Emile never let her get that far, grabbing her wrist. Thankfully in this form it was easier to move around and he was able to use that hold to pull himself over to the other side of the bed without disturbing Simon. As quickly as he could, he used his free hand to cover Mia’s mouth. “If you make a sound we’re all dead” he hissed into her ear.
Mia's eyes widened as she felt something latch onto her wrist, terror washing over her as whatever it was spoke into her ear. Still, she took that as a threat to her and Simon, not really registering the 'we' part. She didn't make a sound, frozen as tears pricked at her eyes.
“It’s okay, I don’t want to hurt you or Simon. But you can’t wake him up.” He said, his tone turning more gentle now that he knew they were in a more safe situation.
Mia didn't say anything, seeing as there was a hand still firmly over her mouth, and she didn't even know where to look, seeing as Emile was invisible. It didn't seem to do much to calm her down, either, when Emile spoke in a more gentle tone, seeing as she was still stuck where she was.
Emile let out a soft sigh before making himself visible again. “Just..don’t scream, okay? And don’t wake him up, and then I’ll let you go and explain everything, okay?”
Mia's eyes widened again when Emile became visible, Mia staring at him now. She had no idea what to think of any of this, really. She hesitated, then nodded slowly. She'd like to see what this man came up with to explain this.
Emile carefully let go of her, hoping she wouldn’t do anything to mess this up for all of them. “There. All good?” He asked quietly.
(bruh)
(What the actual fuck)
Mia nodded, glancing to Simon a moment. She wasn't thinking of doing anything at the moment of course, but she was worried.
"I… who are you?" She asked, careful to keep her voice quiet.
“A friend. I’m here to help Simon.” He explained quietly. “But Astral knows I’m here so if something goes wrong he’s gonna force me to leave. That’s why I had to stop you.”
Mia nodded slowly. She didn't trust anyone who was in cahoots with Astral, but she didn't see much choice at the moment.
"Why… why would Astral let you help him?"
“I don’t know. He said it’s because he cares for him but I really don’t believe that. Or at least if he does it’s in a very twisted way.” He said with a sad sigh. He still hated that Simon was stuck in a situation like this.
"Yeah…" Mia shook her head some. She hated it too. She hated every moment of it. "He doesn't care for Simon. Not any way one could call 'caring.'"
Emile nodded in agreement. “But I don’t have a choice besides going along with it at the moment.”
Mia let out a small sigh, arms folding in front of her.
"But that's just it, right? There is no 'at the moment,' it's either do what Astral wants or never get to see Simon again."
“Yeah that’s unfortunately true….so basically I’m just doing what he wants until he tries to keep me here and keep me away from Simon. Thank god I actually am someone else’s soul or he wouldn’t even consider letting me leave.” He said with a soft sigh, shaking his head.
"Someone else's? Who?" Mia asked, looking up at that. It was a good thing, seeing as Astral would have snatched Emile up in a heartbeat if he was free. She shifted some, careful to not wake Simon up. Lily coughed some again in her sleep, nuzzling closer in Emile's pocket.
He shrugged. “No one that you’d know, we’re not part of the pantheon.” Emile explained, checking on Lily, patting the top of her head gently, hopefully not enough to wake her up. “But he at least knows I’m here, and Astral’s letting me stay in contact with him.”
Mia blinked several times as Emile explained.
"Not part of… I'm surprised Astral let you stay at all. These gods aren't very fond of other pantheons, for a lot of reasons…" Like the Ball. They were still all scared they'd end up somewhere else, even if they knew it wouldn't happen.
"But it's good you can stay in contact at least…" Lily let out a small hum in her sleep, leaning into the pat without opening her eyes.
He nodded. “Yeah it is pretty good, that way at least if Astral does something to me, he’ll know to come get me. Then it’s just a matter of how much damage we have to cause before Astral will let us leave.” He sighed. It was good to have someone to talk to about all of this. “Astral hasn’t really directly threatened me though so for now I’m all good.”
"Give him hell when it comes to that, yeah? He wouldn't let you back anyway, so you might as well cause some proper damage." As long as they avoided hurting the trinkets- they didn't do anything. They were all stuck here too, after all.
"For now. It's a matter of time."
“Oh don’t worry I will.” He said with a soft chuckle. He was looking forward to it honestly. He nodded in agreement to Mia’s last statement. “Yeah I know..”
Mia let out a soft breath.
"I am sorry, that you got caught up in this," she said quietly.
“It’s alright. It’ll be worth it if it helps Simon out, even just for a little while.” He said, looking over at the man, still peacefully sleeping. Emile smiled softly, glad to see it.
Mia looked over at Simon as well, nodding.
"It is," she said softly. There was a lot she was willing to give up if it meant her friend had a chance at happiness.
Emile trusted her not to do anything rash now, and made his way back over to Simon’s side. He began to run his fingers through Simon’s hair gently, picking up his humming again.
Mia watched for a moment before laying back down, not speaking to Emile anymore now. They'd said all there really needed to be said.
Emile was glad that it had all worked out. That one interaction could’ve ruined everything for them. But thankfully it’d worked out, and for now, Emile would still be able to help Simon, and try and keep him safe. He knew that Astral wouldn’t really get better, even if he really did want to, Emile was guessing he’d give up as soon as it got too difficult.
Mia was glad as well. She didn't want things to be worse for Simon, and for Emile, either. She settled back down into the bed for the night, arms gently wrapping back around her friend as her eyes closed.
Emile just did as he was supposed to for the rest of the night, staying at Simon’s side, making sure he stayed calm.