“Fight!”

Struggling seemed to be all they had left, him willing the child to life and Cera falling from it. How had everything gone so wrong? Had he caused displeasure for the gods to have cursed their lives with a creature spat from the pits of hell itself? A stallion dipped in blood and poison, casting away life as if it had no meaning. The painted general would never forget or forgive this disgusting sin. In this life or the next he seek out the beast that so dared to harm what he cherished.

Woe to the man who stood between them.

Cera’s cries began to fade when Onni’s magical threads took hold. “Had help come too late?” He wondered anxiously, a fluttering heart speeding with each passing second. Throat tightened, desperate eyes silted and limbs began to tremble. “Please”, he pleaded silently to a mute benevolent being. It was the lord of light which provided strength to his child now, but not a single doubt filtered that the lord of earth remained ignorant to their situation.

Prayers were sent to both his patron and the lord of their land. After a few moments pleas seemed to have fallen upon willing ears and Onni’s efforts produced fruit; thin frame slowly stopped shaking and relaxed against the desert floor. Midas leaned forward, muzzle extending again to catch every single motion. Pain seeped from an innocent face, contorting instead to confusion that led to a single soft word, “Daddy..."

Sudden spurts of joy couldn’t be expressed with mortal words, quietly he closed the distance. Midas remained low and blew warm air over the cherubs little face; “I’m here…” he murmured tenderly. Silver tears glistened in the upmost corner of his eyes. Tears of gratitude, thankfulness and emerging hope.

How could he not hope? "Mommy?" he smiled just a little, taking only a second to glance at Onni who mirrored a similar expression.

"Daddy...'m tired...wha' happened?" Onni responds before him, and follows with instructions to which he responds with a nod before turning attention back to his son. She was the doctor and knew best, he trusted her judgment without question.

“Shh,” tones rumbled like the gentle trickling of water across stone, “Be easy, you are safe now,” he wanted to reassure…to somehow erase the memory of this day. Pureness had been robbed in broad daylight.

"'m scared Daddy..."

Rubbing velvet across the small temple Midas whispered, “Chase fear from mind and rest, we are going to take you home.” The thrill of seeing his son’s glossy eyes open, awake and alert gave new energy to a beaten body. His limbs still burned with a fire that would only increase in soreness over the next few days, muscles would counter tenfold in pain for the damaging dash to get them back into the Throat.

But…he still had magic left within—and that is what he called upon now.

Each golden thread tugged past his tendons, summoning the crimson granules below and around their fragile package. Lids fluttered closed and head remained bent even as the sand pooled and fluttered into lifeless swells beneath them. Soil was the thing that had saved them; its beauty couldn’t be seen by all. Between each single grain was a flicker of gold, this vibrant metal was warm and pulsing with his life energy. The powder created a custom made cradle; slowly and carefully he pushed Cera from earth. New beads of heat fashioned unseen below pelt, a held breath released part of its grasp through a grunt as he carefully laid Cera across a bowed Onni. Granules slowly slipped away until only the head was supported and full weight fell across the healer.