"
Nix tried to curl in on himself, shaking. He kept his mouth shut and closed his eyes again.
Serna set Nix down off of her lap, still holding his hands.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. She reached up, taking his jaw in her hand.
"N-No… p… p-please…" Nix stammered weakly, tears stinging his eyes. He didn't like being held like this, especially since he knew he was going to be forced to do something he didn't want to do. "L-Let go of me…"
Serna shook her head a bit, biting her lip. She hated to take advantage of Nix, but when he spoke she stuck two fingers in his mouth, one on top of another, in between his back teeth to force his mouth open.
"I'm so sorry…" she said softly.
Nix tried to force his mouth closed again, but he wasn't strong enough. A few tears rolled down his cheeks and he started breathing more quickly with panic.
"I'm sorry," Serna said again gently. She turned to Cas.
"The sandwich," she said softly.
Cas reluctantly passed the sandwich to Serna. He hated seeing Nix like this, but they couldn't just let him starve himself.
Serna pinned Nix's hands under one leg, his mouth still forced open. She tore off a piece of it. She put it in Nix's mouth, quickly taking her fingers out and covering his mouth so he couldn't spit it out.
"Chew," she said. She didn't want to force him to do that.
Nix shook his head weakly, more tears rolling down his pale cheeks. Cas whimpered softly and huddled close to Zachary, clearly upset.
Zachary wrapped his arms around Cas, holding him close. He did his best to turn Cas away from watching. Serna took Nix's jaw with her other hand, still covering his mouth as she started to force him to chew.
Nix tried to push Serna away with his legs, but he was nowhere near strong enough to move her. He was also in a terrible position to do so.
"Hey, we're almost done. I need you to swallow now, Nix." She tilted his head back, trying to force the food down his throat.
Nix shook his head again and choked a bit when Serna tilted his chin. He gagged and struggled a bit more, still panicking.
Serna used a bit of her peers, making sure the food went down the right way. She let go of Nik's chin now, still pinning him in place.
Nix sobbed quietly when Serna let go of his mouth, still shaking. "P-Please… I d… I d-don't wanna… don't wanna throw up…" He whispered weakly. "S-Stomach hurts…"
"I'm gonna make sure you don't," Serna said softly. She rested her hand on his stomach a moment.
"But you have to eat, Nix."