Calen huffed with no one taking his baits there was nothing to distract him from all the pain he was in. After remaining sullen for a few moments Calen once again tried to get out of bed. Keeping all his weight on his good leg Calen slowly made his way over to another bed where a sleeping student lay. Taro Espada had been catatonic since their initiation months ago and he still hadn't woken up. The doctors had ran out of treatments so they decided that perhaps being exposed to the ambient noise might lure him out of his slumber. Taro had been injured during their initiation so they hadn't known each other long but he was still Calen's responsibility as a team mate. Sitting on the comatose boy's bed Calen looked back at Serin. 'It's the face, a visage only a mother could love. It makes people feel sorry for me.' Calen grinned, an empty expression but it felt better than staying silent.
Taking Taro's hand in his own Calen took a few deep breaths, being up and about had made it pretty obvious that he was bleeding but it didn't slow him down too much. 'Creepy stories huh?' Calen began as if the intervening conversation never happened. 'Well I've got one. It's about this man, family man, hard working, gives to charity blah blah blah. Well he is out walking his daughter one day and there is an accident, a truck diver falls asleep at the wheel and his foot presses hard on the accelerator hitting both the man and his daughter. The daughter doesn't make it and the man loses his right arm. Very tragic, huge out poring of grief again blah blah blah. Now the mother takes this very badly and goes into a deep depression, psychologists say that it's because she never had a chance to say good bye and as such can never truly move on. Now the man has been holding up, he has to because his wife and other children need him. He is getting used to life with one arm, luckily his job can be done by a man with one arm, balance, phantom limb, having to learn to write with his left hand that sort of thing. And the man comes up with a plan to truly say goodbye, it is the daughters birthday coming up and maybe if they celebrate once more everyone can move on.
The mother loves the idea, the first time since the accident she smiles and throws herself into the preparation. Of course no birthday is complete without a birthday card and everyone in the family writes their name and a little message on the card. The man is still having trouble writing so his wife helps him, holding his hand in her own but no matter what the man can't seem to write his daughter's name legibly. Every time he starts the word something pulls at his arm, but not his left arm, his phantom arm. This continues for a few days and they get around it by typing it out on a computer still the man feels off and decides to confess it to his wife. His wife doesn't think anything of it, too busy planning the rest of the party but family life starts to take a turn for the strange.
The children brighten up and are acting almost as if the daughter never died, calling out her name as they run playing tag, fighting monsters or whatever children do. The psychologists say it's normal and that it will fade in time and they should just focus on the party. So they do. Everyone is so busy that the man doesn't have anyone to talk to about the tugging on his arm getting stronger and stronger. He thinks it must be his mind playing tricks on him until one day when he comes home from work he so exhausted that he forgets he has lost an arm and tries to close the door with his right hand. Smiling slightly to himself at the silly mistake his expression is shattered as the door slams shut and faint laughter can be heard, this daughters laughter. Rushing to his wife in a barely contained state of panic the man tells her about the door but his wife already knows. 'I know. I've been speaking to her. It's OK she wants this.' she says and then she explains all the little things she has seen her daughter do since she has died. Confused the man dumbly follows his wife to bed as she tries to comfort him 'The party is in the morning. It's only for one more day.'
Morning comes and the man awakes with the faces of his family all around him. Their cold lifeless eyes looking at him while their faces twisted in unimaginable agony. The man tries the scream but he can't, a hand is around his throat chocking his cries. He can't see his attacker but the man is strong, he wrestles to his feet and looks around for whoever did this. But the room is empty. The phantom limb sensations again start as the man grows weaker it's wet, covered in a thick syrupy liquid but most strangely it feels like he is holding something, something fleshy. And just as he loses consciousness the man hears the laughter again but it changes no longer is it his daughter's, it's darker more menacing and it's voice booms into the man's fading senses. 'I didn't want to say goodbye, now we can be together forever' Calen finishes with as much of a bow as his seated position and stitches allow before smiling at everyone present, spending more time on Acero than anyone else.