thibault

[Thibault LeBeau]

tired

[Thibault LeBeau]

"DON'T!" he bellowed, coming out onto the open warehouse floor with a slam of the door right as a pretty blond girl reached for Ash.  He wasn't sure if she was even cognizant of why she was reaching, because all three bodies were in some state of completely and utterly metaphysically destroyed, but she'd reached out for help, probably, and help was the last thing she'd get there.  "Don't touch him, for your own sake, don't touch him."

Thibault had used the volume to startle her, which effectively stopped the movement, and he rushed to her side to scoop her up and pull her away from the other two.  He didn't know if she wouldn't have struggled against him if she'd been in better shape, but the truth of the matter was that she wasn't, and he'd walked into even more of a mess than he'd expected and he'd expected a mess. 

Ash was fortunate that some of the entities taking interest in the area were friendly, because Thibault had made his way back around to the city for another visit when the news of the Old Ones and Lucifer's presence were making their rounds, not that he'd needed to hear it to know something was happening.  That was the issue with these massive magical events - anyone even a little bit sensitive could feel it coming, and those who had more power themselves could sense even more about the situation.  This one was big, but that was no surprise, given that Lucifer and the Old Ones were involved.  Thibault arrived in town too late to help with the big brawl, which he wasn't particularly upset about because he didn't honestly expect Ash, Danielle or their people to be involved in it, but there was still something about the situation that warranted his presence.

He'd barely gotten settled when he felt the much more personal magical catastrophe. 

It wasn't common for Thibault to get such a strong sense of what Ash was up to, mostly because that wasn't the nature of their relationship (or tristes in general), but they were close enough that when the massive magical expenditures started, Thibault was on the move in that direction.  Worse, he arrived at a very bloody scene right before some hunters and in time to experience yet another burst of power from his protege, which scared him even more because Ash was not known for these types of situations, nor did Thibault know him to be quite that powerful.  The boy was cautious and restrained, and while he had strength enough for his age that Thibault was quietly quite proud of him and Ash was more than capable of defending the territory he'd claimed for himself and his people, Thibault also didn't expect any metaphysical brawls from him.  Boy, was he wrong.

There wasn't anywhere comfortable to set the girl, so he settled for keeping her far away from the other two and trying to make her as comfortable as possible before he eased some of his power into reviving her depleted stores and relaxing her anxieties.  He wasn't an incredibly practiced healer, but he was a social creature and he excelled at putting people at ease, though something of this level was absolutely within his ability to heal.  She was simply exhausted on a metaphysical level and had obviously pushed too hard, or been dragged under, which seemed even more likely the more he saw.  When he'd brought her back up to a reasonable level - she'd be tired, but healthy enough, he left her to rest while he attended to Ash and Danielle.

He stood between the two, expression grim as he took both of them in.  They were covered in blood, enough that he couldn't tell whose was whose, though Danielle was the worst off in that regard.  She looked like she'd been beaten to death, even if her injuries were all gone, and Thibault couldn't help being amazed that she had the shine of a fresh triste, despite everything that would have suggested the opposite results would be more likely.  She would be ravenous when she awoke, which would be a problem they'd have to deal with, but the change had taken hold and as long as she survived the next few hours, she'd be fine.  With a sigh, he moved her, as well, because the last thing he needed was to see which triste had the most energy to spare when one of them woke up and ate the other. 

When she was on the opposite side of the room from Tallulah, which was what he'd learned was the other girl's name during his healing session with her, he returned to Ash, kneeling without touching him.  Ash was the one that he was most curious about, and worried for.  Unlike Danielle, nothing had healed on Ash, which meant that he'd saved his energy stores for what he prioritized above his own well-being, which seemed to be everything, at this point.  He looked like he'd been in a boxing match and then thrown off of a building and shot, which even a cursory prod revealed to be a firestone wound.  It was angry and painful, and it radiated both of those sensations to Thibault when he looked.  He pulled a face, sighed, and backed off.  The gunshot wound would heal at a human pace even if Ash was healed, but Thibault wasn't touching either of the tristes before him.

He'd settled against the wall, seated on the floor as comfortably as he could get to stand watch for anything that might come sniffing around, but he wasn't expecting yet another triste to come looking.  Thibault recognized Gareth before he made any embarrassing display that the older and frankly more powerful man would shoot down, but he didn't stand when he entered.  Gareth gave the room a good look around, much like Thibault had when he first walked in, but his gaze landed on the one conscious individual.

"Thibault.  Looks like I'm late to the party."

"Don't feel bad Gareth, so was I.  I've just separated them so they can't cannibalize each other," he said casually, giving a wave in Danielle's direction specifically.  She was in bad shape, but Ash had expended so much energy on her that Thibault wasn't sure if he could have held her off if she came for him.

Gareth grunted, stepping up beside Thibault, but not sitting.  "They both feel like they're dying.  The only one who's okay is the girl in the corner."

"I know, I healed her and I'm letting her sleep it off."

"Dare I ask why you're not helping Ash or the woman?"  Gareth looked down at him, his tone not actually accusing, but definitely sounded like he thought helping them would be a good idea.  Thibault merely sighed.

"Danielle.  Her name is Danielle, and he loves her so much that he yanked her back from the beyond to turn her.  If she pulls out of this, then it's because she's meant to live, but she has this last chance to give in and go back."

"And Ash?"

"Gareth, you know I love him.  He's the son that fate saw fit to deny me as a mortal, and whether he realizes it or not, I would give all that I have to help him," Thibault said softly, unusually seriously for him, but he'd been nothing but serious since Gareth walked in.  His eyes were locked on Ash's bloodied, near-death form.  "He chased this death, though.  I felt it as surely as I feel him barely there now, and much like Danielle, if he drags himself back up, it's because the will to live is still strong.  After all of this, he's going to need that strength, and I wouldn't deny him that by doing it for him."

"Do you realize who did this?  Who he fought?"

"No.  I just found the wreckage after, and I didn't examine it closely."

"I talked to the hunter who was left behind, Thibault.  He was Lucifer's vessel.  Ash fought him and expelled him from the man after the women were killed."

It was Thibault's turn to make a thoughtful sound, though his eyes narrowed, thinking of exactly how much worse the situation had just become.  Oh, if Ash had truly fought and bested Lucifer, in whatever vessel and state the bastard was in, and then gone on to sire a fresh triste?  As damaged as he was now, that was no small feat, and it was going to put him on the radar of other beings.  He was also going to be recovering for quite some time, as was Danielle, if they both survived.

"Gareth, would you do me a favor?  I'm not particularly inclined to leave them vulnerable like this."

"What do you need?"

"Livestock, I'm thinking goats."

"Goats."

"Yes, they're mean, strong-willed bastards, and their energy would be helpful.  Both of them will be starving, and we may find ourselves with a baby triste to feed."

Gareth snorted, but didn't disagree.  "I'll get their dinner, but I'm dropping this poor girl at home first."  Thibault waved once more, not entirely dismissive because he agreed that she deserved to wake up from this nightmare in her own bed, but he'd been unable to do much about it.  Gareth would figure it out, and they would simply wait and see.

[Thibault LeBeau]

"How long do you plan on staying?"

Thibault didn't even look up from the book he was reading, which Ash couldn't see the cover of but might have been anything from a deep-dive into some philosophical theory or a trashy romance.  His lips moved, tone sounding distracted enough that whatever it was, he was apparently involved in it.  Probably the romance, then.  "As long as it takes."

"As long as what takes?" he demanded from his desk, where he'd moved from the demanded bed rest finally - bed rest that he'd fought as soon as he was able, but hadn't really stuck to very long at all.  His gunshot wound ached just from sitting up, let alone moving, but he just couldn't stand it any longer. 

He'd gotten the other man to flick his eyes up, at least, and Thibault's eyebrows cocked up at him like he really didn't get how Ash could even ask, but he did close the book in his lap, tilting his chin up as he regarded his nearly-lost protege.  It had been a close one.  "Where would you like me to start?  As long as it takes for you to heal, for Danielle to be trained in the responsible use of her new power, for my satisfaction that your sudden blow-out battle with Lucifer doesn't draw more attention than you can handle, or that it doesn't draw too much for your current state.  I could keep going, but honestly, Ash, you've been foul-tempered, but you're not stupid."

Almost like he wanted to be contrary about his temperament lately, he clenched his jaw rather than comment, but he wanted to argue.  All of those reasons were fair enough, but they meant that if Thibault was determined to wait them all out, he was going to be in town for a long time, and Ash had been hoping that the most recent visit would have been the last he'd see of him for a few years.  He hadn't put together yet the fact that Thibault had come back before his fight with Lucifer, but it would hit him eventually; he'd had a rough week, and he was pretty sure Thibault was camped in his office to read to make sure he didn't do anything to exacerbate the extremely slow healing injury.  He gave a frustrated sound after another moment, tossing his pen down and pushing his chair back from the desk, though he regretted some of that immediately after with another unpleasant sound.  Thibault merely watched him, expression unchanged. 

"Say it, I know you want to.  I can read you almost as well as you can read me, don't forget."

"Will it help if I tell you that you should be in bed?  A firestone injury that severe is not going to take kindly to you continuing to dump energy like you did.  You're lucky to be alive."  There was concern there, which Ash had known there was, but Thibault had a way of sounding flippant while also feeling sincere.  It was the strangest thing, but it worked. 

"So you keep saying."

"Do you think it's unlucky that you survived?"

Thibault asked it so carefully that Ash stared at him dryly, his look clearly calling the man an idiot even if he didn't say it out loud.  "No, I think if there was any luck involved, Lucifer wouldn't have shown up there at all, or he'd have sat in an empty house until he got bored and moved on to some other psychotic idea.  Hell, I'd be satisfied for him being stuck inside Tim long enough for them both to have died.  And I'm not dumping energy.  I haven't since I woke up."

The older of the two regarded him at that, like he was still in doubt about the answer to his question, but Thibault had decided that if Ash could drag himself back from the brink that he'd been at, then he must still want desperately to live, and so he didn't dwell on it too long this time around.  He might keep wondering about it on occasion, but he'd have to worry if the near-death experiences became a habit and resolved not to until then. 

"No, you're just stubbornly refusing to rest and let it heal."

"I hate being shot."

"Well, maybe try not to next time, and definitely not with your own bullets," Thibault advised, though he smiled just the slightest bit at what he read as a petulant tone.  Ash would disagree, of course, but that was hardly important. 

"Thanks, I'll try that," Ash shot back, but he leaned back in the chair, looking at his father-figure for a little while.  "You haven't read me the riot act yet."

Thibault snorted, rolling his eyes.  "As if it would help.  I thought you were well past the phase of doing something just because I wouldn't like it."

Ash also snorted, looking as unimpressed as Thibault usually got from him.  "That sounds a lot more like you than me."

"You have your moments, as you've so perfectly demonstrated recently.  Waltzing right in the front door and taking Lucifer head-on was about as stupid as it gets, but you went on to nearly get yourself killed and then create your first triste, which is itself difficult enough that it's been known to kill one or both parties.  Which were you, stupid or suicidal?"

"Neither."  Thibault made a scoffing sound, tossing the book from his lap to a side table, where Ash could see that it was indeed a romance.  Called it.  "I just didn't care, Thibault.  Not sure I do even now, not like I did.  I'm just so fucking done with the bullshit.  It's always something, and I tried so damn hard to do the right thing, to not be the asshole and help people."

"Ash, you've helped countless people, you have an entire house you've built here--"

"Yeah, and every time some nasty comes knocking, it's all diplomacy and trying not to piss off everyone else that might be paying attention.  I'm sick of it, sick of playing defense and waiting to see who gets fucked up in the process.  I claimed neutral ground here and all the assholes around us are just searching out the loopholes.  I'm done."

"Well, what's the alternative?"

"I don't know.  I just.  I know that I'm tired, and I don't think it's just the gunshot or anything recent, so don't.  You felt it when Celeste and Dani died, I know you did.  I think that just finished the job, but it was already wearing on me."

Thibault nodded, because he had felt it, and that had been what had drawn him to the whole mess from the start, even if he'd arrived too late to do much more than clean up.  If he was honest, he'd have never attempted to take Lucifer on alone, and wouldn't have previously tried to do so even with Ash, so he wasn't sure what he'd been planning to do when he arrived, though now he had other ideas.  It wasn't that giving him pause before speaking, though.  Ash sounded tired, and he felt it to Thibault across the room. 

"Okay, Ash," he said softly, but he nodded again.  "I told you, I'm staying, and I'm here to help.  It'll take more than your bad moods to chase me off.  We'll establish the new status quo."

It was Ash's turn to nod, looking down at the paperwork he was going through, which just made him sigh and close everything up.  That was enough of that for one day.  "I need to eat.  Both kinds."

"Not to worry, I'll fetch something.  Go make yourself comfortable somewhere that isn't that awful desk."

"If you see Danielle, would you...I don't know, just check on her?  She's pissed at me.  She thinks she's hiding it."

"She's not at all.  Don't worry, I'll parent your little triste, too, just like I have been."

"Thank you," he said, even if he didn't like that he was too fucked up, and also on her shit list, to do the job himself.  He didn't know that Thibault didn't think a romantic couple should have that sort of relationship, but that conversation would be coming later.

"She'll come around, it takes time.  You still haven't grown out of the moody phase."

"Bite me, Thibault."

"Highly inappropriate, my boy, not that you could handle me in your current state, anyway."

With that tossed over his shoulder, Thibault gave Ash a shooing wave and went off to do as he'd promised.  Ash wasn't sure whether to be grateful or even more annoyed.