Callisto’s hands paused in their movements at the mention of Xevon, he didn’t speak yet as Finn was doing the explaining for him. Lily however was engrossed in the conversation, subtly nodding along as they spoke.

“Whatever he is, I feel like I owe him my life.” She quipped quietly before pushing another mouthful into her lips. Her eyes flickered between the three at the table, deciding who she would side with. It would be better to have a weapon, but if there wasn’t enough to go around then she would more than happily miss out.

Then Callisto placed his cutlery down on his plate and looked up to the table. “Veles is easily bored. Without sacrifices he mills around the hotel and complains, whines like a child. He uses the sacrifices for nourishment, but why not just descend and kill them immediately? He is more than capable of doing so.” He leaned back into the chair with a sigh, hands flicking up.

“He uses them for entertainment. If Xevon has offered him some sort of entertainment in trade, then I have no doubt Veles would have taken it. What kind of entertainment? I have no idea.” Callisto shook his head, defeated. He didn’t care what trade Xevon had made, he was going to get him out of there and if he was given a living body again then Xevon would be too. He was sure of it.

Lily’s eyebrows creased as she listened to him, she supposed it made sense but then again couldn’t he just capture a sacrifice and use them? Suddenly, Lily wasn’t all that hungry. Still, she did her best to finish her plate quietly.

Callisto refused to even entertain the idea that Xevon was entangled with Veles beyond conversation and fights, in fact the mere idea of what he had just implied didn’t dawn on him. Instead he went back to eating, finishing up his plate with eagerness.

Lily’s eyebrows had creased as she stared down at her plate, lips pulled in a small grimace as she tried to piece together what she had. Apparently Xevon was giving himself up to this amalgamation of a creature by the name of Veles. That made her all the more impatient to set out and rescue him, after all she was supposed to be his wife and suffer that fate instead.

Only as Alma spoke to Finn again did Lily lift her head and look over towards him, her gaze softening as she saw how low he held his wings and the dull look on his face. She stared a moment longer before she looked back to Alma in agreement, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Do you have some tiger balm or anything like that? To help his muscles.” Lily questioned gently, offering up her best polite smile in spite of the turmoil in her head. If she could distract herself, she knew she would be okay. Caring for Finn seemed like a lovely distraction in comparison to conversing with Callisto or idly staring at a wall.

Callisto had finished his plate and was reaching for a glass of juice when he seemed to notice the shift of energy in the room. He paused and cocked an eyebrow, carrying his gaze across all three other members of the table. Trying to pick apart what little bit of information he had managed to miss as he pulled the glass closer to him.

Finn tilted his head lightly as Lily seemingly changed the subject, focusing on Alma. She didn't look that great either but she was focusing on him? How... did that make any sense? He should have been helping her and not the other way around. She was technically a guest at home, he was ... not. Alma didn't seem to notice or care.

She simply dipped her head lightly and stood up from her own seat. "I do. I think it should be in my bathroom." The woman hurried back as Finn tried to stand up and gather dishes together, wincing when he had to extend his arms too far. "I'm fine it ... I just need to move. It'll relax, don't you worry--"

"Chico!"

Finn sat down with a faint huff again, grumbling under his breath about how he was just fine. He found himself sporting new bruises and old ones that likely came from fighting with the cult members. But either way, he was ... less fine.

Alma came out, gathering plates and set them in the sink. "Callisto, dishes. This is dish soap, scrub 'em down, rinse them with the faucet, put 'em in the dishwasher. We do double wash in this house," she said shortly and turned to Lily. "I don't have a whole lot. But I know a homemade recipe I can whip up."

Callisto’s head poked up and his eyes widened as he heard his name, leaning to look over at what Alma was gesturing to. His head tilted to the side, what on earth was a dish washer? Surely, if he was washing the dishes, that would make Callisto the dish washer. He didn’t question her, instead he stood up and walked hesitantly up to the sink. At least this part looked familiar, he turned the faucet and almost jumped as water came out. He had heard about many of these developments, but they used to have to heat water and then slosh it into the sinks to use it.

Lily’s own head snapped around to look at Finn with a sharper look, but again she didn’t need to say anything because Alma had already put him in his place. She puffed out a small sigh as she stood up and walked around the back of Finn on her way to talk to Alma. Her eyes scanned over his back, the concern for his pain over ruling her previous flustered state brought on by her staring. Alma had done a good job of fixing up a shirt for him it fit around the wings well.

“You need rest, Finn.” She lowered her voice, speaking gently as she passed him, tapping her hand softly on his forearm. Making a conscious decision to avoid the large muscles that seemed to be painful.

Her eyes flicked up to Alma and she smiled warmly, the woman had already made her feel at home. A strange feeling considering her own blood made her feel like an outcast, the black sheep. Every passing minute, she felt more at home here than she ever had with her own family.

“I’m sure your recipe is better than the store bought kind.” Lily laughed softly, stealing another small glance towards the floppy form of Finntello as Callisto clinked the dishes in the sink.

Alma opened the tin and paused. "... I don't think this will be enough. I'll make a batch of homemade stuff. I've been meaning to for a little while. Chico, go and lay down," she gave him a much more gentle order. The young man dragged himself from kitchen chair to the carpet of the living room and huffed as he flopped onto the floor.

Alma chuckled and shook her head lightly. "Let me whip up a batch while you use what little is in there," she urged gently. The woman cleared the table off, opening the door of the dishwasher. "Just set it in here and I'll run it when you're done."

She pulled out a tub of beeswax and coconut oil. She dug through the cupboard for cayenne pepper--ground pepper--tumeric and ginger as well. From a smaller wooden box, she removed a peppermint oil and lavender before starting to mix them together. "My mentor used to make this for her arthritis. I just get lazy and buy what I need," she mused. "Chico, shirt."

"I'm going," Finn slowly moved his arms, wincing with the movement to reach back and undo the buttons around his spine and then his lower back. "Ugh, why does it hurt so much?"

"Just hush, Chico, let yourself rest for more than a few hours."

Finn grumbled into the floor, but there wasn't much heat to it. "Y'know, I would love to lay on my back again."

Alma shook her head lightly. "I can set up a hammock, that should be much more comfortable."

Lily peeked over to look at what Alma was pulling from the cupboards, noting each thing as she placed it on the counter top. She would have to ask how she made it once Finn wasn’t so uncomfortable. Admittedly, her own head burned with the beginnings of a migraine, but she would survive. She gave Alm a short nod as she heard Finn flop onto the floor behind her, slipping the tin into her palm as she turned to follow him into the living room.

She stifled a small snort of laughter at his comment about laying on his back, it was amusing but in reality it must be annoying not to be able to do it. Cautiously, Lily settled herself on the floor beside him, lining herself up with the middle of his back with her legs crossed over each other. Lily let out a small sound as she ducked her head to avoid a wing that was moving to slip the shirt away.

Once he had settled, Lily looked down at the tin and tilted her head, Alma was right they’d need more than this. But at least it was something for now. She dipped her fingers into the waxy substance, the familiar smell rising to greet her. She always had enjoyed the scent of peppermint and spice. Rubbing it between her fingers on both hands, she waited for Finntello to stop his wiggling, again ignoring her previous bashfulness around him. Lily tentatively touched her fingers to the knot of muscles just above his wings, deciding to work her way down. But as she touched him, she could feel the heat in the flesh and pulled her hand back. Either her hands were freezing or those muscles were literally steaming.

“Sorry.” She squeaked, leaning back to peek at him to see if he was alright.

Callisto had his hands soaked with suds, a plate in his grasp as Alma opened a mysterious door to his side and he cocked his head as he looked down at it. Then slowly, he looked back up at her with a singular raised eyebrow. This woman was strange. Putting wet dishes in a weird cabinet. He didn’t voice his thoughts. Instead he set about lining the dishes up in a haphazard manner, he didn’t know how these things were supposed to fit in there properly. Doing his best to line them up alongside each other.

Lily blinked down at him in surprise, her hands held up with her palms facing herself. Was she really that cold? Then she had to avoid his wings again from the flick up that the strong muscles performed, narrowly avoiding getting a face full of feathers. She shook her head as he continued talking, glancing over her shoulder at the pair in the kitchen before she stared back down at Finn.

“I’m fine, honestly. I-I just have low iron and bad circulation, always have.” She trailed off, stumbling over her words a little as she tried to settle herself back down. Well, her hands may be cold but her face felt hot now. Alma hadn’t caught on that she could hear pretty much everything in the house, even in the other rooms. With a bright red face, Lily tried to steel herself and get to work.

“The cold will help.” She tried to convince Finn she was fine, even if her migraine was growing in intensity. She could drink some water after this and go lie down, Finn was being dramatic.

Lily flexed her shoulders and leaned over him again, however this time she took a minute to run together her palms to at least try and take the chill out of her fingers. Then gently, she pressed her fingers back into the same muscle group but this time she kept them there. Pressing firmly into the knotted fibres, her eyes flickered over to the back of Finn’s head. Gently, she began to move her fingers in small circular motions to both spread the ointment but to also try and loosen up the muscles.

Callisto looked over to Alma and caught her look, stifling his own snort of agreement. He tentatively tried his best to place the dishes in this dishwasher, unsure if he was even doing it right. Electricity he knew of, it was what powered the lights but this contraption was not so simple. He wondered how it worked.

After he slid in the last glass, Callisto looked up to find the pair in the living room. His eyes narrowed as he watched Lily push into the muscles. Her hair was tucked behind her ears so she could see her face, flushed with colour along the cheeks and nose bridge. However, the skin on her forehead did look a little pale. Perhaps it was the contrast of colour from the blush rather than an actual thing to be concerned about. For the time being, he set about locating a towel to dry his palms off, but he kept his ears pricked and listened for any hitch in the young woman’s breathing.