[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/vHlk0a2.png[/img][/center]

[color=9AF781]Time: Night
Location: 420 Wicker St; The Pit of Pandemonium 
Interaction: Callum[/color]

[color=CBCBCB]Leo had achieved the ideal state; drunk enough that everything blended into perfection, and the delightful blue cocktail had only added an undeniable sense of euphoria. At some point in the last hour, he’d lost his shirt but the warehouse was ridiculously hot even for summertime. Even minus the shirt, he was absolutely drenched in sweat, his jaw hurt from the constant teeth grinding, and the rest of his face hurt from his constant grin. Still, none of that bothered him, there was dancing and drinking and he had met so many people tonight. 

He cared about nothing other than the dancing, and at some point, he’d separated from the others he’d come here with and found himself surrounded by new faces. Leo was all for it, ever new face, a new friend, even if he didn’t exactly remember a single name. The lights around the warehouse had him transfixed, he kept watching them as he danced, and the trace-inducing music overtook any possible thoughts. All he wanted was for this moment, this feeling, to last forever.

One moment everything was perfection and the next he felt as if everything inside him had been gutted out until he was hollow. His dancing slowed, fumbling to keep up with the music’s tempo. Even the lights around him seemed dimmer, their luster faded. [color=9AF781][i]Why was it gone?[/i][/color] He was still drunk, that was indisputable, but the pure bliss, the ecstasy, it had just vanished. He stumbled from the dance floor, his head shaking, sweat filing from his hair, as he tried to snap himself out of it. 

That hollow feeling was bringing him down, he had to get rid of it. 

The last time he had felt this bad, was after his father had gone missing. It hadn’t been when he’d first gotten the news, that had only felt like a minor concern. Not because he didn’t care but because [i]his father[/i], the Duke of Stravy, was no ordinary man. Duke Feralt was larger than life, he was a presence that filled a room, someone who always held the answers and never second-guessed himself. His father was invincible, nothing bad could touch a man like that. 

The worst of it had come later, staring at the pitiful scraps of evidence that had been collected. Then looking it all over countless times until he had it memorized only to finally realized there was no illuminating connection he could find there. He had no leads to follow, no great theories to work through, and no answers. It was like a rug had been violently ripped from beneath him and he was falling backward and never landing. His father was supposed to be invincible, and then he was just gone. Gone, and Leo couldn’t cry or grieve because he didn’t know, he was trapped in the shock of it. 

And then Leo had to do things that he didn’t even know how to; he had to lead his family, look for answers, and try and fill the void his father left behind. God knows his mother wasn’t doing it, she went around acting like his greatest tragedy was the prelude to her fairy tale ending. It only got worse when everyone else just moved on, the search for his father went stagnant, and almost no one else seemed to care. There was just him, and Thea, who still cared, and he could not let Thea down. 

So he could fill that hollowness with anger at everyone who moved on so easily, and for a while, that was enough to carry on. Then came danger, any sudden rush that made him feel alive again. And he kept going, kept trying, searching, and he thought he was doing well because he hadn’t felt this empty in so long. But now, even as he ran through every thought that could once ignite something in him, he felt nothing. 

Despite the lingering sadness that became a baseline, there were still no tears and no grieving, no way to move on without an answer, and once again there wasn’t even the will to try. 

[color=9AF781][i]And what if he’s dead? What if some shit-stained peasant slaughtered him for the money in his pockets and got away with it all on random dumb luck?[/i][/color] Nothing. That thought should make his blood boil and he felt nothing. 

[color=9AF781][i]If I had been there, maybe none of this would’ve happened.[/i][/color] But even as this thought crossed Leo’s mind the guilt sickness didn’t follow the way it usually did. Nothing came to fill the void.

[color=9AF781][i]It could’ve all been an accident, what if he had simply died injured and alone.[/i][/color] He could even picture his father lying dead, rotting into the earth as scavengers picked his bones clean. That should make a person sad, what normal person wouldn’t find despair in such a thought? Leo still felt cold and hollow, but not a single tear came to him.

[color=9AF781][i]Maybe he lives still, a head injury, and he’s just out there, somewhere, waiting for his memories to return.[/i][/color] That used to give him some hope, a slim but bright possibility, but now Leo found no light in the thought. 

[color=9AF781][i]What if she had him killed? My own mother, she’s cold enough.[/i][/color] A fever chill ran through him, and he wanted the thought to make him weep, wanted to be able to feel something real again. Nothing. 

He tried to pull from every strong emotional well he could think of; rage, guilt, despair, hope, and even the most frustratingly, maddening, conspiracy he could think of, one wrought with betrayal and he felt nothing. Every emotion that used to spark a fire was now dowsed, leaving not even a single ember to burn. 

Leo felt everything he was collapsing into the hollow void, falling and spiraling downwards with his feet never hitting solid ground. He wanted his father, the man with all the strength and all the answers, even if it was just for a single minute. Even if it was just to look upon sun-bleached bones or a bloated corpse and finally have a small bit of closure but after so long he doubted any answers would be found. He wanted the hollowness to fill with grief and let tears fall until they were gone again. But there was only numbness.

He had no desire for more alcohol or food, his grin had vanished some time ago, and all the festivities around him required energy he no longer had. He shuffled around the warehouse, not sure what he was looking for but needing to do something to keep himself going. Eventually, he came across a passed-out Callum. [color=9AF781][i]Oh fuck, is he dead?[/i][/color]

Leo gave the passed-out prince a couple of kicks to the ribs, but there was no weight behind it, and the slight jostling caused Callum to stir. [color=9AF781][i]Well, guess he’s not dead.[/i][/color]

[color=9AF781]“Cal?”[/color] The only reply Leo got was a slight mumble from the prince. 

[color=9AF781]“Callum!”[/color] He shouted over the music and this time Cal moved his hand from his face and barely opened his eyes. 

[color=00F8FE]“Who?”[/color] Callum’s response was still mumbled and confused. 

[color=9AF781]“How much did you drink?”[/color] Leo asked. 

[color=00F8FE]“Don’no’. Enough?”[/color] Cal’s speech slurred slightly, words difficult to form. 

[color=9AF781]“Where is everyone?”[/color] Leo asked looking around. 

[color=00F8FE]“Who?”[/color] Cal grunted out the response, his eye’s tried to close again. 

[color=9AF781]“Ana, the Alidasht, everyone we came here with.”[/color] Leo continued, more confused than anything, but slowly the half-asses responses from Callum were beginning to grate on his nerves.  

[color=00F8FE]“Who?”[/color] Cal asked again. The young prince barely knew what was going on, where he was, who this guy was, or why he was being asked so many damn questions.

[color=9AF781][i]Why was he always like this?[/i][/color] Leo thought, the frustration beginning to set in. Cal was giving him a headache, but at least it was something, he could deal with frustration over complete numbness. [color=9AF781]“Your sister and her friends Cal, focus, where’d they go.”[/color] Leo asked slowly. 

[color=00F8FE]“Don’no’. Where am?”[/color] Cal said, he tried sitting up only to slide back down, exhausted.  

[color=9AF781]“On the floor.”[/color] Leo answered. 

[color=00F8FE]“Oh. why?”[/color] Cal tried and failed again to pull himself off the floor. 

[color=9AF781]“Fuck if I know.”[/color] Leo said with a shrug before kneeling and throwing one of Cal’s arms over his shoulders. Leo pulled the prince up to his feet and Cal struggled even with the help to keep himself upright. 

[color=00F8FE]“Ew, someone puke.”[/color] Cal gestured to the floor near where he’d passed out. Leo said nothing but had a good idea of who that someone might’ve been. 

[color=9AF781]“Yeah someone did, let’s get you away from that mess.”[/color] Leo said leading Cal around, letting the prince lean most of his weight against him. There was so much still wrong, so much he knew wasn’t going to get better, but Cal’s current problem, one of being too drunk to move, was something he could fix. Leo led Cal over to one of the sets of triangular tables and sat him on one of the chairs. Cal immediately laid his head down on the table and that was when the waterworks started. He could see the prince’s shoulder shake as Cal wept but if any part of his breakdown was audible it went unheard over the rest of the noise in the warehouse. 

Then all chaos broke out. 

The strange blond guy went absolutely crazy. Not only did this man now look like he’d crawled half-dead from a gutter, but he was spitting blood, muttering to himself, and crawling all over the floor. [color=9AF781][i]Definitly nuts.[/i][/color] Leo’s earlier assumption about Chavez during, what he would now think of as the very mild, cupcake tantrum, proved to be true. [color=9AF781][i]No way am I riding back with that guy.[/i][/color]

[color=9AF781][i]And where the fuck was everyone?[/i][/color] Leo could’ve dealt with the one drunken Callum, but the rest of this chaos was too much. There was Chavez quickly becoming more and more unhinged, there was having no idea where the rest of their group was, and all he wanted to do was go crawl into a bed and not wake up for a week. [color=9AF781][i]Why do I have to deal with this, I got my own shit, and I can’t even deal with that.[/i][/color] The entire situation only looked hopeless.

More chaos, the sound of something hitting crashing against a wall, and voices that rose to be heard over the music. The weird baker was attacking Anastasia and in a fight with Munir. The empty nothing feeling was just replaced with confusion more than anything. Things devolved further into a bizarre hostage situation and he was quickly regretting leaving Ana and Munir earlier. He knew he should do something, almost even wanted to, but there wasn’t much he could think of to do without making things worse. The thinking was only made more difficult as his mind spiraled again, reminding him of all the wrong choices he had already made, how different choices could’ve made this not happen, what a mistake this whole party had been, and he’d almost brought Thea here. What was clear, the one thought that stuck in his mind was, [color=9AF781][i]father would be so disappointed. None of this is what a future Duke should be involved in. So, maybe he just left, so he wouldn’t have to watch what a disappointment I’d be.[/i][/color] [/color]