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Lewis really didn't like using his size to his advantage. He never had, and after he died... seeing the surprise, the fear in people's eyes brought back... bad memories. With time and practice, he'd gotten back out of the early-adulthood habit of hunching over and drawing in his shoulders to look smaller, but he still felt uncomfortable whenever he was reminded just how much he towered over others.
For this, though, he decided to make an exception.
He could hear Vivi quietly swearing from the other side of the cramped room. She's kneeling next to Arthur, who seems barely conscious, and the sight makes Lewis's heart twist. He wants- he needs- to be over there, to make sure they're both okay- but something is stopping him.
He turns his attention back to the ghost standing between him and his partners. They're not much smaller than he is, their form dissolving into half-transparent tatters below the waist, and they have a lower jaw that forms two sets of vicious, needle-sharp fangs. The glow of their magic is strong, the power they stole from Arthur manifesting in wisps of bright smoke that dance around their shoulders.
Lewis exhales a long breath he doesn't need, and feels his face warm up as his eyes flash suddenly brighter. He lets his feet leave the ground, hovering a few inches above it instead, and squares his shoulders, turning his head up to look down his nose at the ghost. He sees their expression shift – from confident hostility to sudden confusion and fright – and an odd mix of regret and satisfaction swirls in his chest.
"Move out of my way," he growls, his voice sweeping like static over the other ghost, who visibly shivers, "before I make you."
Their teeth clack once, and they shrink back a little further. He can see them debating between fighting for the prize they've caught and running from a stronger spirit. Their self-preservation wins out eventually, and they turn and flee, disappearing through a wall.
He'll have to chase them down later, but for now – in a flash he's across the room, kneeling on Arthur's other side. Vivi sees him and leans back, letting him scoop up Arthur without discussion.
His breath is coming in short, shallow pants, and his skin is freezing to the touch but there's a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. Lewis can feel the flicker of his soul in response to the beat of his own, so weak as to be nearly undetectable.
"He's been really in and out," he vaguely hears Vivi say, "are you sure you can-?"
He doesn't answer – he doesn't have time to consider the question of whether he can. Instead, he just pulls Arthur a little closer and reaches out to that weak flicker of life, offering to feed the tiny flame.
Giving, as opposed to taking, power, always feels unnatural. If he'll ever get used to this, it'll be a long time in the future – not that he particularly wants to do this any more than he has to. But he pushes past the discomfort of freely giving away what passes as his life. It's easier if he visualizes them as a pair of vessels, trying to even out – neither drained or overflowing. With the distant part of him that's still paying attention to the physical world, he feels Arthur's heart stop rabbiting quite so fast, and his breathing even out.
When he opens his eyes again, Arthur's flicker open for a moment as well. Whatever worry, and whatever residual discomfort he had over scaring the ghost off, starts to fade when he sees his expression. Not a hint of fear or surprise, even despite the fact that he's still wearing his skull face instead of his human one. Instead he cracks a vague grin and laughs a little, weak and hoarse as it is.
"Shit, I, uh. Sorry for- f-f-for... f' scaring you."
Lewis just cups the back of his neck and gently bonks their foreheads together, unable to decide between yeah, stop doing that and I'm sorry I let it get to you.
Arthur's hand, still colder than it should be, finds his face, and he gently runs his thumb over his cheekbone. "'m fine. Dork."
They sit in silence for a moment, and then they're interrupted by Vivi's exaggerated sigh. "So, if you two are done making out in public, we do still have that ghost to deal with...?"
Neither of them are particularly bothered by her friendly jab, laughing and swatting at her as they get up.